It was fun while it lasted. Sanjaya Malakar, young American Idol contestant, was great for a laugh and gave us all “Something to Talk About” even before his Tuesday night performance fell flat with judges. But, for many weeks now, the consensus opinion has been that the young singer overstayed his Idol welcome. Despite the combined efforts of the Vote for the Worst web site and radio shock jock Howard Stern’s pro-Sanjaya-for-Idol campaign, the most popular contestant to ever grace the Idol stage finally fell from grace during last night’s Wednesday results show. The news was met with smiles from Simon Cowell, who went far enough to say in an interview that he would quit his judging job if Malakar won the title of American Idol. An obviously fed up Cowell soundly and roundly bashed Malakar’s rendition of the Bonnie Raitt hit earlier this week, saying it was “horrendous” and as bad a performance as the ones they see at the very beginning of each new season of Idol. In his usual concise fashion, Simon Cowell addressed America and more or less told them to cut it out. “It was funny for a while, but enough is enough,” was the gist of Cowell’s comments. After this word on high from everyone’s favorite judge, Malakar’s votes considerably dropped…and Sanjaya was dropped out of the competition as a result. During his tearful good-bye, Sanjaya changed the lyrics of his song, beseeching fans and critics alike to talk of something other than hair. Okay…how about bad singing?

Malakar managed to gain vast media attention, and not just from Vote for the Worst, either, and despite his often too-soft vocals became the most popular Idol ever to grace the stage. Sanjaya’s name came up in more online searches than any other Idol competitor – even the winners (including Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson, also voted off the show in seventh place during her season). But, during his Idol tenure, Sanjaya was often regarded by the media as a joke and many fans of the show felt he lowered the integrity of the entire series. He gained a great many of his votes on a lark, because many viewers thought his continued screen time was a sort of practical joke on Idol producers and watchers. But there is a distinct camp of Sanjaya supporters who actually like his singing – yes, it’s true.

But, when most critics talked of Sanjaya’s singing, they didn’t have much of anything good to say. (And p.s., Sanjaya, that’s why you got so many hair comments). In recent weeks, the young contender displayed marked increases in both showmanship and singing style – which might have led to his downfall. Part of Malakar’s major appeal came from a growing contingent of believers who thought that his bad singing was just what Idol needed. For him to improve was to lose those very necessary stick-it-to-Idol votes. When Simon finally drew the line earlier this week, America responded, and it’s so long, Sanjaya.

Will he ever have the courage to wear a bandanna again?  In any case, Sanjaya has a career in front of him. There are still lots and lots and lots of females out there just dying to see much more of him…but that’s not to say Sanjaya should continue singing. I wonder…does Pantene need a spokesman?