Say It Ain’t So: Former American Idol Contestant Sanjaya Sings in the NYC Subway for Cash
One of the worst things that can happen to a celebrity is to publicly fall from grace, and that’s exactly what has happened to former American idol contestant Sanjaya Malakar.
InTouch magazine is reporting that the season six star has been singing in a New York City subway and collecting donations.
A photograph, above, shows the 23-year-old singer at First Avenue L station standing behind a guitar case with a friend playing the guitar. Witnesses say the alum sang Otis Redding’s (Sitting On) The Dock Of The Bay. One witness adds of the performance “The guy’s still a decent singer.”
While on American idol, however, Malakar was known more for his crazy hair than his vocal abilities. In fact, Malakar had his fair share of harsh critiques on the show with Simon Cowell even threatening to quit if Malakar won.
Unfortunately for Malakar, Cowell ended up getting his wish with Malakar finishing in seventh place in the season that ultimately named Jordin Sparks its winner.
Since then, he ended up moving to New York. And although he was reported to be producing his own album, he has since been singing on subway platforms.
Inside Edition spoke to him about what he’s been up to: ”Since Idol,” he said, “I’ve stayed the same. I’m still learning every day about the industry. I was 17 years old when I was on the show, so it was really my introduction to the industry and to what I wanted to do … I will always want to do this. The idea of busking in New York has always been a fun idea for me.”
Hopefully the “busking” works out for Sanjaya!