American Idol's Sanjaya Malakar Just Won't Go Away

Sanjaya Malakar incites weeping and gnashing of teeth, in purists who appreciate artists who have the vocal ability and emotional maturity to do justice to pop standards.

But Sanjaya is still around because he sings the songs that makes the young girls cry -- and vote repeatedly for him on their pink cell phones.

This week the Sanjaya and the rest of the American Idol finalists were mentored by Tony Bennett; but Sanjaya still performed like he has only a passing acquaintance with concepts like pitch and melody.

The judges have given up assessing Sanjaya as a singer; instead they make references to his hair, clothing and charm.

Sanjaya knows how to reduce a 13-year-old Ashley Ferl to tears, but he also has the knack to charm a middle-aged Paula Abdul. During his performance of "Cheek to Cheek" he danced for a few moments with the giddy judge.

And it's the little girls and the grandmas, not to mention Howard Stern, who are responsible for the Sanjaya phenomenon.

My ears tell me that Melinda Doolittle is the best singer; my eyes are pulling for the sexy Haley Scarnato -- but my head is rooting for Sanjaya Malakar to win it all. The longer Sanjaya stays in the running, the more fodder he will provide for my pop culture essays.