‘American Idol’: Sanjaya sayonara, part 2

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And so it ends.

The Sanjaya saga, destined to go down in Idol history as one of the show’s great subplots, has run its course.

Sanjaya will forever stand aside such storied also-rans as Kellie Pickler, Constantine Maroulis and Carmen Rasmusen. But just as in every election cycle, starry-eyed dreamers are forced to re-learn that being engagingly unhinged is not what gets one to the White House, so are the discontents at the fringes of the Idol galaxy forced to learn, over and over, that American chooses its Idols based on solid performing skills (mostly) and bonafide, non-ironic star quality.

The very best singer may not come in first, but anti-establishment appeal can only get a singer like Scott “The Body” Savols and Kevin “Chicken Little” Covais as high as number five, but no higher. So once again, the anarchists’ quixotic dreams of mayhem are dashed and the wisdom of the people prevails.

It was a tense scene in the Idoldome for Wednesday’s elimination night. As with the Tuesday night crowd, the audience was at times so rabid in their enthusiasm they seemed at points on the brink of rioting. As Angel of Death Ryan Seacrest divided the contestants up into perplexing clusters on stage, loud, vigorous murmurs of dissent sprung from the crowd straining to understand what was happening.

Before the high/low split was announced, Melinda was asked to repeat last’s year’s gambit – put to Taylor Hicks – what seems the winners’ droit de seigneur of choosing which group to side with. Melinda in her fashion, restaged Hicks’ refusal to choose between her comrades, defying the Angel of Death’s command to similar rapturous applause from the crowd.

A perplexing transformation occurred when the split was announced.

After learning he was in the bottom three – Sanjaya seemed – from my vantage point – to burst into deep sobbing. All through the break, the other contestants hugged, embraced, rubbed and consoled Sanjaya, even Blake and LaKisha, who were in the same boat themselves took stabs at calming him.

What is perplexing is that Sanjaya has been in the bottom three before and took it in stride. Did he know, or somehow feel that his nine lives had run out? After weeks of refusing to take the show seriously, in these final moments was he suddenly overcome with regret?

And after the coup de grace was delivered, as the audience erupted in a huge cheer (more for LaKisha’s salvation then Sanjaya’s ouster) Sanjaya let out a deep mournful sob, clinging to LaKisha all through the Sanjaya “Going Home” montage.

Finally, before the lights came up, Debbie the stage manager crept up and extracted Kiki from his grip, leaving the show’s anti-hero to make that final walk from which no contestant returns, alone.

After the credits rolled, the other contestants, whatever they may have felt about Sanjaya in the past, stayed on stage to wrap him in a giant group hug. As the now Final Six walked off — Melinda consoling LaKisha who looked fairly shaken up by her brush with death — Sanjaya stayed on stage hugging each and every member of the band, the judges, the crew, everyone he could get his hands on; the loyal opposition to the last.

Sanjaya rides off into the sunlight of what no doubt will be a dazzling media tour.

For American Idol, the question becomes what shall be the story line of the final weeks.
If a Blake, a LaKisha or even a Melinda had been thrown off, we would all be in mourning now.

But tragedy is a ritual we understand. Even enormous tragedy like a front runner’s career cut off before it has begun — the Idol public has known that heartbreak and survived it. But we are defined by that which we are against. As hard as it would be to lose our heroes, losing our enemies may be an even greater challenge. There is little fat to cut now — few clear cut questions of good versus evil left to play themselves out.

Après Sanjaya, le deluge.

(Photo courtesy FOX)