Asian Entertainment News & Celebrity Gossip

… but seriously DaDump is still waiting for his invitations. Now I’m going to have to TiVo the damn thing.

In any event, there were plenty of real winners at the Los Angeles AZN Asian Excellence Awards bash Wednesday which honored Asian and Asian-Americans’ contributions to the world of arts and entertainment.

Lost’s Daniel Dae Kim, a winner last year, and Battlestar Galactica’s Grace Park served double duty as the evening’s hosts and nominees. Kim went up against his Lost costar Naveen Andrews, though both island dwellers were passed over for the Outstanding TV Actor prize in favor of Heroes‘ Masi Oka.

Park, too, had to take solace in simply being nominated, losing out in her Outstanding Supporting TV Actress bid to The Office’s resident airhead, Mindy Kaling.

Malakar was also among the nominees present at the awards bash, though as expected he lost out in his category, the Viewer’s Choice Award for Favorite Reality Star. Taking home the prize instead was Survivor: Cook Islands champ Yul Kwon.

For a full list of all the night’s winners and more pics, continue reading…!!

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We’ve created a monster! From Seattle to Los Angeles to the White House and now, New York, Sanjaya is everywhere!

American Idol’s latest cast-off Sanjaya Malakar reads off The Late Show with David Letterman’s Top Ten list on Monday at the Ed Sullivan Theater.

The “Top Ten Things I’ve Learn from American Idol” list from 10 to one…

…are after the jump!
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And you thought getting eliminated from American Idol meant The End? You live in an ideal world, my friend. In this day and age, it is merely the beginning…

American Idol contestant Sanjaya Malakar, 17, not only the the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday night but also rubbed shoulders at an after-party with supermodel Petra Nemcova at the Bloomberg News Gala of the Year.

Here’s a run down of his weekend activities…

• Sanjaya goes to Washinton:
  Sanjaya attended the White House Correspondents’ Dinner as the guest of People magazine. He will be joined by stars Jane Fonda, Teri Hatcher, John Cusack and Sheryl Crow, and political heavyweights Robert Kennedy Jr., Henry Kissinger and Condoleeza Rice.

• Pony-Hawked wonder dismisses the “Haters”:
  Malakar tells Ellen DeGeneres while making the round of talk shows and various media appearances since his ousting that he doesn’t believe that Howard Stern’s fans and other “haters” voted enough “to make a dent in the system.” Sanjaya believes that his fans, not Stern, kept him alive on “Idol.” He’s also been inundated with a number of offers but whatever he decides, Sanjaya knows what’s up: “The money will come,” he says.

• Take a number and get in line, bucko:
  Sanjaya Malakar was the star attraction at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, and no politician was more smitten than New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, who wedged his way through the tight security to get an autograph for his daughters.

Anything goes when it comes to Sanjaya these days. The poor kid gets nothing but scorn and ridicule but somehow gets enough votes to survive. Not just survive, he doesn’t even make the bottom three! The kid is obviously doing something right. So joke all you want, Maxim. The more you/ we/ anyone blasts him, the better he does. In any event, here’s Maxim Online’s take on the Sanjaya situation:

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow: You’ve no one but the Devil’s lawyer to blame for this androgynous American Idol stowaway, who, despite being detested by the judges, somehow remains in the hunt for the show’s coveted prize as this year’s top 40 footnote. We stopped watching after the auditions (the only digestible part of the show), but it’s our understanding that we have Sanjina to thank for the “ponyhawk,” a hair-novation destined to tickle your underarm as you noogie hordes of copycat hipsters. [Maxim]

The Rain’s Coming Tour keeps trekking along. The 23-year old Korean superstar arrived in Sydney this week. While there, Rain revealed his ambitions to conquer the English speaking pop scene. And why not. As evidenced by the throngs of frenzied fans and sold out concerts thus far, it’s clear Rain clearly dominates the Asia pop scene.

Only problem is that Rain doesn’t really speak English; at least not well. Yeah, that could be an issue…

…but no worries, mate. Just be sure to flash your million dollar grin, shake your money maker, and much will be forgiven. My Gawd, look at the success thus far of Sanjaya on American Idol…. at least you have talent!

So much for the Call Center Theory. Sanjaya Malakar’s unlikely wave of “American Idol” support apparently isn’t coming from his father’s homeland.

Apart from a few brief newspaper articles, one brief TV news segment and a few blog mentions, the reedy 17-year-old from Federal Way is a virtual unknown in India.

One reason is that the show is broadcast a day late in India, and on an English-language channel that attracts relatively few viewers. Malakar survived elimination last week to make it to the final eight, who will square off Tuesday night.

As for the theory that call-center operators in India are phoning in votes for Malakar, most workers have calls automatically dialed by computer. They couldn’t even call next door if they wanted to.

American Idol’s Sanjaya Malakar sang his own rendition of Emilio Tuero’s “Besame Mucho” (”Kiss Me A Lot”) sporting some peach fuzz which some have deemed a FUZZTACHE! DaDump would make fun of Sanjaya except that it would take me about three months just to grow that much facial hair. Here are some comments from the AI judges:

Randy said, “You’re one of the smartest contestants I’ve ever met. That was actually really good! It was!”

Paula said, “Yeah! Pretty good pitch. Smooth. Nice. It was very, very nice.”

Simon said, “I couldn’t understand a word of it. You sang like a 14-year-old and I’m going to hate myself for this. It wasn’t horrible!”

Click here to see his latest rendition on JustJared.

No fans who cry uncontrollably, no scathing remarks from judges, no Sanjaya type hair… basically, NO FUN!

That’s what China is enforcing when its version of American Idol hits the airwaves next month. “No weirdness, no vulgarity, no low taste,” the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television said Friday in a notice to the producers of “Happy Boys Voice.

The talent show, to be broadcast beginning May 1, is a sequel to the hugely popular TV contest “Super Girls Voice” in 2005, which drew more than 400 million viewers (The US population is 300 million)! Needless to say Li Yuchun, the woman who won that contest became a popular singer in China.

Read on after the jump for a list of rules and restrictions that has taken all the fun out of China’s version of AI and made it into… well, an actual talent contest…

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Sanjaya Malakar

Jolin Tsai

Head on after the jump to see some more
crazy coiffures from your favorite stars!

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“Welcome to the Universe of Sanjaya”. No truer words were spoken last night than those by American Idol sensation, Sanjaya Malakar after his rendition of Tony Bennett’s classic “Cheek to Cheek” (CLICK HERE to see the performance). Sporting a slick back hairdo and a black/ white suit attire combination after last week’s wild “Pony-hawk”, the judges had the following to say:

• Randy said, “I can’t even comment on the vocals anymore. What I like about you now is that you’ve turned into a great entertainer. You’ve got the different hairdos every week. You’re dancing with Paula. He’s an entertainer! He’s ready!”
• Paula said, “He is an entertainer! I get why people love you. You’re charming. Vocals were a little off at the beginning but I understand what Tony says. You’ve got this charm about you. And I love the suit. But thank you for the dance.”
• Simon said, “Let’s try a different tactic this week. INCREDIBLE!” [JJ]

Like he said, it’s Sanjaya’s Universe and we’re just living in it…

My singing is weak but my smile mesmerizes America - muahhahaha