Dancing to the Music in My Head: Memoirs of the People's Idol

by Sanjaya Malakar, Alan Goldsher

Sanjaya Malakar, the most popular contestant on Season Six of American Idol , gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at his meteoric rise to fame on one of the most-watched shows on television.

Despite finishing in seventh position, Sanjaya Malakar was the most talked about contestant on the sixth season of the television phenomenon American Idol . Best known for his flamboyant hairstyles and screaming young fans, Sanjaya quickly became a household name. His unique style, soft-spoken demeanor, and ingenious song selections made him a fixture on numerous entertainment programs and magazines and led to a huge and devoted fanbase that still remains today.

Here, in Dancing to the Music in My Head , he takes fans behind the scenes and reveals what it’s like to star on one of television’s most popular shows, and how the experience forever changed his life. In his own words, he shares how he soared from obscurity to worldwide fame, from waiting on line amongst thousands of hopefuls to touring with the Top Ten finalists all across the country and being named one of Time magazine’s Most Influential People of the Year in 2007. From attending a dinner at the White House to being the subject of parody on Saturday Night Live , Sanjaya has captured national attention in a way that far exceeds that of most ordinary suburban teenagers.

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Carrie Rolph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Am I seriously the first person on Goodreads to write a review for this? Now I feel a little ridiculous. But, before you mock me, can I just say I didn't intend to read it, but it was disturbingly addictive and two hours later, I was done with the whole thing.

It's like reading essays written by high schoolers or maybe college freshmen. The sheer amount of immaturity combined with thinking they're the coolest, most intelligent, fascinating person in the entire world makes for awesome reading.

I don't think this book says one single surprising thing about the show the entire time (apparently everyone is wonderful and loves each other except for Simon, who can be rude and mean, but that's okay because America wants him to be) but it's so earnestly immature about not saying anything I wanted to keep reading anyway.

Kudos to the co-writer, because either he didn't do *anything*, or he can write eighteen-nineteen year old POV so well that he should get some kind of award. It gets an extra star just because it entertained me that much.

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, people were so unnecessarily mean and cruel to Sanjaya. The way he talked about it made me sad to read. I'm glad he had a good support system (and nerves of steel), because I couldn't have handled it as well as he did if I was in his place. I admire his strength and keeping a positive attitude despite all the unwarranted vitriol he received.

I remember it very well, because I was a HUGE fan of Sanjaya when he was on American Idol, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Everyone was hating on him left and right and I couldn't understand why, because he wasn't even a horrible singer. Not the best, but definitely not atrocious. He was a sweet kid who wanted to turn his passion into a career, but actual grown ass adults were picking on a literal teenager. Because he was a little weird? Or maybe it was just good old-fashioned racism at play. I think people would be a lot kinder today because they were absolutely brutal back then. Times have definitely changed.

Anyway, the book was easy to read and it felt like Sanjaya was talking to you. I enjoyed reading about his experience on American Idol because I was so into the show, especially during that season. It made me nostalgic for my teenage years, tbh. I also liked when he would talk about music because you could really see his love for it. Whenever he would bring up behind the scenes tidbits, I would go on Youtube to watch whatever he pointed out.

This book was an enjoyable read and I hope Sanjaya is doing well!

[Louis Daily · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a pleasure to revisit Sanjaya's story more than a decade after witnessing it on American Idol. I was a fan of his at the time because of how unapologetically himself he was every week on the show and it's clear to me now that the reason people voted for him, even if they were "trolling" America because they thought he was "the worst", was because deep down viewers enjoyed watching someone who was genuine and a breath of fresh air in the face of a mainstream entertainment industry with often ridiculous standards for talent. Sanjaya always brought that freshness to the table, and what's more he brought it with a graceful heart and a humble attitude that would always shine through. Indeed, that heart shines through in this memoir, which is actually quite readable to the point where I couldn't put it down! I hope he is leading a happy life, nowadays - that he keeps on singing and performing. It's admirable that he remains grateful for his Idol experience after all the controversy; Sanjaya Malakar is a talented, good person who deserves so much better than that.

[Terri · Rating 1 out of 5]

Impulse library shelf check-out! It's hard to believe this book has a co-writer. It's so poorly written but I don't think it's just because Sanjaya is an inexperienced (and young) writer. I'm assuming this book is geared towards the tweens or teens that were infatuated with Sanjaya on American Idol, which means it is absolutely boring for an adult to read. Readers expecting any juicy gossip about Sanjaya's own life, fellow Idol contestants, the "Big Three" Idol judges, or anything else behind the scenes will be sorely disappointed (I was). I got the impression that Sanjaya was really holding back on this book for fear of being on the "outs" with his former contestants and the whole AI machine. It was almost painful to read how extremely hard Sanjaya was trying to come across as "cool" (there is an overuse of the words "chill" and "chillability", to give you an idea). The one odd tidbit learned about Sanjaya: his obsession with bottled (UNSALTED!) water. To sum up something that Simon might say: "Completely forgettable!"

[Wulfie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's really hard to criticize a memoir, because you're criticizing someone's life. That being said, once you get past the clearly inexperienced writing in this book, it's actually a very good read. A bit cringeworthy at times, but what do you expect from Sanjaya? The book reads like what he seems like on TV, thus further proving how real he is. That, or he's really good at faking it. I'd like to believe the former.