Photo courtesy of Fox

Credit: Ron Soltys

That voice! That hair! That personality! That hair!

The “American Idol” judges probably didn’t know what they were getting into when they chose Sanjaya Malakar to be one of their potential idols.

Now, despite the assertion that Malakar is one of the worst singers ever to grace the “Idol” stage (William Hung comparisons are not out of the question), America has seemingly fallen in love with the singer with the bad faux-hawk. The insipid star just cannot be voted off “Idol,” despite the fact that stronger singers are going home in his place every week.

Malakar has become a cult figure for the show, with many hypothesizing that this is America rebelling against the show they were once in love with.

Web sites such as votefortheworst.com are popping up all over the Internet, encouraging viewers to continue to keep Malakar on the show despite his underwhelming performances.

Cantankerous judge Simon Cowell has threatened to quit the show if Malakar wins, telling the contestant during one judging that it didn’t matter what he or the other judges say anymore. Even co-judges Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson, the nice ones, seem less than enthusiastic about Malakar’s continued bad performances.

Some critics say that if “American Idol” has become nothing more than a joke for bad singers, it should simply be cancelled at the end of this season. This is probably not feasible since it is still America’s biggest hit show and is making millions for Fox every season.

Still, rumors are spreading through the industry about the show taking a different approach to voting next season, with the judges able to cast votes for who should be eliminated so as not to allow another Malakar to remain in the running so long. Others say the judges are there to give advice, nothing more, and to take the say away from America would betray everything the show has stood for over past seasons.

But only time will tell if Malakar —ÿand others like him —ÿwill survive this, and future seasons of “American Idol.”

Contact ALL correspondent Robert Taylor at [email protected].