Sanjaya Will Be The Next American Idol...

...barring the producers engage in Katherine Harriseque voter fraud , for the simple fact that he has an annoying, undefinable quality which makes him likeable. George Costanza brought this phenomenon to light in the "Chicken Roaster" episode of Seinfeld:

George: You know the way I work, I'm like a commercial jingle. First it's a little irritating, then you hear it a few times, you hum it in the shower, by the third date it's "By Mennen!".

Sanjaya has the same factor. Take me, for example. I couldn't stand the guy. Week after week, he would somehow manage to survive.

I asked a guy at work, Joe, about it, and he didn't know who was voting for Sanjaya:

"Indian call centers?" he guessed.

I theorized and found out that tweenz were voting for Sanjaya. A kind of Michael Jackson/non-threatening/best of both worlds kinda crush, which is innocent with little girls, but dangerous for adult women. Ask Dina Matos.

Then I found out my grandmother was voting for Sanjaya.

Why, Granny, WHY!!!!

"I felt so sorry for Sanjaya. He was so pathetic and Simon was unnecessarily vicious. So I voted for Sanjaya. The next week, he was so bad, he was hilarious, so I voted for Sanjaya again."

Grannies and tweenz. Enough to keep Sanjaya on, but not for too long.

Then he made that little girl cry and things just weren't the same.

I looked forward to his car wreck performances: the (can you call it) singing, the outfits, the hair, the godawful dancing.

Joe at work wasn't buying.

"I hope they get rid of Sanjaya and keep Antonella. Alexei, she looks so good. And that Haley girl. Beautiful."

As time passed, I realized that I wasn't the only one who Sanjaya started to grow on.

A pretty macho friend summed up his Sanjaya experience: "I didn't watch the show, but I heard about this guy Sanjaya, so I decided to check it out. "

What about now?

"I not only watch the show every week, I VOTE for Sanjaya. He's gonna win it, Alexei. Trust me."

I was leery, so I took it upon myself to ask almost everyone I encountered what they thought about Sanjaya.

The results were astonishing:

Everyone knew who he was, even if they had never watched an episode of American Idol.

And when they did watch? They liked Sanjaya. They really liked Sanjaya. So much so they vote for Sanjaya. Several times an episode.

"He'll probably make the final two. That's it." I told myself. "LaKisha, Jordin, and Melinda will split votes. But Sanjaya? He has people who will ONLY vote for Sanjaya."

I felt good about that. He'd go far, but wouldn't win. This was a singing competition after all.

Then the impossible happened.

This morning I spoke to Joe about Haley Scarnato, American Idol's resident slut, getting kicked off the show:

"Sanjaya is still on the show...." he bellowed.

"Unfortunately, huh?" I asked.

"Nope. I actually am starting to like Sanjaya."

SAN-JAYA!

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Have you felt the Sanjaya effect? How far do you think Sanjaya will go in the competition? Let us know in the comments section.