Sanjaya Malakar, 17, is from Federal Way, WA. He auditioned in Seattle with his sister, who was eliminated at the Hollywood stage of the competition. Sanjaya says he started singing as a little boy and had formal singing training.
Sanjaya, who spent four years performing with the Hawaii Children Theater, claims he is a shy person and says "I'm scared that I'll never be able to walk into a supermarket without someone recognizing me." His music idol is Stevie Wonder.