Sanjaya: ‘I’m Not Just a Musician’

NEW YORK – Sanjaya Malakar is so famous, he can’t walk anywhere without getting noticed. "It’s really weird. I mean, I’m just Sanjaya from Seattle," the 17-year-old "American Idol" cast-off said Monday on "Live With Regis and Kelly."

"It’s paparazzi (who) get at you," he said, "and fans come up and try to give you hugs and get autographs. I would love to just be able to hug everyone and give autographs and take pictures, but you can’t."

Malakar was voted off the Fox talent competition last week after a long and unlikely run in which he outlasted better singers and captivated millions of TV viewers with his goofy charm and ever-changing hairdos.

He wants to be a triple threat: singer, actor and model.

"Like, I really – what I want to do is experience the whole entertainment business because, I mean, I’m not just a musician, I’m an entertainer," Malakar said.

Fresh off "American Idol," the lanky teen/media It Boy is in demand. Another stop on his post-show publicity tour was David Letterman’s "Late Show" on CBS, where Malakar was to read the "Top Ten" list Monday night.

On Saturday, he attended a White House correspondents’ dinner in Washington as a guest of People magazine.

"It was really weird because the governor of New York came up to me and said, `I’m a fan, I vote,’" Malakar said.

"That’s fantastic," said Kelly Ripa, co-host of the syndicated daytime talk show.

"It was really weird," Malakar said.

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Fox network is owned by News Corp. CBS is owned by CBS Corp. The Walt Disney Co.’s Buena Vista Television distributes "Live With Regis and Kelly."

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On the Net:

"American Idol":

http://www.americanidol.com/

CBS:

http://www.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/

"Live With Regis and Kelly":

http://tvplex.go.com/buenavista/regisandkelly