IDOL SOUR NOTE

. American Idol misfit Sanjaya Malakar defied his detractors last night to escape the chop on the top-rated TV talent show. Despite stumbling through a performance of Bathwater by the band No Doubt the previous evening, there was no question that the funky-haired crooner would advance to the next round, thanks to an unprecedented campaign by critics of the show to influence its voting system.

Malakar, 17, of Federal Way, Wash., is widely regarded as one of the worst singers among the current group of finalists. But he is enjoying huge back handed support from fans who are determined to support contestants that Idol pro ducers probably would like to see booted.

Shock jock Howard Stern and a Web site called votefortheworst .com have been among those who have cam paigned solidly for the inept Malakar and have urged people to sup port him in tel ephone and text votes to the show. It s the first time in the record- breaking show s six- year history that a contes tant so thoroughly disliked by so many has become more popular than any of the favored frontrunners.

Malakar, 17, advanced last night at the expense of ousted contestant Chris Sligh, a dead-ringer for Ozzy Osbourne s son, Jack. Malakar appeared on Idol Tuesday night with his hair sculpted into a Mohawk fashioned from seven vertical ponytails. He s been vilified by fans of the show because he doesn t sing as well as the other finalists and sports increasingly strange hairdos with each passing week.

Hard-core Idol fans argue he is ruining the chances that someone more talented might win. Others, like Stern, believe Idol and the bubble-gum pop stars the show manufactures are ruining the music industry, and have vowed to ruin the show. Stern has been urging his listeners to sway the vote each week so that Malakar will eventually win, thereby throwing the entire Idol process into chaos.

That has caused outrage among genuine Idol fans. It s a horrible disgrace that people trying to be funny take away the dreams of those who have, and are, paying their dues trying to make it in music, wrote a fan named llindac on the Idol Internet message board. I find him nauseating, and I wanted to take a pair of scissors to his silly little poofs, wrote a fan going by the moniker 101pan on the official American Idol site.