What do Sanjaya Malakar and Dallas Austin have in common? From the deafening chatter and rumbling stomachs out there, you'd think that Sanjaya Malakar was the second coming of Osama bin Laden instead of a gawky "American Idol" contestant. Malakar, a beaming teenager with an apparent lack of discernible talent, continues to advance in the competition while other, more deserving aspirants are eliminated.
Whether the hordes who phone and text their votes for Malakar each week do so out of genuine misplaced admiration or as a joke, the kid's continued ascendance infuriates the "Idol" faithful to such a degree that some viewers have allegedly staged hunger strikes, vowing not to eat again until the toothy, charisma-challenged kid is bounced. To the extent that malicious voters might actually be robbing us of future pop stars by propping this kid up, his moment in the spotlight is admittedly a bummer. But as injustices go, it's hardly in the same league as, say, Darfur.
Clearly, we're sorely lacking in perspective. It'd be nice if today's kids paid as much attention to the escalating situation in Iran or our ballooning national debt as they do to a popularity contest, but that's not the world we live in. Still, if the MySpace masses are ready to give up their Ramen noodles in the name of outrage, there are plenty of candidates closer to home in the entertainment world.
Take Dallas Austin. A couple of weeks ago, the Atlanta-based music and film producer caused a brief stir thanks to a well-circulated video clip in which he slagged pop star Christina Aguilera and up-and-comer Joss Stone as "f**kin' for tracks"—that is, trading sexual favors for the production of their songs. Before long, he issued the requisite apology, but clearly, his heart wasn't in it: "My statement … was a reaction to an incident I care not to discuss in any forum and while I may have felt justified, I do owe an apology to Christina, Joss and their families," he said in a statement, further adding that "the comments I made were purely an act of retaliation, not of malice or cruel intent.
" Because, you know, we often retaliate out of kindness and love. Austin may feel he has a legitimate beef with Aguilera, whom he claims slept with both him and one of his best friends. And for all we know, his claims about hers and Stone's willingness to exchange sex for music may be true.
But Austin's disparaging remarks and dismissive tone made it crystal clear what he thought of such behavior—not that that kept him from allegedly partaking of Aguilera's charms. 
At best, this represents a double standard: Girls who offer their bodies in exchange for services are whores, but the men who enjoy those services don't suffer a similar stigma—yet if you sell your beats for sex, are you not also prostituting yourself? It's difficult to imagine any self-respecting would-be pop divas lining up to work with Austin based on the image projected in that clip. This PR snafu represents something of a hat trick for Austin, who took a drubbing for his work on the much-derided song "The ATL," intended by the nonprofit organization Brand Atlanta to serve as the city's theme song.
He also made national headlines last year when he was detained in Dubai for drug possession. He was later freed, thanks to the efforts of friends in high places, including Quincy Jones and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).
Neither of those incidents seems to have exhibited any negative long-term consequences for Austin's career. What's more, his ungentlemanly claims and subsequent half-hearted apology came and went in the blink of an eye. The man may have the golden touch when it comes to producing hit songs, but it's like he's made of Teflon as well.
He's indiscreet enough to be taped making damaging claims about a couple of female entertainers, issues a desultory "I'm sorry, but I was justified" statement, and skates away clean. But that "American Idol" kid—man, he's got to go! The truth is, we're far likelier to see the Sanjaya haters rewarded than to see Austin suffer any fallout from his comments.
Especially if you believe the doomsayers predicting the death of the traditional album format. A March 26 New York Times story offers a gloomy forecast for the recording industry—with digital sales outstripping those of CDs for the first time, some experts are envisioning a future in which less and less artists are signed to record full CDs' worth of material, contracted instead for a couple of songs and perhaps some cell phone ring tones. If, for the sake of argument, we buy into that scenario, it could benefit Sanjaya in the short run.
If he somehow manages to win the competition and its grand prize of a recording contract, the "Idol" powers that be could release a single or two to capitalize on his fervent fan base. But talent (or the lack thereof) eventually makes itself known, and the novelty would soon wear off. It's difficult to imagine a major record label willing to put too much of its resources behind a goofy-looking kid who may have won "American Idol" because viewers thought it'd be funny to vote for him.
So we needn't worry too much about Sanjaya Malakar. But in that same scary new world, with so much at stake for every single, it's reasonable to conclude that record labels would increasingly turn to proven hitmakers—like, yes, Dallas Austin—to spin every session into gold. In short, he'd be even more untouchable than he seems now.
But that's all speculation. For the moment, both Malakar and Austin are enjoying free rides—and Austin's, at least, shows no sign of coming to a stop anytime soon.
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