"You know what? I think that he could win the show," says Ricky Minor, the show's musical director, to the New York Post. "He's got this huge smile, he's a handsome guy and is really likable. People are pulling for him." And Sanjaya may even be swaying Simon himself: On last night's episode, Cowell gave this assessment of Malakar's vocally slender but camera-devouring version of "Besame Mucho": "That wasn't horrible."

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