In my family, American Idol is a religious experience.  We all watch and vote on the contestants.  I do believe that the web site www.votefortheworst.com is affecting who is voted off.  We can not understand why Sanjaya is still on the show even with all of the votes from the anti American Idol site. 

So with this Sanjaya episode, I believe that American Idol has jumped the shark which means that it is on the downside of its creativeness and popularity.  The phrase Jumping the Shark comes from the TV show Happy Days where Fonzie jumped the shark in one episode.  People have commented that this was the clear signal that Happy Days was on its decline and this show as a true indication. 

With Sanjaya's popularity, it is clear that is not because of his talent as a singer but more as a result of his looks and hairstyle. 

Other signs include the last American Idol's (Taylor Hicks) cd selling well.  In fact, Katheryn McPhee and Chris Daughtry have out sold him. 

If the winner of the contest can not be a star then what is the contest about other than selling advertising spots to sponsors. 

My recommendation to prolong this show is to change the voting from one in which you vote for your favorite singer to one in which you vote for your least favorite one.  You should also limit the number of times that a single telephone number can vote. These changes will reduce the ability to game the system (ala votefortheworst.com).