Sanjaya is Back! In A Nationwide Insurance Commercial

Following in the footsteps of Fabio, MC Hammer and Kevin Federline might be considered a dubious career path, then again, who thought KFed would come out of the Britney Spears nightmare on top (or at least looking a lot better than Britney)? Next in line for the feature role in a Nationwide Insurance 'Life Comes At You Fast" commercial, filming today in India, is none other than Mr. Pony Hawk himself, Sanjaya Malakar.

Yup, Nationwide wants Sanjaya to help the company reel in some South Asians who, according to Nationwide, have the highest annual income among the U.S. Population.

In a Q&A, Sanjaya reads prepared answers...uh...answers questions about his work with Nationwide and what his future plans are.

Q. What made you want to star in the new ad for Nationwide
Sanjaya:
I've always liked Nationwide's ads because I think they are really funny and they have a good message - be prepared for your life to change in the future. The point of the ad is that you have to have a plan for your retirement, which I think is important. Nationwide came up with a concept that I liked a lot. They're trying to reach Americans of South Asian descent with this ad, but I think everyone will think it's funny.

Q. The theme of the new Nationwide ad is "Life Comes at You Fast." How have you experienced that in your life?
Sanjaya:
American Idol was like a dream come true. When I started, nobody knew who I was. I was just one of the thousands of people with a dream who took a shot. As the season progressed more and more people began to recognize me. It was great to get so much support from fans. The show opened a lot of doors for me. Now I'm looking forward to the next stage of my career. It's really exciting. I don't know exactly what will happen, but there are some great possibilities.

Q. What's next for Sanjaya?
Sanjaya:
I've got big plans. I just moved to New York and I'm so excited to be living there. I'm looking forward to pursuing some opportunities in acting and modeling. I'm also beginning work on a new album that will be released later this year. I can't wait for fans to hear it.

I'm looking forward to showing the world a whole new Sanjaya. American Idol was great, but I think there's a lot more to me than what you saw on the show. The Nationwide commercial is the first of many exciting projects I have planned.

Q. Will we see the crazy hair again?
Sanjaya:
Actually - you will see it in the Nationwide ad. It certainly got people's attention on American Idol so hopefully it helps generate more buzz about the new ad.

Q. Why did Nationwide choose you for the ad?
Sanjaya:
Through my experience on American Idol, nobody knows better than me that Life Comes at You Fast. Nationwide wants to reach Americans of South Asian descent, and obviously that's me. I have a lot of fans in the Indian community and I think they thought I would be a good fit.