Jay Leno blames India for Sanjaya's success

Talk show host Jay Leno suggested in jest that Indian origin Sanjaya Malakar, an "American Idol" contestant, had survived yet another expulsion from the show because his father is from India, "where they have all the call centres".

Audience members could not stop laughing on Friday's "The Tonight Show" during Leno's humorous monologue. Though he meant it as a joke, the idea has been floating around for quite some time.

Meanwhile, the number of people watching "American Idol" has been slipping. This year, the show has had less viewers compared to last season, and the numbers have been dipping lower and lower with every episode.

According to the Nielsen ratings, the viewership was down almost 10 percent compared to last season, which translates into a loss of three million viewers.

"Even if we lost 50 percent of our audience, we'd still be in the top three shows in the country," said Nigel Lythgoe, producer of "American Idol".