New York, Feb. 16 (PTI): Seventeen-year old Sanjaya Malakar (in picture) became the first Indian-American to make it to the semi-finals of American Idol, a nationwide talent hunt in the US for the best singing voice.

The Washington boy is the youngest of the 12 male contestants. The finals of the Fox Television show are slated for May. The 24 — 12 men and 12 women — are the cream of the thousands who auditioned across the US.

Sanjaya, who says overcoming shyness was the toughest obstacle in his life, has been singing right from childhood — “once I stopped crying” as he puts it.