In the mix this week …

THE ANTI-SANJAYA: Ramiele Malubay, the 20-year-old Pinay from Florida, has sailed through the next round of “American Idol.” (She’s one of the ten female finalists). “You out-sang every single person,” gushed Simon Cowell. Years ago, Jasmine Trias came close to the top spot, but Ramiele may just take it all. Is she the one to redeem all of Asian America after the Sanjaya Affair?

SPEAKING OF ASIANS WITH RHYTHM: Remember those Filipino dancing prisoners who became a YouTube sensation with their “Thriller” routine? Well, they’re back with a show-stopping routine to Soulja Boy and MC Hammer. Like the first viral hit, the latest video was shot by Byron Garcia, a security consultant who started the program of choreographed exercise routines for the inmates at Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center. Somehow we don’t see this working out at Attica.

STEP UP TO THE BIG TIME: Check out the Cinderella story of Jon M. Chu’s journey to box office glory. Okay, fine, so “Step Up 2 the Streets” (the “Step Up” sequel) is not Bergman or Kurosawa, but let’s show Chu a little love. He’s getting his “second first chance” according to the New York Times. His “first, first chance” was going to be a remake of “Bye Bye Birdie.” We’ll take a second-rate defying-the-odds dance movie over that, thanks.

WHILE MY TINY GUITAR GENTLY WEEPS: It’s called a ukulele, people. And his name is Jake Shimabukuro. Angry Asian Man posted a clip of this Hawaiian native putting to shame most musical acts who whore out their sound on late night television. Conan O’Brien even said Jake was one of his favorite acts ever to appear on the show (third only to John Tesh and that insatiable masturbating bear). •

When not braving the sharky waters of the entertainment industry, Laura Turner Garrison spends her time writing, performing comedy, and picking apart Hollywood, one celeb at a time.