MTV news superproducer Vanessa White Wolf leads a charmed life, and over the weekend she was blessed to have the most charming experience of all: an afternoon and evening with Sanjaya Malakar. Now, this wasn’t just any date. Last season’s “American Idol” cast-off was in town to play Rachel’s Bat Mitzvah (we don’t know who Rachel is, but thanks for letting us crash your birthday party) on Long Island. At a castle. (Hey MTV Development, can I get dibs on “My Sweet 13″?). And we were there to cover it.

Oh there were good times to be had all night, apparently, including Sanjaya being in the chair for the hora while everyone sang “Hava Nagila,” losing his place during Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely,” and lunch at Benihana (Vanessa, not Sanjaya). Oh, and Ashford & Simpson performed, too. YOU CAN’T MAKE THIS UP!

But first, Vanessa met Sanjaya at the Nu Best Salon, where he had gone to get his hair done - his first haircut since being on American Idol, btw (Um, kinda gross?). The hairstylist wanted to have his hair look like something he would’ve rocked on American Idol last year but instead, Sanjaya brought a picture of John Mayer as a reference to the “rocker” look he wanted (Frankly, we think it’s more of a Michael Hutchence coif).

Over the course of the afternoon, Vanessa said that six or so people remarked to him how beautiful his sister was. Now, we also think Vanessa is beautiful, but she wants to let you know that “SANJAYA AND I AREN’T RELATED OK?! I guess we’re both brown, but that’s the extent of it.”

Upon arriving at the castle, Vanessa and the crew were taken up to Sanjaya’s room. He told her he had taken a “waterfall bath” that morning. Vanessa does not know what that is and we don’t want to tell her. In our interview with him, Sanjaya weighed in on Danny Noriega and his own projects. And then it was time for the show. the kids screamed for Sanjaya, he serenaded Rachel with a version of “Happy Birthday,” and he left Vanessa with one more notch on the charmed-life belt.