Indian/American in the top six of 'American Idol'

Sonika Vaid of Massachusettes has made it to the final six in 'American Idol.'

By Louis Chan
Reprinted from AsAm News

THE TIME for hype has ended and the day is near for fans to pick the next American Idol.

Indian/American Sonika Vaid, 20, who was labeled an early favorite from day one to win it all has advanced to the top six.

Her performance of Whitney Houston’s I Have Nothing impressed the judge’s, but didn’t appear to overwhelm them.

Harry Connick Jr. was the most generous in his praise.

“That song has been sung six times since American Idol started and they’ve all been pretty darn good performances,” he said. “And I think of that song as one of those high risk, high reward performances because it’s so well known and its obviously an iconic performance by Whitney. For me, I love it.”

Keith Urban spent most of his time encouraging Vaid to let it all hang out whether she continues on the program or not.

“It’s a phenomenal song and your voice is gorgeous. All I ask is however this works out if you’re here next week, just continue to release and let go and show ... that stuff, because with that voice, amazing,” Urban advised.

Jennifer Lopez, who’s often a hype machine and the most encouraging, seemed to hold back a bit in her evaluation of Vaid’s performance.

“That’s probably my favorite Whitney Houston song ever. It’s just a hard song to sing and I think you did a good job with it,” Lopez said. “It’s so hard, so hard to judge those types of songs, but I think you did a good job. We have a hard decision to make right now.”

American Idol airs tonight, Thursday at 8 p.m. EST on the Fox network.

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