Sonika Vaid saves herself by letting herself go on 'American Idol'

Sonika Vaid from Massachusetts needs to wow the audiences to continue on 'American Idol.'

SONIKA VAID must like living on the edge.

For the second week in a row she found herself in the bottom two as American Idol contestants were whittled down to the final five.

Vaid's performance of "Let It Go' showing off her strong vocals edged out Tristan McIntosh, of Tennessee, for the final spot in the top five.

The 20-year old Indian/Ameican Vaid from Massachusetts joins MacKenzie Bourg, Trent Harmon, Dalton Rapattoni, and La’Porsha Renae to move on next week.

After the judges last week urged her to loosen up, to "let herself go," by breaking out of the ballad genre where she excels.

Harry Connick Jr., who is her strongest supporter among the three judges, thought it was a perfect song choice for Vaid because it showed off her big voice. Judge Keith Urban said that her performances are really starting to “come alive” and Jennifer Lopez called her as “fierce.” 

Her biggest problem though is not winning the judges' favor, it is connecting with the viewers who vote for their favorites every week.

Will Vaid be the Asian/American to break the curse of these reality shows? A few have come close, such as Jessica Sanchez who finished first runner-up three years ago on American Idol. No Asian/American performer has been able to win it all.

American Idol airs on Fox, Thursday at 8 p.m. Next week will be a special two-hour episode. Tune in and vote for Vaid to put her in the Top Four.

Watch Sonika give the performance that saved her for another week.

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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