After last week’s American Idol performances, and the results of our latest fan poll, we were pretty certain Sonika Vaid was going to end up in the bottom two this week. With the announcement that the American Idol judges would once again be able to pick who would survive the bottom two, we really didn’t have high hopes Sonika would make the Top 5. But she was determined to try to prove us wrong.
Sonika Vaid is an extremely talented young woman, but she just doesn’t seem to be the ‘flavor of the month’ with the American Idol judges or mentor Scott Borchetta. Plus, for some reason, the show’s fans aren’t all that into her either, even though we actually think she’s a better overall singer and performer than rival Tristan McIntosh. Maybe because Tristant started off the season with that whole heartwarming audition story, and she is so very girl-next-door cute. Of course, there’s also the fact that even though Sonika has a powerhouse voice, she still seems kind of uncomfortable and awkward on stage every time she performs.
“Let It Go” from Frozen (Demi Lovato version)
While we would have preferred the Idina Menzel version of this song, the Demi rendition worked relatively well for Sonika. Certainly, we think she sounded better than Tristan McIntosh of the two girls in the bottom two this week. The American Idol judges seemed to agree, or at least, their critique of Sonika didn’t sound quite so harsh as the one for Tristan. Harry Connick Jr. thought it was a strong song choice for Sonika, but that she still needs work on big songs. Keith Urban said her performances are really starting to come alive. Jennifer Lopez called Sonika fierce and said she really sounded like she was fighting not to go home.
“Clarity” by Zedd
Keith Urban liked the song choice and told Sonika to keep things real on stage. Jennifer Lopez didn’t like the song for her so much, but liked that Sonika really tried to work it. Harry Connick Jr. liked the performance okay, but thought Sonika talking with Ryan was really what showed who she is as a person.
What did you think about Sonika Vaid this week on American Idol 2016? Find out if she made it to the next round in our American Idol results wrap-up! Don’t forget to cast your American Idol vote for who will make it to the Top 4 next week!