Sonika Vaid from Massachusetts, who blew the “American Idol” judges away with her sterling vocals during the auditions, is turning out to be an early favorite in the show’s latest and final edition. Accroding to reports, the 20-year-old student from Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., has now made it through the ‘Hollywood Week’ group round, and is increasingly being touted as one of the top contenders for the title.
Vaid, who is amassing a huge fan following that includes “American Idol” alum Carrie Underwood, sailed into the next round Jan. 28, after performing a perfect group rendition of Ariana Grande’s “Problem” with two other contestants.
Underwood had earlier tweeted her support in response to a clip of Vaid’s audition that stated: “@AmericanIdol Wow. I might have found a season favorite already! What a beautiful voice…”
Sonika Vaid, 20, who came all the way from Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., to deliver her pretty, tasteful take on Carrie Underwood’s “Look At Me.” Lopez said she loved it “a lot” – and Connick perhaps even more. He called it “a perfect performance,” said Vaid had a “beautiful” voice that “touched him,” and predicted she could win the whole thing.
During her audition, Vaid impressed the judges with her cover of Underwood’s “Look At Me,” a performance that elicited a bold response from Judge Harry Connick, Jr., who remarked that she had a winning voice. “That was a perfect performance. This is one of the only times, this particular season, that I saw somebody that I can think can actually win this thing,” he said.
“I’d like to say I gave it a try,” Vaid said before her performance. “Looking around the room, there are a lot of girls, and they are beautiful and talented and I hope I stand out to the judges.”
In an interview with Fox 25 News, Vaid said that she had been singing since she was three years old, and grew up performing at a park near her home for special events.