Sonika Vaid’s American Idol journey came to an end one week after performing the Frozen song “Let it Go,” but that doesn’t mean her Disney dreams are dashed. After being saved by the judges twice, Indian American singer Sonika Vaid saw her “American Idol” journey ending on March 24 from the Fox singing competition show after she failed to rack up enough audience votes.
The 20-year-old student, who made history as the first contestant of South Asian descent to advance to the ‘Top 5’ of the reality singing completion, had been an early favorite of the judges since opening auditions, who had constantly made admiring comments about her powerful voice.
“I always wanted to work with people like Disney. I have grown up watching Disney movies [and the] Disney channel,” Vaid, 20, told reporters on a conference call on Friday (March 25). “I just love the music that they put out — their whole vibe.”
“Disney is always a dream. That would be really awesome,” the singer said. “I just really like pop and maybe a little bit of R&B, but now that I sang rock on the show, that’s always an option, but pop is something I am really going to just stick to.”
Vaid looked like a gorgeous Disney princess right out of a movie, singing songs like Evanescence’s “Bring Me to Life” in a flowing black dress. The singer said she loved to get all dolled up, “even for the dark songs.”
“I was singing Evanescence in this beautiful gown that made me feel like I was going to the Oscars. The wardrobe team was just insane,” she said. “The dress I was going to wear for [the Sia song] “Love Me Back to Life” was breathtaking. I’m a little sad that I didn’t get to wear it because it’s really beautiful.”
While working with the mouse is at the top of Vaid’s wish list, she also wants to stick with pop if she continues to pursue music. The episode marked the Martha’s Vineyard resident’s third time in the bottom, and now that there were no saves left on the farewell season of the show, Vaid, whose rendition of pop hit “Clarity” by DJ Zedd featuring English singer Fox on March 17 couldn’t pull in the fan votes, was sent home.
“Being in this competition has been the biggest journey of my life,” Vaid, who sobbed on being axed, said in her final words before thanking the judges and her mother.
“I think I got more comfortable being onstage. I just feel so blessed to be here right now. This has been such an amazing experience. I came out of my comfort zone and it’s been like a dream for me.”
Only two Indian Americans in the past have made it to the finals of the much famed singing competition. Sanjaya Malakar advanced to the seventh place on the sixth season while Anoop Desai achieved a sixth place finish on the eighth season of the show.
