WESTON—Indian American Sonika Vaid fought to remain in the top five of American Idol singing competition Thursday night, and won her spot in the top five. The 20-year-old native of Massachusetts is the first Indian-American to reach this far in this national singing completion.
Vaid edged out Tristan McIntosh for the final spot. Both earned the fewest votes and squared off for the final “judge’s save.” Vaid performed Demi Lovato’s version of the popular song “Let It Go.”
The final five include Vaid, MacKenzie Bourg, Trent Harmon, Dalton Rapattoni, and La’Porsha Renae to move on next week.
Media gave mixed reviews of Vaid’s performance Thursday night, and some said she may not be able to make to next cut.
“Though Vaid’s showing tonight was enough to get her through to the Top 5, it may just be one her last performances on the Idol stage. Vaid is good, but she’s not good enough to beat the remaining competition and make it into the Top 4,” reported Jessica Molinari of Bustle.com. “Vaid was also saved in last week’s Top 6, so she’s lucky she even had the chance to sing tonight. This just goes to show that America isn’t as big of a fan of the 20-year-old as the judges are. Since the results now lie solely in the voters hands, Vaid is on her last song in the competition. Unless she does something incredibly amazing this week and her competition completely blows it, her fate is practically sealed and she’ll be heading home next week.”
Vaid is an Indian-American whose parents came to the United States as kids. She is a summer resident of Martha’s Vineyard, and a 2013 graduate of Weston High School, Weston, MA. Currently, she is a sophomore at William Smith College in New York.
