Sonika Vaid

[MarkHB]

20, from Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.  The highest-placing contestant from Massachusetts to date was Season 12's Angie Miller, who finished 3rd.

[TheGreenKnight]

I didn't know she was from Massachusetts. Oddly enough, Angela Miller was my favorite contestant the year she was on just like Sonika is this year. Maybe Sonika is destined for third place, too?

 

Her voice reminded me from the beginning of Ariana Grande, but I think she's better than her, tbh. Her personality seems a lot nicer than Grande, too.

[BogoGog24]

I'm a big fan of Ariana Grande and Sonika definitely reminds me of her. Their voices are nearly identical. I think Sonika still has to work on coming out of her shell onstage but last week she took steps in the right direction. She is probably my favorite out of the girls this year.

[AshleyLyn]

A part of Sonia reminds me too much of the pageant bot Jessica Sanchez. The fact that she actually showed some spark of passion with her last song has kept me from writing her off. All she needs to do is shed the Jessica thing as much as possible and keep on showing some spark and passion.

[PhD-Purgatory15]

Maybe, just maybe if you've never had a boyfriend IRL (!$#?)....you shouldn't try your hand at one of the more iconic relationship kiss-off songs of the 21st Century...

[AshleyLyn]

Yeah saw none of the Sonika from last week. She was bland and boring and pageant like with no spark. Fluke I guess.

[Souldeep69]

SONIKA'S BIG MISCALCULATION

Before I criticize Sonika's decisions that I believe led to her dropout at #5, I have to make one thing very clear: she was my absolute favorite. From "day one" (as the judges love to say), I was lifted, mesmerized, enthralled and deeply touched by this person so beautiful in voice and presence. I hadn't heard a voice that gorgeous, one that touched my soul so deeply, since Danielle White in 2003, an eleven year old on this show's spinoff, "American Juniors". Before Danielle I didn't even know that a singer could do that to a person with just their voice. That show was about forming a group of five kids, and Danielle made it into the group - the fifth and final member. Naturally.

If American Idol was about forming a five member group, Sonika would have been a winner. Instead she is a loser, either because she got bad mentoring, or because she stubbornly refused good mentoring.

You ask how someone can call a person who made the top 5 of American Idol a loser? Yeah, well, here's how...

This is a list of Sonika's songs on American Idol Season 15, with the years they came out:

Safe and sound 2011

Look at me 2009

Clarity 2012

Let it go 2013

Skyfall 2012

I Surrender 2002

Bring me to life 2003

Since U Been Gone 2004

Rise up 2015

One Last Time 2014

I have nothing 1992

A full seven of her songs came out in the last 5 years. Only one song is from the 20th century, and she was forced to choose something that "old" because the theme for that episode was "most-performed songs on Idol". I doubt much if anything from the 21st century qualified.

Here's what the contestants chose for their solo performances on that episode:

La’Porsha Renae — The Beatles' "Come Together" 1969

Trent Harmon — Ben E. King's "Stand By Me" 1961

MacKenzie Bourg — Joe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful" 1975

Avalon Young — Michael Jackson's 'P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" 1983

Dalton Rapattoni — The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" 1966

Lee Jean — The Beatles' "Let It Be" 1970

Sonika Vaid — Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing" 1992

Tristan McIntosh — Martina McBride's "A Broken Wing" 1997

The judges always try to hammer home how important song selection is. But there is more to song selection than a song that sounds good on you and that you can relate to. That extra ingredient is pleasing the audience: giving them a song they'll enjoy, and, like it or not, have some familiarity with. After all, they're the ones who vote. And with a voice and talent and stage presence like Sonika's, you can keep the audience coming to you for quite some time. But at some point - you have to go to them. At least a little bit.

Perhaps Sonika thinks that the whole audience of American Idol is between the ages of 12 and 28, and thus knows and loves all of the songs she loves from the tiny sliver of time that was her teen years. But the majority of Idol's demographic is older than that, and a lot of them don't know these songs at all, except maybe second hand from their kids.

So either Sonika thinks the whole world thrives on her little niche of time and style, or Sonika just doesn't think. In any case, she shows no respect for the legacy of great music before her time, and no desire to please anyone (except the judges) outside of the Me Generation. Maybe she stayed true to herself, but herself isn't expansive enough to win loyalty from the majority of the AI audience.

She's young. It's hard for me to believe that none of her mentors encouraged her strongly to do a classic oldie or two. If they didn't, it's tragic. If they did and she ignored them, it's her own damn fault.

Here's a list of more classic rock, pop and soul songs performed by Top 10 contestants this year:

Trent Harmon -

When a Man Loves a Woman 1966

Tiny Dancer 1972

Sharp Dressed Man 1983

MacKenzie Bourg -

I Wanna Dance with Somebody 1987

Can't Help Falling In Love 1961

I Want You to Want Me 1979

La’Porsha Renae -

Proud Mary 1969

Summertime 1935

Dalton Rapattoni -

The Sounds of Silence 1965

God Only Knows 1966

Rebel Yell 1983

You'll notice that the contestants who sang the highest count of '60s, '70s and '80s classics are also known by the name "The Top 4".

No one has ever won American Idol without performing a healthy selection of classic, well-known and loved songs. No one.

I love Sonika for the beautiful gift she shyly and courageously shares with the world. I appreciate the incredibly hard work she's done to make that happen. There's that issue of too much control, but she's broken through that before and certainly will again.

Her voice and spirit soothe and caress my soul, and I rise on a crest of joy when I hear her.

Oh, and she's pretty cute, too.

I just wish she'd grow up.

Edited March 28, 2016 by Souldeep69

[rereader2]

Interesting analysis, Souldeep69! I never really thought about it, but of course in earlier seasons, when the Idols were required to sing older songs for theme nights, all the online pundits complained bitterly that none of the songs were "current"--but that's also when audiences were largest and most engaged.

Edited March 28, 2016 by rereader2

[TheGreenKnight]

The only real criticism I'd make of Sonika would be picking Celine or Whitney. Not because I didn't like her cover of "IHN" (even if it was inferior to Whitney's), but because that's really just setting yourself up for hate from the audience. Besides that, I'm not really going to go to a great length to examine why she failed, because I think the the major reason is the fact that she's a young female. Same with Avalon. Her stage presence was definitely her weak point, but it's also a weak point for Trent and MacKenzie, imo.

[BogoGog24]

The analysis is interesting but I don't think the majority of the audience honestly thought about it that deeply nor did it contribute to why they did or didn't vote. I think it's because of a few reasons:

 

1. Being female and being what the Idol audience loves to call "a pageant bot." A lot of the audience was turned off by the Disney princess dresses.

2. Coincidentally on top 6 night when they showed everyone's sob story, Sonika was the only one who didn't have one. We had Dalton talking about his bipolar disorder, Trent with the death of his best friend, MacKenzie almost dying of heart failure, and La'Porsha's abusive relationship. Sonika's biggest struggle was being shy on American Idol. I heard later on that she had been severely bullied in school so I was curious as to why she didn't choose to talk about that as her struggle instead, but regardless, her story obviously paled in comparison to the others.

 

She came into the show being labeled as being from Martha's Vineyard and I think people have always had a vibe from her that she comes from a well off family. She's never appeared relatable in any way and I think that was part of the reason for her downfall. Let's not forget the bitch edit she got in Hollywood Week group round either, even though I think she was mostly a victim of editing there and otherwise has proven herself to not be that person they showed at all.

 

3. She never showed a lot of her personality. IMO she was always just far too shy for the most part. I relate a lot to the shyness thing and it's hard to open yourself up to America, especially knowing you'll get criticized, so I understand why it was difficult for her to do that. But on these shows you have to make a connection with the audience and show who you are as a person besides just as an artist. The fact she didn't is probably why she didn't make enough fans to survive in the voting.

[Souldeep69]

Thank you rereader2, TheGreenKnight and BogoGog24 for your replies.

BogoGog24, I don't think the audience thought about it at all. But to say Sonika's narrow choice of songs that came out between last February and last Monday had no effect on the voting is a bit extreme. (That is, if someone can be a "bit" extreme. You totally dismissed my entire 860 word analysis in one sentence. That's VERY extreme.) Just performing one classic oldie that many people love can alone raise a contestant's rating in the personal popularity stakes that you point out as being so important on Idol. Because it makes you feel that you have something in common with them, that they appreciate something that you appreciate. ** Ruben Studdard delivered AI viewers a steady stream of pop and soul classic ballads in his unique, sincere and deeply moving style. He won Season 2. No one was more shocked than his label, 19 Records, when he stated that he wanted his debut album to be entirely hip hop and contemporary R&B. Ruben played American Idol perhaps smarter than any contestant before or since. He didn't perform the songs HE loved. He performed the songs his AUDIENCE loved. **

I have been very aware of the other things you pointed out, and agree they were not helpful in promoting Sonika's cause. What you cleverly called the "bitch edit" even gave me - a fully committed admirer - pause when I saw it.

I knew that her comparatively minor shyness problem, after that series of heavy hardship packages, wasn't going to gain her sympathy votes. If she was bullied in school, I'm sure she considered it much too personal and embarrassing to talk about, much less exploit, on national television. I'm not saying the other contestants were necessarily exploiting their hard luck stories, but it's hard to be sure. I will say that Dalton's humorous comment during Hollywood week about the danger of America getting sick of him made me know that he's an okay guy.

I think I get the essence of the "pageant bot" term, but while Sonika may look the part, you and I both know that she's far too shy and humble to have even thought about entering an actual pageant, at least without her stomach turning. She has enough trouble doing what she does best in front of other people - singing - though you'd never know it from the way she took command of that stage just minutes after La'Porsha's 10 minute standing ovation. Dangerous indeed.

Sonika's a lot of things, though I've never detected a hint of snobbery. In media interviews she comes across as a totally normal, approachable and silly college girl. "Easy to talk to," as Ryan said and Harry observed.

She's confident about one thing. She doesn't brag about it, nor is she conceited, but she's totally aware of just exactly how beautiful her voice is. In fact, still somewhat amazed and distracted by it. Watching her stumble and advance while learning how to use it has been fascinating.

In any case, from her no-frills audition which had at least one of the judges (and me) tearing up within two bars, we already know that the pure Sonika has in abundance the gifts and humanity it takes to become a great singer.

Personality does count on Idol - but Sonika has never come across as off-putting in any way (besides that one edit). She was at least mostly cheerful. If people can't accept a soft-spoken, polite, shy girl as a potential superstar then to hell with them. This may be the wrong venue for her. She says she had the lowest social media following of any of the finalists - and that's true. It's actually shocking how low it was considering how far she got on the show. But she noted that the people who were engaged were really, really engaged.

All I can do is to admire the incredible courage it took for this shy girl to walk onto those increasingly big stages to go for her dream.

And if she likes Disney dresses, I have no idea what negative stereotype people in her age group assign to that, but to me it says she's still got some little girl in her and maybe a little belief in magic left, and if that's a bad thing, then f*** me.

The dress I'll always remember was the one she wore while performing "I Have Nothing". The one where the camera stayed above the cleavage on close shots and only showed the rest of the dress on medium-to-long full body shots. Might have been a bit too much - or too little - for a family show. But, contrary to the song title, she has plenty. She just had nothing... on.

I'm sure she's no angel. She just has the voice of one. Perhaps the female equivalent of Carl Wilson, who sang the original version of "God Only Knows".

A song she should have sung... on American Idol.

Edited March 29, 2016 by Souldeep69

[BogoGog24]

If I recall correctly I believe Sonika made it to the blind auditions of The Voice season 3 but didn't get a chair turn.

[Souldeep69]

BogoGog24,

I have edited my reply, not just for you, but for anyone who wants some additional fact-supported insight into how Idol works.

[MarkHB]

To be honest, I'm old enough to remember the moon landings, and I have no interest in hearing the contestants rehash older songs.  If I have a music station turned on in the car, it's likely to be Hits1, the CHR station on satellite.  If the goal of the show is to produce a successful pop (read: Top 40) artist, I'd rather hear them perform today's music and attempt to appeal to the primary consumers of said music, i.e. the 12-25 demo, than struggle through "Against All Odds" like so many before them.  I'm glad Sonika chose to perform newer songs.

 

The above opinion would have been subject to change had the show ever done an Early 80's Night with music from The Cars, Go-Gos and Bangles :) .

[PhD-Purgatory15]

I mean for Sonika to finish in 5th place isn't all bad...especially considering how skewed away from female contenders this show became over the last 10 seasons or so. She was the last female standing other than LP. Maybe, had she followed up BMTL with another awesome performance (instead of an ill-fated attempt at doing Kelly Clarkson on the week that she overshadowed everything else in the Idolverse for that week) she could've sustained that momentum. But from the moment she survived the weird singing in the Church round, I always thought the absolute best case scenario for Sonika was probably no better than 4th place...

 

I do realize she did have a "blink and you missed her" experience on the Voice a couple years ago so she didn't totally come out of the ether, but IMO she was refreshing and someone worth rooting for because she didn't feel like someone who had been jaded by the entire process of trying to break into the music business over an extended period of time, she also didn't appear to be somebody like a Christina Grimmie (or even a Dalton/MacKenzie) who came into the Voice with a pre-established social media presence that already included thousands of fans on youtube and other platforms, and I loved somebody who just wanted to sing pop music in the vein of a Kelly, or Katie Perry, or a Tori Kelly....and not be some tortured Indy caricature/singer songwriter with a wispy voice.

 

If she ever manages to get her nerves under control, I wouldn't count her out. She's got a really inviting recording voice. And she could just go by Sonika. That's a solid star name to have.

Edited March 30, 2016 by PhD-Purgatory15

[Souldeep69]

To be honest, I'm old enough to remember the moon landings, and I have no interest in hearing the contestants rehash older songs. If I have a music station turned on in the car, it's likely to be Hits1, the CHR station on satellite. If the goal of the show is to produce a successful pop (read: Top 40) artist, I'd rather hear them perform today's music and attempt to appeal to the primary consumers of said music, i.e. the 12-25 demo, than struggle through "Against All Odds" like so many before them. I'm glad Sonika chose to perform newer songs.

The above opinion would have been subject to change had the show ever done an Early 80's Night with music from The Cars, Go-Gos and Bangles :) .

Yeah, I love The Cars, too.

Whether you agree with me or not, history shows: if you do oldies without mangling them, you get more votes. Do a really good job with them, get lots more votes. Adam Lambert was as independent and cutting edge as an Idol contestant could be, but the performance that really boosted him and that everyone still remembers was his version of the '80s Tears for Fears masterpiece, "Mad World".

I never even liked Dalton before last Thursday. But it's as if during his last hug with Sonika, she imparted something to him. Sonika is a huge talent, a real singer, but while giving some powerfully emotional performances, she still has difficulty letting the song take over her rigid mental control, and even worse, she's afraid to let her true vulnerability show onstage. Her bare bones audition was the most vulnerable I've ever seen her. I think in some loving way she gave Dalton the go ahead to do what she couldn't.

So five minutes later I'm suddenly a Dalton fan. Not just because he sang a classic oldie (his Sounds of Silence did nothing for me) but because of the way he did it. If his vulnerability on "God Only Knows" and on the Sia song was faked, as some have suggested, then at very worst he has a hell of a career ahead of him as an actor.

Historically on this show, pubescent girls can keep a "cute" guy with mediocre talent on the show for only so long. In the end, true talent will win out. Thank God for that.

McKenzie has ridden his "adorability", his unwavering smile and his "indie" shtick far longer than I ever could've imagined. The guy has no voice, and his stylizations of known songs are about 50-50 as to whether he enhances a song or ruins it. However, the judges seem to think a lot of him.

Dalton has ridden the cute factor also, but he's shown himself to be a genuine and sincere artist more and more each week. He doesn't have a strong voice either, but he's learned how to make the very most of what he does have.

Go Dalton.

"A lot of times, you know somebody has a great voice, and then there's people that have voices that, that they personally just touch you? She has one of those voices." Harry Connick, Jr. to Jennifer Lopez, just after they informed Sonika Vaid that she'd made the Top 24. He said pretty much the same thing repeatedly from her first audition and throughout the season, never directly to Sonika but in confidence to the other judges. (i.e. after her Hollywood group performance, as her group left the room he pointed to a photo on the table and said, "There's something very special about that one." The camera immediately cut to Sonika, but those of us who had been following along already knew who he was talking about.

I cannot express how wonderful it has been this season to have my deepest personal feelings about Sonika shared and validated by a judge who is so intelligent, knowledgeable about music, eloquent, talented, perceptive, deeply feeling and sophisticated in taste as Harry Connick, Jr.

To all those who pointed at Sonika and called her a "bot", I don't get that at all. It bugs me, but I get my equilibrium back just knowing that there at least two people on this earth who strongly disagree with you.

Edited March 31, 2016 by Souldeep69

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Her musical immaturity, coupled with her sheltered existence, did her in.  There is no denying her natural talent.  I would argue to the death she had the most of anyone who made it past Hollyweird Week.  If she had anyone like a Melinda Doolittle in her camp, she may have had a shot.  Maybe.  

 

Given that the voters have had a clear, and typical, bias for the cute males, I doubt she would have made it to the Finale under any scenario.

 

I would have loooooved to see her perform a song from her native culture.  1)  She would have stuck the landing.  Big time.  2)  She would have generated real buzz.

[rereader2]

Sonika does have a lovely voice, and it's been well-trained, and these are important things. But didn't she tell Caleb in her duet package that her performance experience was limited to family weddings and the like? She really needed to get out and get practice performing in front of a live (non-family!) audience before showing up on national television! She didn't need to get an agent and try to get all sorts of professional gigs, but she could have done a few coffee house-type shows (for free, even) or set up on a street corner, as plenty of recent Idol contestants have done. The Idol live audience is big and noisy, and trying to get used to performing in front of a live audience and television cameras at the same time is an awfully tall order. A few past AI alums have managed it, but that was with longer seasons, and most have had some live audience experience before appearing on Idol; Sonika was clearly having trouble adapting to it.

Edited March 31, 2016 by rereader2

[Souldeep69]

Here's a video of Sonika performing in front of an audience at age 16. It's revalatory.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FUb-5uu2TXg

BTW, the original version of this song came out in 1978 :)

Edited March 31, 2016 by Souldeep69

[Souldeep69]

I mean for Sonika to finish in 5th place isn't all bad...especially considering how skewed away from female contenders this show became over the last 10 seasons or so. She was the last female standing other than LP. Maybe, had she followed up BMTL with another awesome performance (instead of an ill-fated attempt at doing Kelly Clarkson on the week that she overshadowed everything else in the Idolverse for that week) she could've sustained that momentum... IMO she was refreshing and someone worth rooting for because she didn't feel like someone who had been jaded by the entire process of trying to break into the music business over an extended period of time...

If she ever manages to get her nerves under control, I wouldn't count her out. She's got a really inviting recording voice. And she could just go by Sonika. That's a solid star name to have.

PhD-Purgatory-15,

I like and agree with your take on Sonika. Thanks for sharing! :)

[Souldeep69]

Her musical immaturity, coupled with her sheltered existence, did her in. There is no denying her natural talent. I would argue to the death she had the most of anyone who made it past Hollyweird Week...

I would have loooooved to see her perform a song from her native culture. 1) She would have stuck the landing. Big time. 2) She would have generated real buzz.

Totally agree, Lonesome Rhodes. Sonika's native culture places high values on family, education, humbleness, and respect for elders, and tends to encourage a certain amount of personal reserve. This sweet songbird has already broken through some difficult boundaries just by going for her dream, and I give her and her parents a lot of credit for that. And credit should go to this country for providing that freedom to blossom, as well as to American Idol itself.

Some of Sonika's native cultural factors are still in direct opposition to what it takes to become to become a pop star, especially in the highly artificial and strangely skewed environment of a reality television talent competition.

I believe a talent like Sonika's is very rare and very precious. I hope she can find a wise and humane manager and/or record label that will patiently nurture her and give her the space and time she needs to grow into the great singer she already has inside her.

Now, on to tonight. Thanks to Dalton for giving me something to still care about.

Edited March 31, 2016 by Souldeep69

[queenanne]

Totally agree, Lonesome Rhodes. Sonika's native culture places high values on family, education, humbleness, and respect for elders, and tends to encourage a certain amount of personal reserve. This sweet songbird has already broken through some difficult boundaries just by going for her dream, and I give her and her parents a lot of credit for that. And credit should go to this country for providing that freedom to blossom, as well as to American Idol itself.

Some of Sonika's native cultural factors are still in direct opposition to what it takes to become to become a pop star, especially in the highly artificial and strangely skewed environment of a reality television talent competition.

 

Well, ya would think so, except then she hilariously slipped the once and said her Mom worked/was "in Bollywood, only I think she doesn't want me to talk about it", which to me clearly means "had tried to be a Bollywood star, thus has hidden depths", because while I'm not from India nor a big Bollywood fan and there could be some surprise revelation, potential sitcom dynamic where we find everybody bends over backwards to be Bollywood extras; that to me meant an attempt at stardom in Mom's own right, and I would assume concomitant with vocal talents.

[PhD-Purgatory15]

 

A little slow on the draw here....but such is life.

 

If only she could've demonstrated on screen more of the personality she had on display over these 25 minutes....

Edited April 5, 2016 by PhD-Purgatory15