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Hundreds of fans from Indian and American communities gathered at the American legion in Newton Massachusetts March 26 to welcome back Sonika Vaid, a top five American Idol contestant.
Her grandparents, Kidar and Chandar Kanta Vaid, hosted an elegant grand surprise welcome reception for Vaid, who was flabbergasted when hall full of fans offered her a standing ovation with loud clapping.
Vaid, a 20-year-old pre-medical student from Massachusetts, was one of the top 5 contestants on the final season of Fox’s American Idol, 2016. From her first audition, judges Harry Connick Jr., Jennifer Lopez, and Keith Urban, were blown away by her voice. “This is a pure God-given voice”, said Connick at Vaid’s first audition.
Vaid remembers the first time she sang a song at age three “You Are My Sunshine” at her sister’s first birthday but performing for American Idol was the biggest thing for her. “The first time I remember singing was when I was 3 at my sister’s first birthday. I was an on-and-off ‘Idol’ fan growing up. I thought, this is the last season and this is the last opportunity for me” said Vaid.
Known as the ‘Nightingale of America’ to the audience, the name given to her on the show, she was welcomed with warm hearts and love by family members, relatives and friends, and Vaid shared with her fans the experiences and great things she learned being on American Idol.
Coming from a family of self-taught musicians Sonika is blessed with a music and singing-oriented family and she proudly credits her entire musical abilities to her family. Her grandfather is a self-taught singer and a harmonium player who taught Sonika’s mother Ananya how to sing and play, who in turn passed the art down to Sonika. Chandar Vaid, her grandmother, has supervised her studies, singing training and rehearsals. Vaid gives credit to her grandparents and mother who stood behind her success and had her best interest at their hearts.
As a Weston, Massachusetts, Meadowbrook, School-alumni; growing up in Martha’s Vineyard, Vaid never craved the limelight. “ Even though I had many singing opportunities growing up, I remained content with playing piano in assemblies. It was only later that I jumped into singing and playing the piano at the same time, and got more comfortable on stage,” said Vaid.
After winning judges and viewers over with her first audition on “American Idol,” Vaid has attracted many fans from across the world and India from where she is getting lots of love.
Sonika, who is influenced by her eyesurgeon father Kuldip Vaid, says that even though singing is a big part of her life, she wants to be a physician. She says that helping and healing other people is just something she really wants to do and it is just something she can’t give up.
The post American Idol Contestant Sonika Vaid Returns Home appeared first on News India Times.
