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The Rye Neck Middle School eighth-grader is competing for a $5 million recording contract against three other acts – country singer Tate Stevens, Cali boy band Emblem3, and girl group Fifth Harmony.
In an interview with "X Factor," Sonenclar said although she's in shock about reaching the semifinals, she is setting out to win. A big part of that is picking the best song choice: one that will please the audience voting from home as well as the judges, she said.
"They know who I'm going to be as an artist," Sonenclar said of judges L.A. Reid, Demi Lovato, Simon Cowell and Britney Spears. "So now we can go back to the big songs because now we're just trying to win. I think we picked the songs that can do that."
She will perform two songs Wednesday night — one she described as "a bigger moment song" that is meaningful to her and another that might come as a surprise.
"But both songs are very me," Sonenclar said. "I didn't want to do one that was vastly different than the other and have people be like, 'So who are you?' They have to be similar but bring out a different element of who I am in one."
Describing herself as an artist, Sonenclar said she is "soul meets pop, kind of like Bruno Mars," who will perform on "X Factor" on Thursday when the finalists are announced.
When asked how she felt about dropping to No. 2 in viewer votes after two straight weeks on top, Sonenclar said it was a good place to be. "If I was at No. 1, where can you go from there?"
The "X Factor" semifinals begin at 8 p.m. Wednesday. After the show, viewers can vote for Sonenclar by calling her contestant phone number, texting or online at www.thexfactor.com or Facebook.
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