Idol hopeful Noora H braves ‘heartbreaking’ social media storm to win judges’ top 8 save

Australian Idol star Noora H has revealed the impact of backlash against her being on the show as she defended her right to be there.

Australian Idol contestant Noora H is unsure if the judges saved her from elimination because she delivered the best performance on this week’s show or to protect her after she was savaged in a social media storm last week.

She received unanimous approval from the four judges for her emotional rendition of Christina Aguilera’s power ballad The Voice Within, with Meghan Trainor declaring it as her favourite performance of the rebooted series so far.

Before announcing Noora’s save from the public vote, judge Trainor said the panel had considered social media chatter about Idol and who might need “some help”.

“I don’t even really believe my performance was the best of the lot. I think it may have been the best performance I’ve put out so far, but I don’t think it was the best of the night,” Noora H said after being ushered straight through to the Top 8.

“It was powerful, and I feel like I did connect with people with that song. So I think (the judges) did see that and that was another reason why they chose to save me.”

Noora H brought her power lungs for The Voice Within to score the judges’ save. Picture: Supplied / Seven

Trainor, Amy Shark, Kyle Sandilands and Harry Connick Jr unanimously chose to protect 15-year-old Phoebe Stewart from elimination last week after her soaring rendition of Beneath Your Beautiful by Labrinth feat. Emeli Sande.

But last week Noora H was clearly rattled and wore her disappointment on her face when voting for her rendition of Lady Gaga’s Shallow put her into the danger zone of the bottom four last week. The judges shared her shock.

The first hijabi Muslim singer to compete in the television talent quest said it “kills you” to read the polarised online response of Idol fans because she couldn’t mask her feelings.

Noora couldn’t hide her shock at landing in the bottom four last week. Picture: Supplied.

She said for every positive comment about representing her culture for other aspiring performers who want to pursue their singing dreams, there had been “heartbreaking” criticism which amplified her insecurities about being in Idol.

“You go on social media, you feel like you put on an amazing performance and you see the worst comments about yourself. It kills you,” she said.

“To watch them say I don’t deserve my spot, I don’t deserve to be there and other people could have taken my place, and not for a valid reason, but I’m ‘horrible’ or a “terrible singer’ or for some silly reason, it’s heartbreaking … that they genuinely don’t like me.”

Judges Kyle, Meghan, Amy and Harry have used their save vote for the best performer of the night. Picture: Supplied / Seven.

The 28-year-old western Sydney travel agent said she was working on improving her performance anxiety and not allowing the social media storm further erode her mental health. She is proud of how she is representing her culture while chasing the Idol crown.

Noora said she was “humbled by and grateful” for the judge’s ongoing support of her talent and her cheersquad, including her family and more than 350,000 fans on TikTok.

“I 100 per cent believe I can have my faith and my respect and love of my culture and religion and do what I love at the same time,” she said.

“All the downfalls and mental breakdowns have been worth it and I just need to keep pushing on; there’s always improvements I need to make.”

Australian Idol verdict show from 7.30pm on Monday.

Originally published as Idol hopeful Noora H braves ‘heartbreaking’ social media storm to win judges’ top 8 save