Carly Rose Sonenclar

Sonenclar was born in Westchester, New York, and resides in Los Angeles, California. She began singing at the age of two, reenacting several of the performers on the early years of American Idol. She took numerous singing, dancing, piano and acting classes, and one of her teachers put her in touch with a New York City talent agency, which signed her. She has an older brother, Russell, who graduated from the University of Delaware in 2015. Sonenclar graduated from Rye Neck High School in 2017. In the spring of 2021, she graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Science in music. Sonenclar is Jewish.

Sonenclar began her professional career in 2006 in a stage adaptation of The Night of the Hunter, at the New York Musical Theatre Festival, in which she played the lead role of Pearl. In that same year, she made her Broadway debut in Les Miserables as Young Cosette. In 2009, she appeared in the national tour of Little House on the Prairie, the Musical, starring Melissa Gilbert, originating the principal role of Carrie. Sonenclar made her television debut as Gilda Flip on PBS, the newest Prankster in season three of The Electric Company, produced by Sesame Workshop. In 2011, Sonenclar originated the role of Chloe (Alice's daughter) in the short-lived musical Wonderland on Broadway and the earlier Tampa workshop. In this role, she garnered good reviews, including one by The New York Times theater critic Charles Isherwood, who described Sonenclar as a good actress and an "almost preternaturally skilled singer" and she drew comparisons with Sutton Foster. She is a featured soloist on the cast CD produced by Sony Masterworks and was named the 2011 Best Young Performer by broadwayworld.com. Sonenclar originated the lead role of Parsley in The Big Bank, a musical debuted at the New York Musical Theater Festival in October 2011. Sonenclar has appeared in two feature movies, The Nanny Diaries playing as the "child of nanny" and a small role in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. She has made numerous TV guest appearances.

In 2012, Sonenclar auditioned for the second season of The X Factor USA with the song "Feeling Good" by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse (famously covered by Nina Simone among others). Sonenclar received a standing ovation from all four judges (L.A. Reid commented "You may be 13, but your soul is old!"; Simon Cowell awarded her "4,833 yeses"), and she advanced to the next round. After her successful initial audition, she advanced through the first day of the "Bootcamp," stage of The X Factor where she sang "Pumped Up Kicks" with Beatrice Miller. Of the 120 contestants who auditioned at bootcamp that day, she was among the sixty acts asked to continue on. At the end of bootcamp, she was chosen to be one of the six contestants in the "Teens" category who were invited to perform at the "Judges' Houses" stage of the competition. She performed the song "Brokenhearted" for the "Teens" category mentor, Britney Spears, and Spears' guest judge will.i.am. Both Spears and will.i.am responded positively to her performance; will.i.am remarked appreciatively that she was "possessed." Sonenclar next advanced into the live shows, where she performed "Good Feeling" in the first week, then in the second week, where she performed "It Will Rain". When Sonenclar reached the third week, she performed "My Heart Will Go On", where she finished second in the public vote, behind only Tate Stevens, a distinction she achieved again after advancing to the fourth week. On November 21, she performed the song "Over the Rainbow", which she received a standing ovation from all four judges, sending her into the fifth week. In addition, she also won the public vote overtaking Stevens. On November 28, she performed "Rolling in the Deep", sending her into the quarter-final, and was revealed to have again won the public vote. She advanced to the final, in which she performed "Feeling Good" (again), "How Do I Live" (with LeAnn Rimes), and "Hallelujah". On December 20, 2012, she finished the competition in second place behind Tate Stevens.