Arbos & Velez Make the “American Idol” Top 10

Lazaro Arbos and Devin Velez are the last Latinos standing on American Idol

During Thursday night’s episode of Fox’s hit reality competition, Ryan Seacrest revealed that the 21-year-old and 18-year-old singers had survived the first public vote to earn their place in the Top 10.

American Idol Top 10

Arbos, who instantly won America’s hearts at his first audition with his inspiring story, earned his spot with his rendition of “Feeling Good.

“I was a hot mess tonight with my song I was so happy I made top 10 thank you guys for making this happen for me gonna make y’all proud,” tweeted Arbos after being the last of the guys to make the Top 10. He performed “Bridge Over Troubled Water” after the announcement.

Velez was called a “Spanish Ken Doll” by judge Nicki Minaj after his acclaimed bilingual performance on Wednesday.

I can truly say that I cant believe that I’ve made it.. I just want to thank you guys for all of the love and support. ‪#blessed,” tweeted Velez, who performed “Impossible” as his victory song.

For making the Top 10, Arbos and Velez will be rewarded by taking part in the Idol concert tour this summer.

Meanwhile, it proved to be a disappointing night for three other Latino contestants: Tenna Torres, Breanna Steer and Elijah Liu. The trio failed to earn enough votes to advance to the next round.

Here’s a look at the Top 10:

Paul Jolley
Burnell Taylor
Curtis Finch, Jr.
Devin Velez
Lazaro Arbos

Janelle Arthur
Candice Glover
Angela Miller
Amber Holcomb
Kree Harrison

Arbos Among the Five Latinos in American Idol’s Top 20

The future looks oh-so-bright for the Latino competitors like Lazaro Arbos on American Idol this season…

Following two weeks of intense Sudden Death episodes in Las Vegas, Mariah Carey and her fellow Idol judges have picked their Top 20 girls and guys to advance to the next round on Fox’s hit singing competition.

Lazaro Arbos

This season five Latinos, including the 21-year-old Cuban American hopeful with a speech impediment who has consistently impressed judges since his first audition, have made it through.

Arbos, who performed Keith Urban’s “Tonight I Want to Cry,” was the last Latino to make it through. He was the only Hispanic singer in this Thursday’s Sudden Death round.

Nicki Minaj said Arbos played it safe “in a good way” and called his performance very truthful, while Randy Jackson said there’s a “sweet spot” in Arbos’ voice and it’s like no one else’s in the competition.

Earlier this week, Breanna Steer was the last Latina to make the cut following her performance of Jazmine Sullivan’s “Bust Your Windows.” The 18-year-old part-Honduran American singer impressed the judges with her powerful performance.

Minaj called her “sexy on a stick,” while Carey told her she though Steer was “extremely marketable and gorgeous and talented.”

Last week, Devin Velez and Elijah Liu survived their extremely competitive Sudden Death round to advance.

Velez, an 18-year-old Chicago native performed a bilingual version of Beyonce’s “Listen” that earned kudos from the judges.

Minaj called his decision to sing in English and Spanish a “smart choice,” making him more marketable.

Liu, an 18-year-old half-Mexican American singer from California, performed Bruno Mars’ “Talking To The Moon.”

The half-Mexican/half-Chinese American hopeful had Minaj declaring, “I would sign you today!”

The first Hispanic hopeful to advance in the competition last week was Tenna Torres. The 28-year-old Puerto Rican & African American singer performed Natasha Bedingfield‘s “Soulmate.”

Minaj praised Torres on her 1990’s R&B tone, while Urban called it “a beautiful song for you to do,” adding, “It’s also a deceptively big song that requires a lot of control, which you mostly had throughout that performance.”

The Top 20 will all perform next week, with the public vote set to decide their fate for the first time.

Here’s the complete list of the Top 20 Guys & Girls:

Adriana Latonio
Amber Holcomb
Angela Miller
Aubrey Cleland
Breanna Steer
Candice Glover
Janelle Arthur
Kree Harrison
Tenna Torres
Zoanette Johnson

Burnell Taylor
Charlie Askew
Cortez Shaw
Curtis Finch, Jr.
Devin Velez
Elijah Liu
Lazaro Arbos
Paul Jolley
Nick Boddington
Vincent Powell