‘American Idol’ voters advance Kent’s Stefano Langone to top 9 despite critics predictions he could be cut

“American Idol” viewers disagreed with a couple of the Fox show’s critics who predicted Kent’s Stefano Langone could be sent home Thursday night. The voters advanced Langone into next week’s top nine. Contestants Naima Adedapo and Thia Megia were eliminated with the fewest number of votes.

Langone, 22, a former Kentwood High School and Bellevue College student, also avoided being in the bottom three, where he sat last week. Paul McDonald rounded out the bottom three Thursday.

Contestants were required to sing Elton John songs on Wednesday night’s production. Langone sang “Tiny Dancer.”

Here’s what the writer for www.joesplaceblog.com, a regular critic of “American Idol,” wrote about Langone, ranking him No. 10 just ahead of Adedapo.

“Stefano Langone – ‘Tiny Dancer’ is a brilliant song, just not for Stefano Langone. The number doesn’t fit him, and it only allowed the poor kid to turn in a solid vocal and another ‘so what’ performance. It’s about time we revoked Langone’s ‘dark horse’ status and give it to someone a little more deserving, because as he fights and struggles to find a place in this competition he is only hurting himself by showing the viewers how uneven he can be as a professional performer. The more I see him tentatively sing the less I feel compelled to vote for him. Stefano; get out of your head, man. You’re dying a slow death up there from a thousand small cuts. Not safe.”

The blog predicted Langone and Adedapo would be cut by voters and agreed that both should be eliminated.

The critic for Christian Science Monitor gave Langone a “D” grade for his performance of “Tiny Dancer,” and wrote, “It didn’t just start rough, it was a rough all the way through.”

Just as Joe’s Place Blog, the critic predicted Langone and Adedapo would be sent home, with Scotty McCreery also in the bottom three.

Langone already has earned a spot on the “American Idol” summer tour.

Judges Randy Jackson, Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez said they liked Langone’s performance compared to last week when they criticized him.

Contestants next Wednesday are expected to sing songs based on a theme of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame week. Viewers will vote off another contestant on the April 7 show.