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|colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Inspirational Music
|colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Inspirational Music
|colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|"[[Over the Rainbow]]"
|colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|"[[Over the Rainbow]]"
|colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|[[Israel Kamakawiwo'ole]]
|colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|[[Judy Garland]]
|colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|3
|colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|3
|colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe
|colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe

Revision as of 18:41, 17 July 2008

For the basketball player, see Jason Castro (basketball player).
Jason Castro

Jason René Castro (born March 25, 1987) is an American singer-songwriter and the fourth place finalist on the seventh season of the television series American Idol.

Early years

Born in Dallas, Texas, and raised in Rowlett, Texas,[1] he currently resides in Rockwall, Texas. He is a Christian and a member of Lake Pointe Church. [2] He attended Vernon Schrade Middle School as a child.[3] His parents, René and Betsy Castro, are Colombian, and he is the first person in his family to be born in the United States, followed by younger siblings Michael and Jacqueline (Jackie). Their father, René Castro, is an architect and singer-songwriter.[4][5] Castro plays guitar and grew up playing drums. He taught himself to play the guitar and later sing.[6] He did not begin singing and playing the guitar until he was in college.[7] Castro attended Rowlett High School and later graduated in 2005 as an honor student.[8] He received a 1340 (out of 1600) on his SAT.[9] He was also a member of the high school soccer team and played left midfield. Castro was a junior majoring in Construction Science at Texas A&M University on a full academic scholarship.[10] He was the love interest of Cheyenne Kimball on her MTV reality show, Cheyenne[11] and was also featured in her music video "Hanging On". He had no formal training before auditioning for American Idol and had previously sang only 5 times in public, mostly during church services[12].

Musical background

Castro performed as a piano player with the punk rock band Charlemagne,[13] which later became Keeping Lions. He has also played the drums for a number of years, videos of him performing live with his former band can be found on youtube.com [14][15] He has stated that his musical influences include Ray LaMontagne, Ben Harper, Bob Marley, Carlos Vives and Kirk Baxley. [16]

American Idol

Overview

Castro auditioned for American Idol in Dallas, Texas, singing the Keith Urban song "Once In A Lifetime". He was not shown on the television series until the final 24 due to legal restrictions on the songs he chose to perform. Judge Simon Cowell chose Castro early as one of his four favorites in the competition, along with David Archuleta, Brooke White and David Cook, when he appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, which aired on March 17, 2008.[17] On April 12, Ryan Seacrest and the three judges appeared in Larry King Live when Larry King revealed the results of his website poll which asked "Whom do you want to win American Idol?" Jason Castro was in the lead. [18]

Castro is the first contestant in the history of American Idol to ever play an instrument in the American Idol stage. He played the guitar during the Top 24 performance night when he sang "(What A Day For A) Daydream". He is also the only contestant so far to have played the Ukulele on the show. He played the instrument while singing Over The Rainbow, after learning to play it in less than a week.[19] Castro also sang in three languages on American Idol, supplementing English songs with Spanish (a combination of Sting's "Fragile" and "Fragilidad" on March 25, 2008) and French (Paul McCartney's "Michelle" on March 12, 2008).

Before he was eliminated, Castro was in the bottom three only once. He was voted off the competition on May 7, 2008.[20] On May 8, a day after Castro's elimination, a poll conducted in The Ellen Degeneres Show's website revealed that 75% of the public didn't agree with the results. [21]

iTunes

Castro's rendition of the song "Hallelujah," which he performed on American Idol, led viewers to download the Jeff Buckley cover of the Leonard Cohen song from the iTunes Store, propelling it to the #1 spot on the iTunes singles chart. [22] [23] Buckley's version of the song sold 178,000 digital downloads in the week following Castro's performance, to debut at #1 on Billboard's Hot Digital Songs chart. [24] According to the March 22, 2008 issue of Billboard this was the highest boost in digital sales a song had ever received after being performed by a contestant on American Idol. It was the first time Buckley's version of the song charted on a Billboard chart, as well as the first U.S. number one song on any chart for Buckley, who died May 29, 1997 at age 30. Jason Castro’s rendition of the song propelled Jeff Buckley’s version to be certified Gold and Platinum as a single on April 22, 2008.[25]

Castro's version of the song "Hallelujah" briefly appeared in the #1 spot on the iTunes chart before it was removed due to American Idol not wanting any contestant to be favored.[26]

Castro has also bumped the sales of Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s Over the Rainbow to #6 on the iTunes Top 20, just as he did with Jeff Buckley’s "Hallelujah". Castro is the only Idol who has bumped another artist’s single to the iTunes Top 10. [27]

Charity

A mix-up led a sudden rise in donations for a West Michigan-based charity. The blog Castrocopia.com suggested that fans donate money to Castro's favorite charity. The Castro fansite, Daydreamingboy.com, claimed Castro's charity was GLOW Ministries, a Christian group based in Zeeland, Michigan that helps the poor in Haiti. Their website is usually quiet, but before long they had hits from 15 different countries with many online donations. "Before this we weren't really hearing from people online," said Snyder. "And didn't get a whole lot of contributions online." The problem was, Castro didn't even know about GLOW. Jason was referring to the GLOW 5K run in Texas, a charity where money that goes to various service agencies for children. Snyder said the mistake has brought a lot of money and attention to her cause. [28] Castro stated he was glad the Zeeland nonprofit got some well-deserved donations [29]

Castro's father had been instrumental in in starting a soccer ministry at Lake Pointe Church to reach out to the community. Jason played soccer in high school and has been to Russia three times with Higher Goal Soccer Ministry. [30]

He has also done charity work during his university career. In 2007, he was inducted into the Aggie Mens' Club, a Christian charity and service organization.

Performances and results (during voting weeks)

Week # Theme Song choice Original artist Order # Result
Top 24 (12 Men) 1960s "Daydream" The Lovin' Spoonful 11 Safe
Top 20 (10 Men) 1970s "I Just Want to Be Your Everything" Andy Gibb 2 Safe
Top 16 (8 Men) 1980s "Hallelujah" Leonard Cohen 7 Safe
Top 12 Lennon/McCartney "If I Fell" The Beatles 4 Safe
Top 11 The Beatles "Michelle" The Beatles 8 Safe
Top 10 Year They Were Born "Fragile" Sting 2 Bottom 31
Top 9 Dolly Parton "Travelin' Thru" Dolly Parton 4 Safe
Top 8 Inspirational Music "Over the Rainbow" Judy Garland 3 Safe
Top 7 Mariah Carey "I Don't Wanna Cry" Mariah Carey 7 Safe
Top 6 Andrew Lloyd Webber "Memory" Cats 2 Safe
Top 5 Neil Diamond "Forever in Blue Jeans"
"September Morn" 		Neil Diamond 1
6 		Safe
Top 4 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame "I Shot the Sheriff"
"Mr. Tambourine Man" 		Bob Marley
Bob Dylan 		3
7 		Eliminated


  • Template:Fnb Castro was the first person declared to be safe on this elimination night.

Post Idol

After his elimination Castro made appearances on Live with Regis and Kelly, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Sauce, The Ellen Degeneres Show, Access Hollywood, Today, Best Day Ever, Larry King Live, The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet as well as dozens of local FOX television affiliates and numerous radio stations across the country. Castro has been the subject of articles in newspapers and magazines including "People", "US", "OK", "USA Today", "Rolling Stone", "Entertainment Weekly" and "Billboard".

Castro returned to the Idol stage for the season finale, and was the only top 12 finalist that performed a solo. He sang "Hallelujah".

Upon returning to his hometown of Rockwall, TX, Thursday, May 29, 2008 was declared "Jason Castro Day". Castro was honored with a parade and a ceremony/concert. He was presented with a key to the city by the mayor of Rockwall and a US flag that flew over the nation's capital by Texas congressman Ralph Hall. Castro also performed 4 songs for the crowd, including an original song that he had written. The parade and concert was estimated to have attracted close to 15,000 fans and was the largest event in the city's history. [31] [32]

Castro is currently with the other contestants on the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2008 from July 1, 2008 to September 13, 2008.

On Amazon.com customers can sign up to be notified when a singer of their choice releases an album. An album from Castro is currently the most requested.[33] Castro is currently writing and recording songs for his upcoming, untitled album.[34]


Charted Songs

Year Title Chart positions
U.S. U.S. Pop U.S. Digital[35]
2008 "Hallelujah" 113[36] 94[37] 81
2008 "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" 102

References

  1. ^ Dinges, Gary (2008-02-13). "Five Texans make 'Idol's' top 24". Austin360. The Austin American-Statesman.
  2. ^ "Jason Castro comes from a musical family". {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  3. ^ "Jason Castro". American Idol Official Web Site. FOX.
  4. ^ "Jason Castro: Aggies Are We Interview" (video). Aggies Are We. Daily Motion. 2008-02-18.
  5. ^ MySpace.com - Rene’s Music - ROCKWALL, Texas - Acoustique / Christian - www.myspace.com/renecastromusic
  6. ^ http://www.christianbeacon.com/beacononline/June_08_Beacon_Online.pdf
  7. ^ http://www.christianbeacon.com/beacononline/June_08_Beacon_Online.pdf
  8. ^ http://www.christianbeacon.com/beacononline/June_08_Beacon_Online.pdf
  9. ^ "'Idol' star Jason Castro is no mental lightweight".
  10. ^ Soft-spoken 'Idol' contestant Jason Castro comes from a musical family | GuideLive.com | Arts/Entertainment News and Events | Dallas-Fort Worth | The Dallas Morning News | Television
  11. ^ "Cheyenne" (2006)
  12. ^ http://www.christianbeacon.com/beacononline/June_08_Beacon_Online.pdf
  13. ^ Atlas, Darla. "'American Idol' hopeful from Rockwall has more hair-time than airtime". {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  14. ^ MySpace.com - Keeping Lions {R.I.P.} - DALLAS, US - Rock / Rock / Rock - www.myspace.com/keepinglions
  15. ^ Philpot, Robert (2008-02-19). "The Latest 'Idol' Boasts North Texas Ties". Star-Telegram.
  16. ^ [http://www.americanidol.com/contestants/season7/jason_castro/ Jason Castro- Top 10 Contestants - American Idol]
  17. ^ Simon Cowell with Oprah saying Jason Castro is a front-runner to win American Idol
  18. ^ "CNN Larry King Live "Idol gives back"". {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  19. ^ American Idol Season 7 Top 8 Results Night
  20. ^ "Texan hated to leave show".
  21. ^ "Ellen website".
  22. ^ Rolling Stone: Rock & Roll Daily
  23. ^ Jeff Buckley's mother praises Jason Castro
  24. ^ Billboard Hot Digital Songs
  25. ^ Billboard RIAA Single Certifications
  26. ^ "Latina Magazine interviews Jason Castro".
  27. ^ "Jason Castro leads iTunes".
  28. ^ "Sudden rise in donations thanks to Jason Castro".
  29. ^ "GLOWing mix-up benefits local ministry".
  30. ^ "Faith and family produced this American Idol finalist" (PDF).
  31. ^ The City of Rockwall welcomes Jason Castro home!
  32. ^ Rockwall Herald
  33. ^ An album from Castro the most requested in Amazon
  34. ^ http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2008/07/idol-tracker-li.html
  35. ^ "Yahoo Chart Watch".
  36. ^ "Jason Castro Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Chart".
  37. ^ "Jason Castro Billboard Pop 100 Chart".
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