Jason Castro

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Jason Castro
Jason Castro at the American Idol, Top 12, Season 7, after party on March 6, 2008.
Jason Castro at the American Idol, Top 12, Season 7, after party on March 6, 2008.
Background information
Birth name Jason René Castro
Born March 25, 1987 (1987-03-25) (age 21)
Dallas, Texas
Origin Rockwall, Texas, U.S.
Genre(s) acoustic [1] Folk pop
Occupation(s) Musician, singer-songwriter,
Instrument(s) Vocals, guitar, drums, ukulele, banjo
Years active 2008—present
Associated acts Keeping Lions
Charlemagne

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

Contents

[edit] Early years

Born in Dallas, Texas, and raised in Rowlett, Texas,[2] he currently resides in Rockwall, Texas. He is a Christian and a member of Lake Point Church. [3] He attended Vernon Schrade Middle School as a child.[4] His parents, René & 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 & Jacqueline. Their father, René Castro, is an architect and singer-songwriter.[5][6] Castro plays guitar and grew up playing drums. He did not begin singing until he was in college. Castro attended Rowlett High School and later graduated in 2005. 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. [7] He was the love interest of Cheyenne Kimball on her MTV reality show, Cheyenne[8] and was also featured in her music video "Hanging On". He had no formal training before auditioning for American Idol.

[edit] Musical background

Castro performed as a drummer with the rock band Charlemagne,[9] which later became Keeping Lions. [10][11] They once played shows with the likes of local bands, such as Oh, Sleeper. He has stated that his musical influences include Ray LaMontagne, Juanes, Carlos Vives and Kirk Baxley. [12]

[edit] American Idol

[edit] 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.[13] 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. [14] Before he was eliminated, Castro was in the bottom three only once. He was voted off the competition on May 7, 2008.[15] 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. [16]

[edit] iTunes

Castro's rendition of the song "Hallelujah," which he performed on American Idol, inspired 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. [17] [18] 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. [19] 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.[20]

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.[21]

Castro has also bumped the sales of Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s Over the Rainbow to #8 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. [22]

[edit] 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. [23] Castro stated he’s glad the Zeeland nonprofit got some well-deserved donations [24]

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

[edit] 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" Israel Kamakawiwo'ole 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


  • Note 1: Castro was the first person declared to be safe on this elimination night.


[edit] Fans

Many of Castro's fans have been dubbed "Dreadheads" and/or "Castronauts". Castro's talent, musicality, looks and charm have attracted a wide demographic of fans. During American Idol Castro was the contestant that received the most number of letters and packages from fans. On May 5, Castro's fans heard he was sick and they send him 150 balloons and fruit baskets. [25] [26] [27]

[edit] 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, The Best Day Ever, Larry King Live and Good Morning with Mike & Juliet.

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

On Thursday, May 29, 2008, Castro's hometown of Rockwall welcomed him back with a homecoming where he was given the keys to the city.[28]

Castro will join the other contestants for 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.[29]


[edit] Charted Songs

Year Title Chart positions
U.S. U.S. Pop U.S. Digital[30]
2008 "Hallelujah" 113[31] 94[32] 81
2008 "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" 102

[edit] References

  1. ^ Jason Castro official my space
  2. ^ Dinges, Gary. "Five Texans make 'Idol's' top 24", Austin360, The Austin American-Statesman, 2008-02-13. 
  3. ^ "Jason Castro comes from a musical family". 
  4. ^ "Jason Castro", American Idol Official Web Site, FOX. 
  5. ^ "Jason Castro: Aggies Are We Interview" (video), Aggies Are We, Daily Motion, 2008-02-18. 
  6. ^ MySpace.com - Rene’s Music - ROCKWALL, Texas - Acoustique / Christian - www.myspace.com/renecastromusic
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ "Cheyenne" (2006)
  9. ^ Atlas, Darla. "'American Idol' hopeful from Rockwall has more hair-time than airtime". 
  10. ^ MySpace.com - Keeping Lions {R.I.P.} - DALLAS, US - Rock / Rock / Rock - www.myspace.com/keepinglions
  11. ^ Philpot, Robert. "The Latest 'Idol' Boasts North Texas Ties", Star-Telegram, 2008-02-19. 
  12. ^ Jason Castro- Top 24 Contestants - American Idol
  13. ^ Simon Cowell with Oprah saying Jason Castro is a front-runner to win American Idol
  14. ^ "CNN Larry King Live "Idol gives back"". 
  15. ^ "Texan hated to leave show". 
  16. ^ "Ellen website". 
  17. ^ Rolling Stone: Rock & Roll Daily
  18. ^ Jeff Buckley's mother praises Jason Castro
  19. ^ Billboard Hot Digital Songs
  20. ^ Billboard RIAA Single Certifications
  21. ^ "Latina Magazine interviews Jason Castro". 
  22. ^ "Jason Castro leads iTunes". 
  23. ^ "Sudden rise in donations thanks to Jason Castro". 
  24. ^ "GLOWing mix-up benefits local ministry". 
  25. ^ Jason Castro Billboard interview
  26. ^ Jason Castro Facts</Jason Castro TV Guide</
  27. ^ "After Jason Castro, Le Deluge". 
  28. ^ The City of Rockwall welcomes Jason Castro home!
  29. ^ An album from Castro the most requested in Amazon
  30. ^ "Yahoo Chart Watch". 
  31. ^ "Jason Castro Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Chart". 
  32. ^ "Jason Castro Billboard Pop 100 Chart". 

[edit] External links

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