Jason Castro

Infobox musical artist
Name = Jason Castro

---

Img_capt = Jason Castro at the "American Idol", Top 12, Season 7, after party on March 6, 2008.
Img_size =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Jason René Castro
Alias =
Born = birth date and age|1987|03|25
Dallas, Texas, USA
Died =
Origin = Rockwall, Texas, USA
Instrument = vocals, guitar, drums, ukulele
Genre = Acoustic, folk pop, Christian
Occupation = Singer-songwriter
Influences =
Years_active = 2008-present
Label =
Associated acts = Keeping Lions
Charlemagne
URL = [http://www.jasoncastromusic.com jasoncastromusic.com]

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,cite news |title=Five Texans make 'Idol's' top 24 |work=Austin360 |publisher=The Austin American-Statesman |first=Gary |last=Dinges |date=2008-02-13 |url=http://www.austin30.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/americanidol/entries/2008/02/13/four_texans_make_idols_top_24.html ] he currently resides in Rockwall, Texas. He is a Christian and a member of Lake Pointe Church. [cite news|url=http://www.guidelive.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/stories/031708glcastro.63b60045.html|title=Jason Castro comes from a musical family] He attended Vernon Schrade Middle School as a child.cite news |url=http://www.americanidol.com/contestants/season7/jason_castro/ |title=Jason Castro |work=American Idol Official Web Site |publisher=FOX ] 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.cite news |title=Jason Castro: Aggies Are We Interview |format=video |work=Aggies Are We |publisher=Daily Motion |date=2008-02-18 |url=http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4evu5_jason-castro-aggies-are-we-intervie_shortfilms ] [ [http://www.myspace.com/renecastromusic MySpace.com - Rene’s Music - ROCKWALL, Texas - Acoustique / Christian - www.myspace.com/renecastromusic ] ] Castro plays guitar and grew up playing drums. He taught himself to play the guitar and later sing.http://www.christianbeacon.com/beacononline/June_08_Beacon_Online.pdf] He did not begin singing and playing the guitar until he was in college. Castro attended Rowlett High School and later graduated in 2005 as an honor student. He received a 1340 (out of 1600) on his SAT. [cite news|url=http://www.indy.com/posts/9930|title='Idol' star Jason Castro is no mental lightweight] 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. [ [http://www.guidelive.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/television/stories/031708glcastro.63b60045.html 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 ] ] He was the love interest of Cheyenne Kimball on her MTV reality show, "Cheyenne" [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0756431/ "Cheyenne" (2006) ] ] and was also featured in her music video "Hanging On". He had no formal training before auditioning for "American Idol" and had previously sung only 5 times in public, mostly during church services.

Musical background

Castro performed as a drummer with the punk rock band Charlemagne,cite news |title='American Idol' hopeful from Rockwall has more hair-time than airtime |first=Darla |last=Atlas |] 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.) [ [http://www.myspace.com/keepinglions MySpace.com - Keeping Lions {R.I.P.} - DALLAS, US - Rock / Rock / Rock - www.myspace.com/keepinglions ] ] cite news |title=The Latest 'Idol' Boasts North Texas Ties |first=Robert |last=Philpot |work=Star-Telegram |date=2008-02-19 |url=http://www.star-telegram.com/408/story/481161.html ] He has stated that his musical influences include Ray LaMontagne, Ben Harper, Bob Marley, Carlos Vives and Kirk Baxley. [ [http://www.americanidol.com/contestants/season7/jason_castro/ Jason Castro- Top 10 Contestants - American Idol ] ]

"American Idol"

Overview

Castro auditioned for "American Idol" in Dallas, Texas, singing the Ray LaMontagne version of the song "Crazy". 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 Cook, David Archuleta, Brooke White when he appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show", which aired on March 17, 2008. [ [http://www.brookeinsider.com/videos.html?id=61 Simon Cowell with Oprah saying Jason Castro is a front-runner to win American Idol] ] 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?" David Cook, however was in the lead. [cite news|url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0804/12/lkl.01.html|title=CNN Larry King Live "Idol gives back"]

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. [ American Idol Season 7 Top 8 Results Night] 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. [cite news|url=http://www.star-telegram.com/live/story/632834.html|title=Texan hated to leave show] 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. [cite news|url=http://ellen.warnerbros.com/2008/05/jason_castro_poll.php|title=Ellen website]

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. [ [http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/03/05/the-idol-countdown-five-essential-moments-from-last-nights-american-idol-13 Rolling Stone: Rock & Roll Daily] ] [ [http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=f43e8800-ca67-47ce-98e8-eee0463b14b0 Jeff Buckley's mother praises Jason Castro] ] 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. [ [http://billboard.com/bbcom/charts/chart_display.jsp?g=Singles&f=Hot+Digital+Songs Billboard Hot Digital Songs] ] 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. [ [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/riaa/singles.jsp Billboard RIAA Single Certifications] ]

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. [cite news|url=http://www.latina.com/entertainment/tv/qa-american-idols-jason-castro|title=Latina Magazine interviews Jason Castro]

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. [cite news|url=http://www.rickey.org/?p=7607|title=Jason Castro leads iTunes]

Charity

A mix-up led a sudden rise in donations for a West Michigan-based charity. The blog [http://www.castrocopia.com/ 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. [cite news|url=http://fox17.trb.com/news/052208-wxmi-websitemixup,0,6469672.story |title=Sudden rise in donations thanks to Jason Castro] Castro stated he was glad the Zeeland nonprofit got some well-deserved donations [cite news|url=http://www.hollandsentinel.com/news/x401620891/GLOWing-mix-up-benefits-local-ministry |title=GLOWing mix-up benefits local ministry]

Castro's father had been instrumental 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. [cite news|url=http://www.christianbeacon.com/beacononline/June_08_Beacon_Online.pdf |title=Faith and family produced this American Idol finalist|format=PDF] He has also done charity work during his university career. In 2007, he joined Aggie Men's Club, a fraternity organization.

Performances and results (during voting weeks)

*fnb|1 Castro was the first person declared to be safe on this elimination night.

Discography

Albums

TBA (2008/2009)

Other releases

iTunes Exclusive "American Idol Live Performances"

#"Daydream"
#"I Just Want To Be Your Everything"
#"Hallelujah"

iTunes Exclusive "American Idol Studio Performances"¹
#"If I Fell"
#"Michelle"
#"Fragile"
#"Travelin' Thru"
#"Over The Rainbow"
#"I Don't Wanna Cry"
#"Memory"
#"Forever In Blue Jeans"
#"Mr. Tambourine Man"

Demos and live recordings [http://musizislife77.blogspot.com/2008/05/jason-castro-ep.html]
#"The Other Side"
#"Someday" (featuring Jackie Castro)
#"A Song About Stars"
#"So Fast"
#"I'm Not Who I Was"
#"Crazy" (live)
#"Santeria" (live)
#"Clumsy" (live)

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", "Star Magazine", "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. [ [http://www.neighborsgo.com/stories/16109 The City of Rockwall welcomes Jason Castro home!] ] [ [http://www.rockwallheraldbanner.com/features/local_story_158120235.html?keyword=topstory Rockwall Herald] ]

Castro completed the "American Idols LIVE! Tour 2008" with his fellow contestants during the summer. The tour ran 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. [ [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0018AOAWK An album from Castro the most requested in Amazon] ] Castro is currently writing and recording songs for his upcoming, untitled album. [ [http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2008/07/idol-tracker-li.html 'Idol' Tracker: Live from Arizona, the tour begins | Show Tracker | Los Angeles Times ] ] He also recorded "Hallelujah" in Toronto, Canada for the Mexican indie film, "Tierra de Tigres", which is set to premiere in the spring of 2009. [ [http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5iDOCGR4eiKYgtf1B_-OVt1WCV-1w The Canadian Press: American Idol also-ran Jason Castro recorded track for upcoming Mexican film ] ] [ [http://www.accessatlanta.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/accessatlanta/idol/entries/2008/07/31/731_jason_castr.html Welcome to AccessAtlanta! | AccessAtlanta ] ] Castro's younger brother, Michael, auditioned for Season 8 in Kansas City, Missouri. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AGy2Kjynpc]

Charted Songs

References

External links

* [http://www.jasoncastromusic.com Official website]
* [http://www.americanidol.com/contestants/season7/jason_castro/ Official American Idol profile]
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2924932/ Jason Castro] at the Internet Movie Database
*MySpace-music|jasoncastromusic
* [http://www.youtube.com/thejasoncastro Jason Castro Official YouTube Profile]
* [http://www.neighborsgo.com/jasoncastro Jason Castro Central - includes videos from before he was on Idol up until his homecoming in Rockwall, Texas. Coverage from his hometown.]