Jason Castro may not have shot the deputy, but with a swift but painful rendition of a Bob Marley classic, he annihilated his hopes of becoming the next “American Idol.”
Now ask him if he cares.
The dreadlocked, easygoing Texan was sent packing from “American Idol” on Wednesday night in what was arguably the most jubilant exit of any contestant ever.
Admitting that his inexperience had gotten the better of him during the previous night’s grueling performances of “I Shot the Sheriff” and “Mr. Tambourine Man,” Castro appeared visibly relieved to have the pressure of the competition behind him. Having to perform two songs in one week, he said, was tough to handle.
The 20-year-old college student, who all season long seemed to take the pressure of the show less seriously than his rivals, even said he had appreciated one of the barbs sent his way after he had forgotten some of the words to “Mr. Tambourine Man.”
“Somebody told me that I shot the Tambourine Man yesterday,” he said, laughing. “I thought that was pretty funny.”
Later, host Ryan Seacrest pointed out that Castro appeared to be relieved.
“There’s three songs next week,” Castro responded. “I don’t know what I would have done.”
Castro then launched into his final performance on the show, laughing and joking his way through “I Shot the Sheriff” one more time.
All in all, Castro’s gleeful exit was a welcome change from the tears and melodrama that often accompany the ousting of an “Idol” contestant.
Still, without Castro around to remind us that dude, this is just a TV show, the competition is bound to start feeling more serious. After all, we are down to just three singers now, all of whom are formidable contestants with their eyes laser focused on taking the “Idol” throne.
Miss those dreadlocks yet?
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Never have I seen such a jubilant, honest, endearing elimination as we got last night on American Idol. I think Jason Castro, who had only sung in public live five times before his AI audtion, may indeed have reached the limits of what he could do, but it’s a really artificial pressure cooker anyway, and none of them are singing as well as they did earlier in the season.
His early work in the series was delightful. His behavior on the last show was delightful. I am so glad we got to enjoy the best this young man had to offer, and I am glad he is taking this all so well. Jason Castro will be a winner in life.
- Posted by Clairei cried myself to sleep last night over the loss of Jason and how badly he had been treated over the last three weeks. But this morning I woke up happy! Now Jason will be free to just be jason!!!! AI has squashed his personality thru bad sound bits and horrible themes. Now he will really shine! I love him!
- Posted by flowerkittyJason Castro, the heart and soul of A.I.7. His vast inexperience and raw talent are what this show used to be about and I enjoyed him immensely, at least up to the point when the powers that be decided it was time for him to go and started sandbagging him. That was painful to watch happen to such a sweet easygoing guy. I’ve bought all of his iTunes downloads. He has an incredibly good and unique recording voice and I will buy anything and everything he puts out in the future.
- Posted by MariaI too watched every week to see what Jason was going to do. I very much enjoyed his laidback style. He reminds me of so many singer-songwriters of the 70’s, a group which is sadly lacking in today’s music scene.
It is fitting that he left this week and I think he’s surprised that he made it this far. I’m glad he’ll be on the tour and it will be interesting to see where he goes from here. I thought the judges were far too harsh in their criticism - Simon was really quite condescending.
- Posted by AliceThought it was pretty danged funny how Jason ‘thumbed his nose’ and sang ISTS yet again. What a hoot!
Best performer ever on AI. Only one I’ll buy a recording of.
- Posted by lesStevve-
I am sure hundreds of folk singers strumming their guitars in coffee houses ARE worthy of fame and American Idol (as Jason was). Fame is a crap shoot and many people never realize it (or even WANT it) despite being brilliant musicians.
- Posted by ZoeThe last authentic artist has left the competition. He was always to good for AI anyway. It’s geared towards power belters and white bread rockers.
- Posted by Ted“painful rendition of a Bob Marley classic” — I keep seeing things like this, people saying he slaughtered a classic, etc. and it always makes me wonder if people are truly thinking of Marley’s version, or if they’re actually comparing Jason’s version to Clapton’s. Jason did a fine job with the song, and it seemed very Marley-esque to me — he was very free and loose with the vocals (like Marley who never performed the song the same way twice, really).
Likewise with ‘Tambourine Man’ — some people were expecting the Byrds version, I think, but Jason’s was pure Dylan, and if we’re being completely honest, Jason is a better vocalist than Dylan. I love Dylan for his songwriting, and I love his quirky voice, but Jason is a better vocalist.
And thanks to youtube, there are plenty of vids there of both Marley and Dylan for anyone who wants to check out the originals and compare.
- Posted by MarieI will miss Jason on AI — Paula called it artistry, but I call his tremendous gift authenticity. “I was thinking Bob Marley - Yeah!”
- Posted by wryplgrmJason was an enjoyable singer to watch and listen to. I don’t think the fans were wrong in voting him off as he wasn’t great this week. Still he should be very proud of what he accomplished and I definitely look forward to listening to him on tour. Here is wishing you all the best Jason!
- Posted by Julie A.Jason was unique, FUN and absolutely charismatic. He brought a wonderful exhuberance to the show that his fans so enjoyed. His departure from the show was with his usual grace and beautiful smiles!!! We shall miss him until he returns to music in his own way. It will be a wait that is totally worth it.
- Posted by RuthThank you, Jason, for not selling your soul for AI glory. PaulaGate may have been the best thing that happened to you, because it was obvious this last week that you were no longer going out of your way to please the judges and the AI machine that just wants to push that finale with the Davids on us. From your choice of that anti-establishment song and your pointing at the judges during your live performance (it doesn’t matter if they edited it out for the downloadable version-we still saw it), to your laughing in the face of AI as you didn’t let them select the “safe” song for your final performance, you went out on your own terms. Thanks for not letting them break you. And thank you for showing us that this show is a complete joke, and that the judges’ opinions are absolutely meaningless. I will buy anything you record, and will NEVER watch that show again.
- Posted by silsI miss Jason
Now, I don’t care about Idol, the remaining 3 are all fine and dandy but they are no Castro. I cannot wait for his album.
- Posted by AmberI loved to watch Jason. What a unique and wonderful person he is! I also love his voice and am definitely waiting for his CD. He made it fun to watch Idol. I now do not care who wins or doesn’t win. (By the way, he said, “Vote, vote” - not “Don’t Vote” at the end, but I don’t think he really cared one way or the other.)
- Posted by DonnaJason made it waaay farther than he ever should have. It would have been criminal if he knocked any of the final three out of the competition. If he was worthy of being the American Idol than are hundreds of guitar strumming folk singers currently appearing in a coffee houses or coctail lounges across America
- Posted by Stevve in CaliYou know, I started off the comp being a HUUGGEEEE Jason fan!!! but its like, in the last 2 weeks he totally stopped caring. I like he used to be amazing every week, and rock and roll night was a total embarassment not only to himself but to his fans who wanted to so much for him to live another week. and when he mouthed’ dont vote’ at the end of his performance that was the final straw. i lost all respect for him. and just outta spite i wanted him to stay one more week! lol! BUT! in saying all this i still think hes super hot!!
btw, was he always high? like seriously.
- Posted by TiaOf course he cares that he’s gone. And he’s 21, not 20. I wouldn’t have been able to put up with all the garbage that Sheila mentions in her comment, let alone take it with a smile. Good on ya, Jason.
- Posted by Lisa JamesAbsolutely loved Jason , his whole demeanour, his style of singing, his phrasing, I will definitely miss him. Never thought he would win, the judges made that certainly clear in the last three weeks, when they never announced he was sick, the next week judging him on a song he never sung, and last week’s absolutely lambast on a performance that actually was not at all bad, but he had a nice aura and those eyes and teeth made for the cameras.
- Posted by sheilathat’s the end for me watching AI, without Jason, the show will resume to it’s tear jerker, cheesy expected love songs, Daughtry wannabe contestants. Jason made AI more fun to watch. Come on! how can you not love this guy who begged not to advance on the finals, yet he cruised on. When we saw the 24 contestants, we knew Archuleta will win…so why bother watching. I was glad he left because if he stayed to the top 3, he will read ‘hate mails’ every morning. Top 4 is just ‘chill’ for him… btw I bought almost all of his iTunes tracks… studio version of ‘If I fell’ is the most soothing, check it out.
- Posted by riverI miss him already. Big things are to come for Jason Castro.
- Posted by Sarah