Jason Castro (Jason René Castro)

Jason René Castro (born March 25, 1987) is an American acoustic/folk-pop singer-songwriter. Castro was the fourth place finalist on the seventh season of the television series American Idol and performed with the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2008 from July 1, 2008 to September 13, 2008.

Jason was born in Dallas, Texas, and raised in Rowlett, Texas, he currently resides in Rockwall, Texas. His parents, René and Betsy Castro, are both from Colombia, and he is the first person in his family to be born in the United States, but in childhood he spoke mostly Spanish. His father, René, is an architectural swimming pool designer and singer-songwriter as well as his elder brother and sister.

Castro's been playing drums from childhood. He taught himself to play the guitar in college. He was not specially trained before auditioning for American Idol and had previously sung only 5 times in public, mostly during church services. Castro performed as a drummer with the rock band Charlemagne (later called Keeping Lions). He has stated that he was musically influenced by these persons: Ray LaMontagne, Ben Harper, Bob Marley, Carlos Vives and Kirk Baxley.

Castro auditioned for American Idol in Dallas, Texas, singing 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. During a March 17, 2008 appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Castro was chosen by the judge Simon Cowell as one of four favorites in the competition. So Castro got to the top.

Castro is the first contestant in the history of American Idol to ever play an instrument on 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 the first contestant so far to have played the ukulele on the show while singing Over The Rainbow (it took him less than a week to learn the song). Castro also sang in three languages on American Idol, supplementing English songs with Spanish and French.

Jason has done charity work during his university career and now he also continues this noble activity.

Debut album and single

On August 18, 2009, Castro performed his new single "Let's Just Fall In Love Again" on a live video webchat from his website, as well another song titled "It Matters to Me". Castro's album was to be released in November of 2009 but was pushed back for a early 2010 release date. "Let's Just Fall In Love Again" entered Billboard's Heatseekers Songs chart at No. 15 and Hot Digital Songs at No. 57. The premiere for the single was released on October 14, 2009

A large audition was held during the fall of 2009 in Hollywood, California for Castro's band. The band played their first live show together on September 25th, 2009 when they headlined the opening night of the Texas State Fair. His band members are:
- Stephen Kanicka (Lead guitar, vocals)
- Jordan Critz (Keys, rhythm guitar, Vocals)
- Ben Davis (Bass, vocals)
- Eli Logothetis (Drums)

Discography

Albums
- Jason Castro (2010)

Singles
- "White Christmas", 2008
- "Let's Just Fall In Love Again", 2009

Other releases
iTunes Exclusive "American Idol Live Performances"
1. "Daydream"
2. "I Just Want To Be Your Everything"
3. "Hallelujah"

iTunes Exclusive "American Idol Studio Performances"1
1. "If I Fell"
2. "Michelle"
3. "Fragile"
4. "Travelin' Thru"
5. "Over The Rainbow"
6. "I Don't Wanna Cry"
7. "Memory"
8. "Forever In Blue Jeans"
9. "Mr. Tambourine Man"

Demos and live recordings (pre-Idol songs)
1. "The Other Side"
2. "Someday" (with Jackie Castro)
3. "A Song About Stars"
4. "So Fast"
5. "I'm Not Who I Was"
6. "Crazy" (live)
7. "Santeria" (live)
8. "Clumsy" (live)

Soundtracks
- "Hallelujah", Amar a Morir soundtrack