Idolator

And so we bid farewell to Jason Castro, the singer who brightened this season's American Idol proceedings with his song choices (think about it: dude brought Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan to the Idol stage, even if the results were decidedly mixed), big dreadlocks, and the fact that he generally seemed to be having a good time on stage, unlike some stage-managed kids who seem to be on the verge of passing out every time they're forced to stand on stage while not singing. Some may have referred to him as a Sanjaya-like figure because of his unquenchable goofiness, like his line last night about shooting the tambourine man, and his hair, but I kind of appreciated the fact that he was actually having fun with the proceedings, and not being as deadly self-serious as some of the other people still in the running. (Congratulations, Syesha, on making that Presidential race reference—we knew you had it in you.) At least his semi-glazed expressions and "it's all good, man" vibe made for good TV. More »

Jason Castro's sloppy (if lyric-relishing) performance on American Idol's Neil Diamond night may have been caused by little practice and a big lack of interest. Entertainment Weekly claims that Jason Castro may be done with the show, even if America isn't done with him. "What happens happens," he reportedly said earlier this week. "I'll sing and if people like it, they like it. And if they don't, they don't. I'm kind of ready to go home." One could chalk that up to his natural tendency to go with the flow, but it also might have something to do with the fact that none of the TV veterans and professional musicians left on what was once perceived as a contest of amateurs could be under the impression that winning the show matters. More »

I will be heartbroken when they make this guy leave American Idol. I don't look forward to a time where that stage won't feature his goofy, incessant grinning and guile-free bon mots. No one else would say they thought "my belle" was you know, "a bell," or that they never knew "Memory" was sung by a cat. No one else would tip an imaginary hat and squat on stage for no reason whatsoever. Aside from that one Sting-related slip-up, he's never pulled some respectability trip on his fanbase. He's sitting on your bed, singing your favorite song, and he's happy to do it. You want to hear Sublime, like the girl who posted this video of him on YouTube? He'll drop "Badfish" on ya, grinning and strumming his hear out. Jason Castro loves you. More »

American Idol hopeful Jason Castro performed his take on the Jeff Buckley interpretation of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" that won huzzahs from the judges tonight, thus continuing the long, strange journey of Cohen's song from hyperserious-to-an-almost-satirical-point track to something that everyone, even Simon Cowell, can be moved by. Frequent Idolator guestblogger Mike Barthel wrote a paper on the trajectory of the song—complete with graph!—for last year's EMP Pop Music Conference, and it's pretty key reading for anyone who wants to know more about this track that, judging by our Google hits over the past 30 minutes, has been "hidden in plain sight" since its first release some 20-or-so years ago. [clapclap.org]