Idolator: jason castro

"American Idol" Inspires America To Give Back To 19 Entertainment

Maura Johnston — Thu, 29 May 2008 09:00:00 EDT

This week's Digital Tracks chart represents the first week that iTunes released American Idol sales data to SoundScan, and as a result it has an Idol quotient of 17.5%; season-seven winner David Cook placed 17 of his songs on last week's chart (all in the top 100, with three in the top ten and the coronation song "The Time Of My Life" at No. 1 with 236,000 paid downloads), second-place finisher David Archuleta got 14 songs on the big board (his highest-placing song, at No. 23: "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me," which was downloaded 51,000 times), and third-place runner-up Syesha Mercado didn't sell enough of any tracks to crack the 200-song list. (So much for the strength-in-numbers of the Fanesha 300.) Jason Castro, Brooke White, and Michael Johns also cracked the digital-tracks top 200, and White's pre-Idol album, the Billy Joel-cover-free Songs From The Attic, even managed to make the digital-albums chart, selling 1,900 copies. Chris Molanphy will have more on these numbers, and their impact on the big board, in tomorrow's 100 & Single, but for now we've got sales totals after the jump.

1. David Cook, "Time Of My Life" (236,000 downloads)
7. David Cook, "Dream Big" (111,000 downloads)
9. David Cook, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (98,000 downloads)
14. David Cook, "The World I Know" (80,000 downloads)
18. David Cook, "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" (60,000 downloads)
21. David Cook, "Billie Jean" (56,000 downloads)
23. David Archuleta, "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" (51,000 downloads)
25. David Archuleta, "In This Moment" (49,000 downloads)
27. David Cook, "Always Be My Baby" (47,000 downloads)
30. David Cook, "Hello" (42,000 downloads)
36. David Archuleta, "Imagine" (39,000 downloads)
40. David Cook, "Music Of The Night" (36,000 downloads)
45. David Archuleta, "Imagine" (32,000 downloads)
52. David Cook, "Eleanor Rigby" (28,000 downloads)
60. David Cook, "I'm Alive" (25,000 downloads)
64. David Cook, "Little Sparrow" (24,000 downloads)
69. David Cook, "Hungry Like The Wolf" (23,000 downloads)
70. David Cook, "Innocent" (23,000 downloads)
80. Jason Castro, "Hallelujah" (19,000 downloads)
81. David Cook, "Day Tripper" (19,000 downloads)
83. David Archuleta, "Longer" (19,000 downloads)
89. David Cook, "All Right Now" (18,000 downloads)
94. David Archuleta, "Think Of Me" (18,000 downloads)
96. David Archuleta, "Angels" (17,000 downloads)
98. David Cook, "Happy Together" (17,000 downloads)
102. Jason Castro, "Over The Rainbow" (16,000 downloads)
106. David Archuleta, "When You Believe" (16,000 downloads)
109. David Archuleta, "Love Me Tender" (15,000 downloads)
123. David Archuleta, "The Long And Winding Road" (14,000 downloads)
131. Brooke White, "Let It Be" (12,000 downloads)
145. David Archuleta, "Sweet Caroline" (11,000 downloads)
153. David Archuleta, "You're The Voice" (10,000 downloads)
161. David Archuleta, "Another Day In Paradise" (9,800 downloads)
171. Michael Johns, "Dream On" (9,100 downloads)
194. David Archuleta, "Smoky Mountain Memories" (8,300 downloads)

Jason Castro: In Memoriam

Maura Johnston — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:00:00 EDT

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.

Anyway, in a best-case scenario he'll get picked up by Brushfire Records and make a light album that's heavily influenced by the surf, then tour university rec centers with Josiah Leming; the more Jason progressed through the competition, the more I realized that Leming couldn't have made it through to the top 24, if only because the two of them would have been mirroring each other, song-choice and trajectory-wise, week after week. Well, maybe without the forgotten lyrics on Leming's part.

Man, the next two weeks are not going to be fun to watch at all, huh.

Why Nobody Cares If They Win "American Idol"

Anthony Miccio — Thu, 01 May 2008 17:05:00 EDT

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.

Really, when you look at the careers of Elliott Yamin, Fantasia, Ruben Studdard, Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Katherine McPhee, Taylor Hicks, Daughtry, Constantine, and that creepy bald dude from last season who needs to get his ads the fuck off of Web sites I visit pronto, there's no clear benefit to actually winning the contest as opposed to merely placing highly. Either way, you've gained public recognition and a fan base. Will Michael Johns' career suffer because he was tossed off early? Will David Archuleta get to sing on a Disney soundtrack only if he wins? They're all winners, as Paula would happily note, and all we have left is the tired formality of finishing the damn season. Maybe if there were some true amateurs on the show, there'd actually be some competitive spirit and lingering enthusiasm for letting Randy say whether or not they were the bomb.

Things were happier for Jason Castro once. Like when he was dating Cheyenne. That was nice. Please enjoy this clip of a romantic date spent kite-flying and chalk-writing before his band opened one of her concerts (make sure to catch his shirtless drumming, ladies!).

Idol Jason Castro: "ready to go home"? [EW]
Jason Castro - Almost Famous - Episode 6 [YouTube]

(Thanks to Leila for the Castro clip. Happy anniversary, babe, let's buy some kites.)

Jason Castro Knows How To Play "Badfish," Loves You

Anthony Miccio — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:00:00 EDT

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.

"I don't know the chords, but I'm never gonna give up. You know why? You gotta want it." You know who Jason Castro reminds me of more than anyone else?

I could totally see him embracing Xenu too.

Jason Castro on My Couch [YouTube via ONTD]
John Travolta - Let Her In [MySpace]

As of this moment, Jeff Buckley's cover of ...

Maura Johnston — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 12:00:47 EST

As of this moment, Jeff Buckley's cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah"—which Jason Castro performed last night to much fanfare and Googling—is No. 5 on the iTunes Music Store's Top Songs chart and Nos. 2 and 7 on the Amazon MP3 store's singles chart; Cohen's version is also at No. 98 on Amazon. (If the iTunes Store actually charted the digital tracks they're selling from each contestant, instead of hiding behind a cloak of Fox-sanctioned secrecy, I have no doubt that Castro would be the runaway No. 1 the minute that the contestant's performances went on sale Friday.) Am I a bad person for being kinda happy that Phil Collins' "Another Day In Paradise," which David Archuleta pounded his way through, hasn't seen a similar bump? [Amazon / iTunes]

Jason Castro Drags Leonard Cohen Into The "American Idol" Spotlight

Maura Johnston — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 21:01:57 EST

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]