Falling in love with Jason Castro again

"Have any of you seen a show called American Idol? I have. I saw myself on it a couple times. It was weird," Jason Castro joked from the stage. 

Castro magnetized millions with his warm, soul soothing vocals and awkward charm during the 2008 season of American Idol, where he was crowned third runner-up. Best remembered for his quirky charisma and trademark dreadlocks, Twenty-two-year-old Castro has proved that you don't have to win American Idol to be successful in the music business.   

He started his journey with one simple goal: to spread joy and inspire, creating songs that grab listeners by the soul and make them feel and dream.  

"I'm real and that's all I have to offer," Castro said, also expressing his desire to be something unique and undeniable.  

Born in Dallas, Texas to a Colombian family, he grew up immersed in music and played drums in a rock band throughout his high school years.  While studying Construction Science at Texas A&M University on a full academic scholarship, he taught himself to play guitar and began to sing the tunes that he was learning. "So many things inspire me," Castro said. "Just living life. Music is a celebration of life."

Castro had no formal vocal training and sang in public only five times before auditioning for American Idol.

Castro's name is written in the American Idol history book as the first contestant to ever play an instrument on the show and the only contestant to play the ukulele. His most memorable moment on the show was his version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah", which catapulted Jeff Buckley's rendition of the song to #1 on the iTunes and Billboard charts.  An overwhelming 178,000 digital singles were sold, propelling Buckley's version to be certified gold and platinum the next month. His dreamy interpretation of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's "Over the Rainbow" also reached #1 on iTunes, bumping the original version to #6, making Castro the only Idol finalist to ever send another artist's single to the iTunes Top 10 or the Billboard chart. 

"I'm excited to get back to the music and quit singing other peoples' songs and do my own stuff," Jason said after his American Idol journey ended. 

Since then, he has been signed to the legendary Atlantic Records and has been pouring his heart into his debut album scheduled to release January 2010.

"I’ve poured my life into this album for the past several months –  writing over 50 songs, recording a bunch of them and working to get each one just right. We’re really close but are making some final tweaks so it can be exactly the album that I imagined it would be!” he explained. 

Castro is currently visiting malls all over the country; promoting his album and staying true to his claim that, "What you see is what you get." Despite his shyness, he interacts with the enthusiastic, effervescent audience and responds playfully to inquiries and comments from the crowd.

"Is your hair real?” one girl shouts. "Of course my hair is real!”  he exclaims as he tugs his dreads playfully, clearly tired of questions about his long locks, but amused nonetheless.

"Magnanimous?”  he questions quizzically in response to a compliment, his eyes, shockingly blue, widening in surprise.

The album will feature upbeat tunes that highlight his quirky style and ballads that compliment his sweet spirited sound. Included on the record is a delightful duet with label mate Serena Ryder called "You can Always Come Home”, new version of fan favorite, "Hallelujah," and Castro's breezy single, "Let's Just Fall In Love Again." He chose the song for his first single because it matches his laid back personality. 

“It’s kind of the image I portray,” he said. “A fun song, no worries!”

As he embarks on his musical voyage, sharing his songs with the world, those enchanted by his whimsical ways on American Idol, will find it easy to fall in love with Jason Castro all over again.

Photo by Cherylyn Ebertz- Potomac Mills Mall: Woodbridge, VA