Jason René Castro (born March 25, 1987) is an American acoustic/ folk-pop singer, songwriter, and real estate agent. He was the fourth place finalist on season seven of ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to A ...

''. After ''Idol'', he signed a recording contract with

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most ...

, and his self-titled debut album was released on April 13, 2010.

Early years

Castro was born in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

, and raised in

Rowlett, Texas Rowlett (, traditionally ) is a city in Dallas and Rockwall counties in the U.S. state of Texas, and an eastern suburb of Dallas. The total population estimate is 73,270 in 2021. It is a growing, upscale community with nearly $1.5 billion in dev ...

. His parents, René and Betsy Castro, are Colombian and also had two other children, Michael and Jackie. Their father, René, is an architectural swimming pool designer. He attended Rowlett High School where he was a left winger on his school's soccer team and an honor student. He received a 1340 out of 1600 on his

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Schol ...

. Castro was a junior majoring in Construction Science at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M Unive ...

in College Station on a full academic scholarship when he auditioned for ''American Idol''. Castro has sported

dreadlocks Dreadlocks, also known as locs or dreads, are rope-like strands of hair formed by locking or braiding hair. Origins Some of the earliest depictions of dreadlocks date back as far as 1600–1500 BCE in the Minoan Civilization, one of Europe ...

since his senior year of high school. In 2014, symbolic of a spiritual reawakening, he cut his dreadlocks and has since worn his hair much shorter. Castro performed as a drummer with the rock band Charlemagne, which later became Keeping Lions. He has stated that his musical influences include

Ray LaMontagne Raymond Charles Jack LaMontagne (; born June 18, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. LaMontagne has released eight studio albums: '' Trouble'', ''Till the Sun Turns Black'', '' Gossip in the Grain'', '' God Willin' & the Creek Do ...

Ben Harper Benjamin Chase Harper (born October 28, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae, and rock music and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live perf ...

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements ...

Carlos Vives Carlos Alberto Vives Restrepo (born 7 August 1961) is a Colombian singer, songwriter and actor. He is known for his interpretation of traditional music styles of Colombia such as vallenato, cumbia, champeta, bambuco and porro as well as ge ...

and Kirk Baxley.

''American Idol''

Overview

Castro auditioned for ''

'' in

, singing the

version of the song "Crazy". During a March 17, 2008 appearance on ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime broadcast syndication, syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicag ...

'', judge

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality, entrepreneur and record executive. He is the creator of '' The X Factor'' and ''Got Talent'' franchises which have been sold around the world. He has judged on ...

chose Castro as one of his four favorites in the competition, along with David Cook,

David Archuleta David James Archuleta (born December 28, 1990) is an American pop singer. At ten years old, he won the children's division of the Utah Talent Competition, leading to other television singing appearances. When he was twelve years old, he becam ...

, and Brooke White. On April 12,

Ryan Seacrest Ryan John Seacrest (born December 24, 1974) is an American media personality and producer. He is the co-host of '' Live with Kelly and Ryan'', as well as the host of multiple media shows including ''American Idol'', ''American Top 40'', and ' ...

and the three judges appeared in

Larry King Live ''Larry King Live'' was an American television talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was the channel's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly. Mainly aired from CNN's Los Angele ...

Larry King Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American television and radio host, whose awards included 2 Peabodys, an Emmy and 10 Cable ACE Awards. Over his career, he hosted over 50,000 interviews. ...

revealed the results of his website poll which asked "Whom do you want to win

?" and said that Castro was in the lead. Castro played the guitar during the Top 24 performance night when he sang "(What A Day for a Daydream)". He was also the first contestant to play the

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

on the show, played the instrument while singing Over The Rainbow. Castro also sang in Spanish in a combination of Sting's "Fragile" and "Fragilidad" on March 25, 2008. He was voted off the competition on May 7, 2008.

''Hallelujah''

Castro's rendition of the song " Hallelujah", which he performed on ''American Idol'', led to a surge of popularity for the

Jeff Buckley Jeffrey Scott Buckley (November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997), raised as Scott Moorhead, was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, Buckley amassed a following in the early 1990s by ...

cover of the

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

song from the

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,000 ...

. Buckley's version of the song sold 178,000 digital downloads in the week following Castro's performance, to debut at number one on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''s Hot Digital Songs chart. According to the March 22, 2008, issue of ''Billboard'', this was the highest boost in digital sales a song had ever received after being performed by a contestant on ''American Idol''. It was the first time Buckley's version of the song charted on a ''Billboard'' chart, as well as the first U.S. number-one song on any chart for Buckley. Jason Castro's rendition of the song propelled Jeff Buckley's version to be certified gold and platinum as a single on April 22, 2008.

Performances

* Castro was the first person declared to be safe on this elimination night.

Post-''Idol''

After his elimination Castro made a number of television appearances including on ''

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ...

'' and ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was pro ...

Castro returned to the Idol stage for the seventh-season finale and was the only top-12 finalist who performed a solo. He sang " Hallelujah". When he returned to his hometown of Rockwall, Texas, Thursday, May 29, 2008, he had the experience of having the day declared "Jason Castro Day". Castro was honored with a parade and a ceremony/concert, one of the largest events in the city's history. Castro completed the '' American Idols LIVE! Tour 2008'' with his fellow contestants during the summer. The tour ran from July 1, 2008, to September 13, 2008. He recorded "Hallelujah" in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anc ...

, Canada, for an indie film, '' Amar a morir,'' which premiered in the spring of 2009. In 2008 he also took part in the "I Am Second" campaign, openly discussing his Christian faith. Castro signed a management deal with Hard8Mgt. On November 29, 2008, Castro performed a live concert with his band, The Heavy Steadies, at the Flytrap Music Hall in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region wit ...

; the concert included new songs from his album. On December 15, Castro released the Christmas song, " White Christmas" as a free download through Amazon.com as a gift for his fans. On December 24, 2008, Castro performed "White Christmas" at Lake Pointe Church's Christmas program. Castro performed the full version of "Hallelujah" at the world premiere of '' Amar A Morir'' on January 23 at the

Santa Barbara International Film Festival The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is an eleven-day film festival held in Santa Barbara, California since 1986. The festival boasts screenings of over 200 feature films and shorts from different countries and regions. SBIFF al ...

. On April 12, 2010, on

he released his self-titled album '' Jason Castro.'' He worked with songwriter, producer, and ''Idol'' judge,

Kara DioGuardi Kara Elizabeth DioGuardi (; born December 9, 1970) is an American songwriter, record producer, music publisher, A&R executive, and singer. She writes music primarily in the pop rock genre. DioGuardi has worked with many popular artists; sales o ...

and producer John Fields. Fellow Atlantic Records artist

Serena Ryder Serena most commonly refers to: * Serena Williams (born 1981), professional tennis player Serena may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Serena (genre), 13th-century Occitan poetic genre * ''Serena'' (1962 film), a British crime ...

appears with Castro on a duet titled "You Can Always Come Home". Castro sang "Over the Rainbow" and his second single "That's What I'm Here For" at the wedding of '' The Bachelor'' stars Jason Mesnick and Molly Malaney on February 27, 2010, for ABC's taping of ''The Bachelor: Jason and Molly’s Wedding''. In July 2010, Castro appeared in two episodes of ''

The Bold and the Beautiful ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (often referred to as ''B&B'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. It premiered on March 23, 1987, as a sister show to the Bells' other soap opera ''The ...

'' as himself. Castro appeared in a small role in the GMC television movie ''The Perfect Summer'' in 2012.

2009–2010: Debut album, EP, singles and promotion

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 label,

, released presales of the album and offered the single as a free download to buyers. Castro's album was to be released in November 2009 but was pushed to an early 2010 release date. "Let'sJust Fall in Love Again" entered Billboard's Heatseekers Songs chart at No. 15 and Hot Digital Songs at No. "Let's Just Fall in Love Again" was used by

Overstock.com Overstock.com, Inc. is an American internet retailer selling primarily furniture headquartered in Midvale, Utah, near Salt Lake City. Businessman Patrick M. Byrne founded Overstock.com in 1999. The company initially sold exclusively surplus an ...

for a television commercial. 57. A music video for the single premiered on October 14, 2009. Castro released a debut EP in January 2010 titled ''The Love Uncompromised.'' Castro completed a tour with Matt Hires and Caitlin Crosby and traveled to

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Malay ...

, Singapore and the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

to promote his EP and album. He then toured a second time with band Camera Can't Lie and his younger brother Michael as his opening acts to promote his album.

2012–2013: ''Only a Mountain''

Castro released a five-song EP on August 28, 2012. His third album, '' Only a Mountain'', was released on January 15, 2013. Castro also toured on the Christian tour Winterjam in connection with this album.

Music with younger siblings and transition into real estate

Castro has released covers on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mu ...

with his two younger siblings, Michael and Jackie, both of whom are also singer-songwriters. The three siblings also formed a group called Castro, and in May 2015 they released their first music video for the original song "Rock and Roll". The band released their first album ''Diamond Dreams'' with

Fervent Records Fervent Records is a contemporary Christian music record label based in Nashville, Tennessee. Fervent was bought by Word Records in 2005. Current artists * Chris August * Francesca Battistelli * Big Daddy Weave * Everfound * For King & C ...

in 2016. Jackie left Castro in mid-2018 to pursue a solo career in Nashville, Tennessee. After the band broke up, Castro returned to Dallas and began work as real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. Two years later, he formed Castro Property Group with his brother.

Personal life

Castro was the love interest of

Cheyenne Kimball Cheyenne Nichole Kimball (born July 27, 1990) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and mandolinist. Her debut album, '' The Day Has Come'', was released in July 2006, coinciding with an MTV reality series following her entry into the m ...

on her MTV reality show, ''Cheyenne'' and was also featured in her music video for "Hanging On". On October 31, 2009, Castro proposed to Mandy Mayhall, his girlfriend of a year and a half. They were friends in high school and began dating in 2008. Mayhall made a cameo in Castro's music video for "Let's Just Fall in Love Again". Castro and Mayhall were married on January 2, 2010, in his hometown and now reside in Dallas. The couple has five children.

Charity

When a former Castro fansite erroneously claimed that Castro's charity was GLOW Ministries, the organization based in

Zeeland, Michigan Zeeland ( ) is a city in Ottawa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,719 at the 2020 census. The city is located at the western edge of Zeeland Charter Township. Its name is taken from the Dutch province of Zeeland. Hist ...

received a lot of donations and attention to their cause. Castro's father, Rene Castro, had been instrumental in starting a soccer ministry at Lake Pointe Church to reach out to the community. Jason played soccer in high school and has been to Russia three times with Higher Goal Soccer Ministry. On December 13, 2008, Castro performed alongside

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman. LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul". She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...

for a Christmas concert in

Garland, Texas Garland is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is located northeast of Dallas and is a part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is located within Dallas County, Texas, Dallas County except for small portions located in Collin County, Texa ...

, benefiting the Best Education Foundation, an organization that supports the city's school district. He also auctioned himself off for charity courtesy of the

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

Foundation and MusiCares.

Discography

* '' Jason Castro'' (2010) * '' Who I Am'' (2010) * '' Only a Mountain'' (2013)

Filmography

*''The Perfect Summer'' (2013) *''Jason Castro The Perfect Tour'' (2015)

References

External links

*
''American Idol'' profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Castro, Jason Rene 1987 births 21st-century American singers American acoustic guitarists American male guitarists American Idol participants American male singer-songwriters American multi-instrumentalists American people of Colombian descent American performers of Christian music American ukulele players Atlantic Records artists Living people Musicians from Dallas People from Rowlett, Texas Spanish-language singers of the United States Texas A&M University alumni Word Records artists 21st-century American guitarists Guitarists from Texas Singer-songwriters from Texas 21st-century American drummers People from Rockwall, Texas 21st-century American male singers