American Idle

Jason Castro opened for Michelle Branch at the Grove in Los Angeles this past week, singing several new songs from his new album Let’s Just Fall In Love.

Some of the songs Castro sang included “Let’s Just Fall In Love,” “Love Uncompromised,” and “It Matters To Me.”

Listen to “It Matters To Me” below:

Obviously, from the sounds of these songs Castro will be a ballad singer, and he’s versatile enough to handle several different styles.

So I see things happening for Castro in two different ways. One, he’ll be a Michael Bolton pop singer type.

Two, he’ll be a Disney tunes guy, lending his voice to soundtracks and the like, which is actually the same direction I see Kris Allen going.

Like Bolton? Buy his album here

Hey, it’s only been 18 months since we last heard Jason Castro sing anything close to a song, but it’s better than nothing, right?

Possibly setting the record for longest layoff in music history, Castro has raised the bar for all slackers in an industry filled with gold diggers and go-getters.

But I have to say, Castro’s new single–and album–was worth the wait. Not only is his single “It Matters To Me” filled with angst, and loneliness and all that good stuff, it’s got hope and solid musicianship.

And it gives Castro hope for a prosperous music career, despite the long layoff. Listening to it below will give you a sense of what I’m talking about.

As one can clearly ascertain from the video, it does not suck, not even close. The only thing is, I wished we could hear more from Castro instead of having to wait as long as we did in the first place.

In what has to be the most drawn-out process in the history of the music business, Jason Castro has now signed a publishing deal, which means he will be employed as a songwriter, too.

He and his handlers went with Atlantic, ending months of wondering. That is, wondering when Castro would get off the couch and get the deal done. We all knew Castro had the songwriting chops and not everyone does, soooo…

Anyway, it’s all official now and so everyone can stop wondering if Castro will ever get this completed. He got his record deal in April, so in my book he’s two-for-two in 2009. Here’s a snippet from the press release that made it all official:

PR Newswire Says:

The Texas-based tunesmith - best known as the third runner-up on the 2008 season of Fox’s American Idol - parlayed his Idol success into a major-label deal with Atlantic Records, who signed the artist in April 2009 and will release his untitled debut album later this year. Among his creative collaborators are platinum producer/songwriter,
Eric Rosse (
Sara Bareilles,
Tori Amos,
Anna Nalick), Grammy Award-winning producer/songwriter,
John Fields (Lifehouse, Switchfoot, Soul Asylum), and a number of acclaimed songwriters, including
Kara DioGuardi (
Kelly Clarkson, Jewel, Santana),
Martin Terefe (Jason Mraz, KT Tunstall,
James Morrison),
Sacha Skarbek (
James Blunt,
Jason Mraz),
Guy Chambers (
Robbie Williams), and
Jason Reeves (
Colbie Caillat).

Did I hear this correctly? Is Jason Castro actually signed to a record label, and not taking bong hits in somebody’s basement?

Apparently, he is signed and he’s already working on his album with none other than Kara Dioguardi, the new judge on Idol 8. Listen to the video above, and it will explain all. Wow, that was a quick turnaround.

The song he’s working on with her is called “Miles Away,” and she’s been known to turn out some chart toppers in her day, so it will definitely be worth a look once we see the finished product.

Until that time, enjoy the conjecture and the rumors, which are rampant and have been since it was rumored that Castro would finally (finally!) put out an album. There have been so many fits and starts before this album finally came to reality that I’ll bet even Castro wondered if the deal would get done.

Well, it has, so everyone can rest easy.

Jason Castro has had some news lately, with talk of his single “Love Uncompromised” coming out in March, then not being released at all, while his crew hint at a “big event.”

Apparently, that event will unveil his song. I’m guessing it’s on Idol itself and that somebody thought about releasing the song early and had second thoughts. That’s good, because Castro hasn’t had anything out yet and he’s one of the last Idol 7 singers to have his album out. You know what they say…good things come to those who wait (even if it’s almost been a year! LOL)

So here’s his performance on American Idol Extra, the new post-game show on FOX Reality Channel that stars Ace Young and Jillian Reynolds nee Barberie. I love the song and if that’s the first of many from Castro, it’s gonna be a big seller.

The lyrics are strong and the voice is unmistakable. Last year had a lot of talent, maybe even more than Idol 8.

At the beginning of the video above and as a bonus, check out Megan Joy’s interview. She made some waves of her own, too.

Wow, what a crazy week! American Idol 8 showed it’s gonna be a force to be reckoned with, again, after some ear-splitting and melodious performances. But because our coverage is limited to only Idol 8 during the week, we missed out on some big news from Idols past.

First up, Jason Castro, in spite of still not telling us when his album will be released (or if he even has one in production) is still playing small gigs. That tells me he’s doing something, even though only he knows what that is. LOL Here he’s performing “Hallelujah” after the premiere of Amar A Morir at the Santa Barbara Film Festival.

Bucky Covington has been doing things in the country music world for quite some time now and his success has surprised some folks, me included. But you can’t fault the guy’s work ethic; he’s back in the studio and is ready to release a new single. He may just be the James Brown of country.

And what is with this picture of Clay Aiken? Uh-oh…we got a bad boy on our hands! LOL Of course the paparazzi picked up on this playful photo like cockroaches crawling on dirty dishes, but whatever. Hey, he’s just happy because his run on Spamalot is over, OK?

And don’t look now, but Sanjaya is back in the news, just in time for whatever it is he’s doing. Like putting out a book, for example. And talking about possibly taking some photos in the nude. But other than that, I would like to know who gave this kid $100,000.

And finally, in some real interesting news (seriously!) Ace Young has reportedly been tapped to co-host American Idol Extra with (drum roll please, thanks) Jillian Barberie, that loud-mouthed Canadian/ex-FOX football/Good Day weathergirl.  Talk about an interesting couple. Hehe. Like Steve before her (if you know FOX Good Day you’ll get the joke) Ace will probably want to kill himself before the third episode.

Yesterday we talked about the unsung heroes of American Idol 7 and 2008, so today we’ll talk about the stars that made the show the phenomenon it was in 2008. Some weathered the storm of controversy while others just stayed firm to what they did, making music and rode the momentum all the way to the top. The thing that tied them all together was that all of them had success commercially in different regards before coming to American Idol. And they all finished in the top 10. But the main criteria we used in determining our top 5 was the success they had on Idol 7 and the success that followed with their debut album, primiarly.

5. Kristy Lee Cook - Enduring more than her fair share of controversy since she had already had a record deal with Arista in her youth which failed, Cook was more or less another of those failed pop stars who came to Idol in an attempt to resurrect their career. The thing about Cook that immediately got her fan base was her good looks, her blonde hair, slim build and powerful voice. And a few Web sites took her to task for some racy photos, but in the end Cook was a success story on Idol 7, having been one of the first performers that season to come out with a new album, which, ironically, came out on Arista, the company with whom she first began her career.

4. Michael Johns - Again no stranger to the spotlight, the Australian played in several bands, including the L.A. band Film before making his way to the Idol stage. Johns’ bluesy tones along with his business savvy made him a star not only here but in his native Australia. His top 10 finish on Idol 7 was what many expected from the Aussie; some mention he may have been the best male singer to have ever played on Idol.

3. Carly Smithson - Clearly the most talented female singer Idol has ever seen, Smithson (nee Hennessy) is a native of Ireland who came over to the states years ago to become a star. But like many who try to make it in the tough music industry, Smithson found it tough going initially. Her record was so unimpressive that it sold on eBay prior to her Idol appearance for 12 cents. Many cried she was too good for a show like Idol and was a “ringer.” Smithson proved most of her critics wrong by showing her true compassionate side and her amazing voice. She also finished in the top 10.

2. David Archuleta - The native Utahn and devout Mormon has seen success before, appearing on Star Search as a teenager and performing often in his native Utah, even with the famed Mormon Tabernacle Choir. But it was the manner in which Archuleta so quickly came to fame on Idol 7, with a devout fan base of mainly teenagers screaming his name every chance they got. Never had American Idol seen so many fans absolutely craving every song and every note somebody sang! (Except Sanjaya, perhaps) David finished runner-up to David Cook and cemented his place in Idol folklore with a gold debut album.

1. David Cook - The former Midwest Kings front man went to American Idol 7 auditions in Omaha with his brother and auditioned at the last minute as a lark (his brother Adam was the one auditioning). We all know what happened next, as Cook was the surprise of the show, taking what obviously looked like it would be a battle between Johns, Archuleta and Smithson and making it his own. With unique musical arrangements Cook wowed the audience week after week and quickly gained a fan base that was as broad as it was vocal. His victory proved that anyone can win the competition and made American Idol a household name heading into season 8. With a successful debut album and tour under his belt, Cook will be heard from for years to come.

Honorable Mention: Jason Castro, Danny Noriega, Chikezie, Josiah Leming, Luke Menard, Brooke White, David Hernandez.