posted by Administrator on Apr 22
By DARLA ATLAS / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
ROCKWALL – The crowd that gathers on most Tuesday nights at the new Hilton Hotel in Rockwall is on a mission.
Sure, they’re surrounded by balloons, large TV screens and much laughter, but this is serious business. The 350 or so people are there to watch local Jason Castro perform on American Idol – and then to get him through to the next round.
“Everybody gets on their phones like crazy at the end of the show,” says Jennifer Wasserman, the hotel’s sales and marketing director. “There are people who have two phones going at once.”
Rockwall has become the center of Castromania as its native son has made it into the final six on America’s most-watched television show, which airs tonight at 7 and Wednesday night at 8 on Fox (Channel 4). And with his puppy-dog eyes, distinctive dreadlocks and laid-back demeanor, there are high hopes that he could become North Texas’ second American Idol champion, following in the footsteps of Season 1 winner Kelly Clarkson of Burleson.
Rockwall Mayor Bill Cecil may not be double-dialing himself, but he’s definitely become a fan. Ms. Wasserman says he stopped by a recent watching party because he happened to be in the hotel.
“He watched the show, and at the end it was so cute – he had a little Jason Castro shirt on,” she says. Since then, the city has put up a large banner at a major intersection, and the Chamber of Commerce has begun putting up its own posters. Carol McMillan, who helps organize the watch parties, says the singer has earned his hometown support “just because of the kind of person he is. There are enough people in the area that know him and know the family, and they all say positive, good things.”
READ the Full ARTICLE @ DallasNews.com
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