American Idol News

posted by Administrator on May 8

Jason Castro expressed a desire to go home and voters obliged to send him there, as he was revealed to be the ninth finalist eliminated from American Idol’s seventh season during last night’s live results show on Fox.

The 20-year-old from Rockwall, TX was ousted from Idol’s seventh season after host Ryan Seacrest said “nearly 51 million” home viewer votes were cast immediately following Tuesday night’s live performance broadcast that saw the Top 4 finalists each singing two songs from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

“I almost feel like you’re relieved,” Seacrest said before Castro delivered his exit performance.

“A little,” replied Castro. “It was three songs next week. I don’t know what I would have done.”

Castro performed “I Shot the Sheriff” by Bob Marley for his first performance on Tuesday night, and both Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson thought the only similarity between the two were the dreadlocks. Jackson further described it as “really karaoke” and added it “wasn’t good.”

“Well Jason, stand back,” said Cowell to Castro before he laced into him. “That was utterly atrocious. That is a song you do not touch. The arrangement was atrocious and the singing was as bad as I’ve ever heard it. This was honestly like a first-round audition massacre. Honestly, I don’t know what you’re thinking.”

Even Paula Abdul panned it.

“I wasn’t crazy about the performance or the song actually,” she said before trying to be positive. “But you’re so real, you’re so genuine — your artistry always shines through — and that’s who you are. You’ve won me over just for that.”

Castro then sang and played guitar on Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man” during Tuesday night’s episode, but it got off to a rocky start when he blanked on some of the lyrics.

“Jason’s not in the zone tonight,” commented Jackson. “I don’t know what’s going on.”

“Jason,” added Cowell, “I’d pack your suitcase.”

Prior to Castro’s elimination last night, Syesha Mercado, a 21-year-old from Sarasota, FL who currently resides in Miami, was revealed to be the finalist who received the second lowest amount of home viewer votes following Tuesday night’s episode.

Before Seacrest revealed the results, he asked Castro why he thought he had such a difficult time on Tuesday night.

“I think it’s just getting tough for me. I think my inexperience is coming in,” he replied.

In addition, Seacrest said the “nearly 51 million” home viewer votes cast Tuesday night was the “highest this season.”

“And it was close,” he added. “The Top 3 all had within one million votes of each other.”

Also during last night’s download free verizon ringtones download free real ringtones for tmobile free sms ringtones free ringtones for nokia phone mobile ringtones converter free mp3 ringtones for t mobile get ringtones free nokia tracfone ringtones free nokia phone ringtones free ringtones for sprint phone boost free ringtones free verizon wireless ringtones cingular free music ringtones 24 ringtones ringtones com free yahoo ringtones metro pcs phone ringtones free ctu ringtones free gospel ringtones free nokia phone ringtones broadcast, fourth-season Idol runner-up Bo Bice performed his single “Witness” while Maroon 5 performed their new single “If I Never See Your Face Again.”

Idol’s three remaining seventh-season finalists — David Archuleta, David Cook and Mercado — will all take the stage and perform during next week’s live one-hour performance episode on Tuesday at 8PM ET/PT.

On Wednesday beginning at 9PM ET/PT, another finalist will be eliminated from the competition based on home viewer votes, revealing the season’s Top 2 finalists.

posted by Administrator on Apr 30

Paula Abdul must be hearing double.

On a night when “American Idol” switched up the judges’ format by making them hold their appraisals until every contestant had a turn, Abdul offered feedback Tuesday for two songs by Jason Castro _ except that he’d only sung one.

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Unlike the usual format, in which each “Idol” performance is judged immediately, Abdul, Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell were made to take notes, then offer individual critiques in rapid succession at the end of each round. The reason, Seacrest explained, was because “this show is so tight.”

So after each of the final five contestants sang one Neil Diamond song, Jackson zipped through his appraisals, offering a few terse words for each before kicking it to a visibly flustered Abdul.

“Oh gosh, we’ve never had to write these things down … fast enough,” she began, shuffling through her notecards. “Jason, first song, I loved hearing your lower register, which we never really hear, um … .”

And that’s where it started going off the rails.

“The second song, I felt like your usual charm wasn’t _ it was missing for me. It kind of left me a little empty.”

Indeed.

All six people on stage, including Seacrest, stared blankly (except Syesha Mercado, who wore the furrowed brow of mystification).

“The two songs,” she continued, “made me feel like you’re not fighting hard enough to get into the top four.”

After a smattering of nervous crowd laughter, Jackson finally broke the tension.

“That was just on the first song,” he said sheepishly, pointing up to Castro. “Just on the first one.”

Simon Cowell closed his eyes and shook his head, and began to guffaw as Abdul’s confusion mounted.

“Oh my god, I thought you _ I thought you sang twice!” she said.

She explained that she got confused by looking ahead at the notes for David Cook.

At that point Seacrest, who makes his money by smoothing over situations just such as these, pointed to Abdul, saying: “You’re seeing the future, baby!” before cutting her off and throwing to Cowell.

Even Cowell gathered himself to help patch up the moment, patting Abdul on the shoulder and asking, as if to speed things along, “Paula, who was your favorite?”

Her reply: Cook (the same contestant whose performance she supposedly noted as having left her “empty”).

Pressed for time, Cowell then put an end to the awkward-fest by bursting into his own rapid-fire valuation: “Jason, forgettable; David Cook, just above average; Brooke (White) a nightmare; David Archuleta, I thought it was amateurish; and Syesha, I thought it was old-fashioned.

“So guys … I want to see the performance of a lifetime coming up,” he said, as if to ensure absolute clarity, “the second time around.”

Abdul told “Entertainment Tonight” after the show that she was thrown for a loop when producers apprised the judges of the change “in the dark” at the last minute.

“This was officially the strangest show we’ve ever done,” Cowell said at the conclusion of the telecast, “but I like that. It’s kind of a bit chaotic tonight.”

AP | JOSH L. DICKEY

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