背景信息：美国 Fox电视台节目《美国偶像》第七季度第四名。
英文名字： Jason René Castro
中文名字： 杰森·卡斯特罗
出生年月： 1987年3月25日
出生地点： 美国，得克萨斯州，石墙镇
高中学校： Rowlett 高中(2005年毕业)
大学学校： 德州农工大学
大学专业： 建筑学
美偶海选城市： 达拉斯，德克萨斯州
美偶成绩： 第四名
喜欢箴言： In the end, it will all be ok. If it's not ok, then it's not the end!
音乐流派： 原声民谣/流行
职 业： 音乐人，创作型歌手
擅长乐器： 嗓子、吉他、架子鼓、夏威夷的四弦琴和班卓琴（无弦琴）
其他特长： 绘画、素描、建筑和踢足球
活跃年份： 2008年3月到至今
曾经所在乐队： Keeping Lions【前期名称是Charlemagne】，鼓手
受过的专业声乐训练：否
受影响的音乐人： Ray LaMontagne, Juanes, Carlos Vives and Kirk Baxley
家庭成员： 父亲René、母亲Betsy、弟Michael、妹Jackie
配偶：Mandy Mayhall （两人于2010年1月结婚， 1月3日，Jason在自己的twitter里写道：“昨天我娶了自己梦中的女孩…生活不可能再完美了！现在，蜜月去咯！”）Yesterday I married the girl of my dreams," he tweeteed Sunday. "It couldn't have been more perfect! Now, honeymoooon!!! :)"

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Background information
Birth name: Jason René Castro
Born: March 25, 1987, Dallas, Texas
Origin: Rockwall, Texas, U.S.
High school: Rowlett High school
University: Texas A&M University
Major in Univ: Construction Science
AI audition city: Dallas, Texas
Final place on AI: The fourth place finalist
Favorite Quotes: In the end, it will all be ok. If it's not ok, then it's not the end!
Genre(s): Acoustic Folk/pop
Occupation(s): Musician, singer-songwriter
Instrument(s): Vocals, guitar, drums, ukelele, banjo
Other talents: Painting, drawing, building and playing soccer
Years active: 2008—present
Associated acts: Keeping Lions (formerly named Charlemagne)
Any formal singing training: No
Musical influences: Ray LaMontagne, Juanes Carlos Vives and Kirk Baxley
Family members: Father René, mother Betsy, siblings Michael and Jackie

早期生活：
Jason Castro 在得克萨斯州达拉斯市 Rowlett 镇出生并长大，父亲 René Castro 和母亲 Betsy Castro 都是哥伦比亚人，他是第一个在美国出生的家庭成员，随后而至的是同胞弟弟 Michael 和妹妹 Jackie。父亲 René Castro是建筑师和创作歌手。Jason 是摇滚乐队 Charlemagne（后更名为 Keeping Lions）的鼓手，但直到上大学后才开始自学弹吉他和唱歌。Jason 2005毕业于 Rowlett 中学，学术能力评估考试（Scholastic Assessment Test，简称 SATs）的成绩是 1340分。他也是中学足球队的中卫。Jason 参加AI时是德州农工大学建筑学专业、获得全额学院奖学金的大三学生。在参加“美国偶像”海选之前没有接受过任何正式的歌唱训练，在公共场合唱歌只有有数的几次。曾经出演MTV真人秀节目Cheyenne 里 Cheyenne Kimball爱恋的对象，同时参加其音乐视频“Hanging On”的拍摄。
他是这样描述自己是如何开始学习唱歌的：“我到离家只有一衢之隔的公园，试着演唱，一开始真是太糟糕了，非常的差劲，但是一年后，开始变得慢慢好起来了”。

音乐背景：
Jason Castro 是摇滚乐队 Charlemagne（后更名为 Keeping Lions）的鼓手，曾经和当地的一
些乐队比如 Oh, Sleeper 一起参加演出。他声称，他的音乐受 Ray LaMontagne, Juanes,
Carlos Vives 和 Kirk Baxley 的影响比较大。

美国偶像历程：Jason 在达拉斯参加美国偶像海选时演唱的曲目是 Keith Urban 的“Once in a Lifetime”，好莱坞周演唱的曲目是Ray LaMontagne 版的 Crazy（原唱 Gnarles Barkley）。由于版权问题直到 top24 时他的所有表演均没有被播放，是进入 top12、曝光率最低的选手。评委 Simon Cowell 在 2008 年 3 月 17 日参加 The Oprah Winfrey Show 节目时说，Jason Castro 以及其他三名选手 David Archuleta, Brooke White 和 David Cook是他最喜欢的选手。在 4 月 12 日，美偶主持人 Ryan Seacrest 和三位评委参加 Larry King Live节目，当 Larry King 公布的“你想要谁将赢得美国偶像”网络投票结果，Jason Castro 处于领先位置。在被淘汰出局之前，Jason 只有一次进入 B3，在2008 年 5 月 7 日被“投票”淘汰出局。 5 月 8 日，即，Jason 被淘汰出局后的第二天， The Ellen DeGeneres Show 网站所举行的一项民意投票显示，75% 的民众不同意这一结果。

paulagate事件：【在 5 强比赛 Neil Diamond 主题周时，在第一轮演唱结束后的评委点评环节中，评委 Paula Abdul 在点评完Jason Castro 第一首歌表现之后，对 Jason 当时尚未演唱的第二首歌进行了“表现非常糟糕”的评论。尽管主持人和其他两位评委随即掩饰了这个意外，但还是引起了舆论和观众关于节目是否有黑幕的强烈反应和猜测。这就是美偶历史上的著名“paulagate”事件】

iTune：Jason Castro 在美偶比赛期间所演绎的“Hallelujah”（原唱 Leonard Cohen）激发观众在 iTunes Store上下载 Jeff Buckley 演绎的版本，并将其推到 iTunes 单曲榜第一的位置。在 Jason 表演之后的一周里，Buckley版本的“Hallelujah”下载销量达 178,000 份，首次登入 Billboard Hot Digital Songs 榜第一名。根据 Billboard 2008年3月22日发行的结果，这是一首被选手在美偶舞台表演后下载销量最高的歌曲。这是Buckley的版本首次进入Billboard 榜，也是 Buckley 的歌曲首次进入美国所有榜单的第一名（Jeff Buckley 死于1997年5月29日，年仅30岁）。Jason Castro 的表演将 Jeff Buckley 的版本推至2008年4月22日的白金单曲。
在 iTunes 榜单排名第一的 Castro 版本的“Hallelujah”被很快撤下，因为 American Idol 主办方不想让任何选手受到偏爱。
Jason 在 top8 时演唱的“Somewhere Over the Rainbow”是当周下载销量最高的歌曲，也将夏威夷传奇歌手Israel Kamakawiwo'ole 版的“Somewhere Over the Rainbow”推至 iTunes Top20 第八的位置。Jason Castro是唯一的一位将其他艺术家的单曲推进 iTunes Top10 的选手。

美偶比赛期间的表演和结果：

美国偶像后时代：
Jason 参加了很多电视节目，其中包括 Live with Regis and Kelly, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Sauce, The Ellen Degeneres Show, Access Hollywood, Today, The Best Day Ever, and Larry King Live 等。
Jason在季末结局秀重返美偶舞台演唱Hallelujah，是半决赛12名选手中唯一个进行独唱的选手。
Jason将和其他top10选手一起参加美偶的全国巡演，时间是从2008年7月1日到9月13日。

参加慈善团体活动：Jason 是石墙镇 Lake Pointe 教堂的成员，曾经一年一次（2004-2006）跟随教堂去俄罗斯，为穷困孩子组织足球露营。Jason 喜欢的慈善团体之一是 GLOW ministries，该慈善团体为妇女、儿童和被虐待的受害人提供住所和关照。Jason热爱环境，憎恨不必要的浪费。
2007年，Jason被介绍进入the Aggie Mens' Club，一个基督教慈善团体和服务性组织。

Jason Castro 之 profound 言论："I was thinking Bob Marley ... Yeah!"
In response to judgeSimon Cowell when Cowell brutally critiqued his performance of "I Shot the Sheriff.
“Someone told me I shot the tambourine man.“
American Idol, Top 4 Results Night

关于生活：Personal goals in life:
"To be a loving father, a faithful husband and a servant of all."
"At the end of the day I don't think anything is greater than being able to serve the people around you, I find the greatest joy in helping other people and serving, anything you do for yourself what good is it at the end of the day."
"My biggest fear is wasting my life."
"In the end, it will all be ok. If it's not ok, then it's not the end!"
"I am real and that's all I have to offer."
"Be something unique and undeniable."
"I think arrogant people disappoint me. Nobody has a right to think they are better than anyone else."
"One of foundation principles of my faith is that we're all the same... You know, I'm no better, but no worse, than anybody else... I think everybody should just keep that in mind."【Go watch the top 6 behind the scenes video everyone: http://www.americanidol.com/videos/?vid=1199&pcs=459】
"My mom taught me never to make a person look wrong. I am just respectful."
"I don't expect a lot so things don't come unexpectadly nothing is really a surprise if you think everything is a surprise."
Idol：
"I couldn’t connect with the songs in the given time. I couldn’t fall in love with them -- you need time for that."
"What you see is what you get. I didn’t change at all coming here."
"It doesn't define me who I am if I make it 20th or 4th."
"And I like music and anything that has to do with music. There's just been a lot more non-music stuff than I thought ... like taking pictures and talking. I'm not good at talking."
On group songs：
"Its kind of fun being goofy."
"I’ve learned I can do a lot more than I thought. I just gained a lot of confidence and learned that I can do it."
On his improved interview skills:
"I try to think of them now more as conversations than interviews."
On regrets:
"Not at all, I did everything as best as I can given the circumstances."
On the judges:
"They're just people. We're all just people."
"I first thought that my life of singing experience as a downfall for me and now I believe that teaching myself to sing in the last few years has given me an authentic voice that is a perfect extension to everything I am."
Music:
"I'm just excited to let music be music."
"I generally think I have a good idea of music and what I think it is. It's always a reaffirming thing, about loving the music and doing that from the heart, and I think that’s the core of music."
"I just really like putting heart and soul into it."
"Loving the music and doing it from the heart is the core of music. It is easy to forget when you have to rush. Having a Hallelujah moment takes time."
On what's next:
"Wherever music leads me. I wanna play some music somewhere."
"If I could just make music thats just my dream job."
"I'm excited to get back to the music and quit singing other peoples' songs and do my own stuff."
On the best part of the upcoming tour:
"Playing shows every night....DUHHHH!"
"I just want to write music that inspires and touches people. It will be acoustic music because that is what I know."
"Singing is such a vulnerable thing. If you're playing an instrument, you can mess up and it's like, “Oops,” but if you're singing, it's like your voice, you know, and it's just intimidating to me."
On Jeff Buckley's Hallelujeh:
"How cool if people hadn’t heard that song -- they should have, and I’m glad that now they have.
On the forgotten line in Mr. Tamborine Man:
"Those are written on your soul I don't know where they went."
"I’m just a big country fan. I love the heart behind it."
On Somewhere Over The Rainbow:
"The song is all about hopes and dreams, dreams coming true, thats what this week is all about. We're trying to make a difference, make a change in the world. We can, dreams do come true. I hope this inspires to dream big."
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Interviewers: Let's talk about Tuesday night. When Simon said no one should ever cover ''I Shot the Sheriff,'' did you think of reminding him that Eric Clapton did a great cover of the song?
Jason: You know, sometimes he says things that are obviously wrong. But no, I wouldn't have said that to him. My mom taught me never to make a person look wrong. I am just respectful. It's my place to sing a songand his place to judge.
In an interview with OK magazine...
“I think that music is an extension of one’s self, so I’ll try to write stuff that represents me."