Review: Jason Castro's Performance as One of American Idol's Top 8, April 8
By Celeste Ray, published Apr 08, 2008
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Rating: 4.3 of 5Currently 4.30/512345
Jason Castro's performance as one of the top eight on American Idol season seven proved that he is worthy of being in the top eight. If there was any doubt that he was serious about being a competitor on American Idol, he crushed those doubts with this stellar performance.
This week's theme was inspirational songs, and Jason Castro very appropriately chose Israel Kamakawiwo Ole's version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. This was a brilliant song choice for Jason. This version of the song has a laid back, island feel to it, and I could see Jason sitting under a cabana on the beach, performing this song. The song also fits the theme well - as Jason said in his interview, changing the world is what this week is all about. Somewhere Over the Rainbow is the essence of this sentiment. Our country is in a bit of a crisis at the moment...but Somewhere Over The Rainbow we'll see better times.
This isn't to say that this song choice didn't do anything for Jason. He stayed within his niche, but still branched out, making use of the ukulele instead of the guitar, showing that he is a well-rounded artist. Vocally, he performed quite well this week. He came across as passionate about the song, very sincere, and broke into a very nice, natural sounding falsetto.
The judges seemed to agree that this was a strong performance. Randy said that Jason Castro is back this week, and that his performance was the "hottest" of the night. I definitely second that opinion. Simon furthered the sentiment by saying that it was his third time hearing this version of the song, and thought it was fantastic.
If Jason had anything to worry about in previous weeks, I think he can rest easy now. He proved himself a worthy competitor tonight and I expect to see him stick around for weeks to come.
