Date Night - Late!

Jason Castro has vlogged again. Check it out.

Jason Castro is NOT Engaged

Date Night from Pittsburgh

Jason Castro vlogged again. Check it out.

Another Date Night with Castro!

Castro Date Night

Castro Vlog's from San Jose

Jason Castro - More Video Updates

Jason has been adding some video blogs to keep his fans updated with what he's up to. The tour is right around the corner, so I'm sure he's getting excited. Check these two latest updates from Jason out for more info.

Taking a Look Back: AI7

Season 7 of American Idol gave us some truly memorable performances...performances that really touched us, or made us take a second look. Sometimes performances that simply made us say "Wow."

I'm going to try to take a look back at the performances from this season that I found to be memorable, for various reasons. I hope you enjoy the trip down memory lane.

One of the first performances that made me take a second look was by Alexandréa Lushington, with Spinning Wheel. She didn't make the Top 12 and the big stage, but she really wowed me with this one.



My favorite performance from David Hernandez was in the Top 20, when he did Papa Was a Rolling Stone. He showed a lot of personality and really let his vocals shine.



Brooke White turned Love is a Battlefield on its head in a way I never would have expected, but I loved it.



David Cook took me by surprise with Hello. It shouldn't have worked. But it really, really worked.



Brooke White came out in the first week of the Top 12 and took my breath away with an emotional performance of Let it Be.



Also in the first Beatles week, Chikezie did a version of She's a Woman that was surprising, refreshing, and unique. I'd love to hear more from him along this line.



Michael Johns showed off his amazing rock abilities with Queen's We Will Rock You and We Are the Champions. I loved him already at that point, but I seriously thought he could have a chance to win with this one.



Taking a Dolly Parton song and turning it into a soul song doesn't sound like it would work, but Michael Johns proved that it could with It's All Wrong But It's All Right.



Another singer who turned a Dolly Parton classic on its head was Carly Smithson with Here You Come Again. She made the music and vocal suit the lyric in a gorgeous and breathtaking performance.



And yet again, on Dolly Parton week, David Cook did his own arrangement of Little Sparrow that should never have worked, but which quickly convinced me that he not only could, but should, win.



Jason Castro gave me one of the biggest and most pleasant surprises of the season, with Somewhere Over the Rainbow. I still get chills when I hear it.



The next week, David Cook once again surprised us all with his own arrangement of Mariah Carey's Always Be My Baby. Wow. Just wow.



And how do you follow a performance like that? Well, Jason Castro got to find out, by doing his own version of I Don't Wanna Cry.



Syesha Mercado really turned on the heat during Andrew Lloyd Webber week, with One Rock and Roll Too Many.



Brooke White really touched me again during Neil Diamond week, with her performance of I Am, I Said. I really love her the most when she is sitting in front of the piano and doing her thing.



I was scared...seriously scared...when I found out that David Cook would be performing The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face. I shouldn't have been. He did an amazing job with it, and it is actually one of my favorite performances of all time from American Idol now.



David Archuleta was simply amazing throughout the competition, but the one performance of his that really stood out to me as his best, was one of his last. When he did Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me during the finale, he gave me goosebumps and made me nervous that he might win.



But I needn't have worried...because David Cook followed with The World I Know, and gave what could be his quintessential performance on the show. I seriously cried when he performed this that night. He did an amazing job with it.



So...there you have my *quickly counting* 18 favorite and most memorable performances from Season 7 of American Idol. Yeah, I realize that I completely left out Ramiele Mulabay and Kristy Lee Cook. Frankly, they didn't have any performances that struck a chord with me. I could have gone on to do a number of others...because I am leaving out some that I truly love like Archie's Imagine, Castro's Hallelujah, Carly's Superstar, Michael Johns's Dream On. Hell, I am even leaving out David Cook's Billie Jean and I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For. I could go on and an. But I think 18 is enough for now.

Jason Castro: Message to the Fans

Jason Castro Day in Rockwall

The city of Rockwall, Texas was all abuzz with Jason Castro yesterday! As part of a welcome home visit, they gave him a parade, and he performed a brief concert at the Amphitheater. Check the festivities out here.

As I find more, I'll bring it here.

EDIT: I found more!

Somewhere Over the Rainbow


A Jason Castro Original Song - Tonight


Deep In the Heart of Texas (awwwwww, I lurve him...he's playing it on the ukelele)


Getting the key to the city


Daydream

Jason Castro on 103.7 Lite FM

As part of his Homecoming festivities, Jason was interviewed this morning on 103.7. The interview is in 3 parts!

Check it out here.

Also, his parade and mini-concert are scheduled for later on this afternoon. I'll post what I can find when I find it!

Jason Castro Back in Dallas

Jason has made it back to Dallas for a brief visit before rehearsals get under way for the American Idols Live tour. As part of his visit, the city of Rockwall will be giving him a parade, and there will be a mini-concert following the parade. All of this will take place tomorrow, but this morning, he visited Fox 4 DFW. You can check out the interview and performance he gave there right here!

Also, be sure to come back tomorrow for more from his visit at home.

American Idols on Larry King Live, Part 2

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Part 7:

The Top 10 on Larry King Live, May 23

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Part 2


Part 3


Part 4


Part 5


Part 6


Part 7


They will all be back on Monday's Larry King Live as well. Check back here if you miss it, and I'll be sure to update as soon as possible.

Jason Castro: Hallelujah

He was asked to reprise Hallelujah, and it was just as beautiful as we all remembered.

David Cook and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Last night on American Idol, the kids got to choose songs from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. This is a phenomenal list of songs. You can check it out if you haven't already seen it. I'm sure that they couldn't get the rights to every song on the list, not by any stretch of the imagination. But even without that, this list had to be impressive.

And what kind of a theme week could be better suited for Cookie, right? You would think. I definitely thought so. It seems like he did too...and maybe put a bit too much pressure on himself. I wanted him to just knock my socks off!!! And he did well...but he wasn't GREAT last night. I really felt like he was just thinking too freaking hard the whole night.

First up, he did Hungry Like the Wolf by Duran Duran. He could have done some AMAZING things with this song! He could have completely changed it, rocked it up a bit more and taken off a touch of that pop edge. But he didn't. He sang it well, don't get me wrong. Cookie, even on a bad night, is head and shoulders above the rest of those kids, at least to me. It just wasn't...spectacular. Check it out and see for yourself.




At least he was hot as hell! And those eye fucks? Wow. I will never complain about that, let me tell you. He just seemed a bit subdued in his performance, and he didn't own that song. That's what we've come to expect from him...that he'll take a song...ANY song...and make it into something that so completely suits him that we can't imagine anyone else doing that song. This one...this one didn't quite manage that.

So I was nervous as heck for his next song. I knew that he was going to be doing Baba O'Riley by The Who. And that is one of my favorite songs of all time. Not only that, but we heard it done on Rock Star a few times, and it was FABULOUS. If you haven't seen Jordis Unga do it before, here it is. Really impressive. That was the first song performed by the first performer on the first episode of Rock Star: INXS. That was what got me hooked. And Cookie was going to do the same song. Nervous doesn't even begin to describe what I was feeling.

I needn't have worried so much. He did make changes to this one! And those changes worked, at least for me. He still seemed a bit...off. Like he was thinking too hard, and still trying to shake off that first performance. But he really nailed this one. The ending is a bit funky, but overall, a really solid performance by Cookie. REALLY solid. I love it. And then I could relax. Watch and see for yourself.




Oh...but wait...I couldn't relax yet. Because it was just an odd night on AI. Archie turned in probably the two most solid performances he's had in months, which would definitely earn him a ton of votes. Jason Castro had a really bad night, and earned some of the harshest criticism given by the judges to anyone at this point in the competition, which definitely would get his fans seriously mobilized to vote. And Syesha...she sexed up her look, she cried...she did everything humanly possible in order to get any votes she could get. So Cookie could be in trouble. I had to vote like a banshee yet again.

So of course, I spent a solid two hours of hitting redial on my phone. Please don't let him go home tonight. I need to see him more next week...and the week after. And he needs to win.

That is all for now, folks. I'll be biting my fingernails and ripping my hair out until tonight when Ryan tells Cookie to go and have a seat on the couch because he is safe.

Hmmmm...

So...apparently the other online source for buying David Cook's solo album Analog Heart has also pulled it. I hate to tell y'all, but I don't know where you can get it right now. It seems like something or someone has forced this pull. I don't know whether it is David himself who has pulled the album, or some of his friends and family, or if it is the American Idol machine who are behind it. I'm sorry. I hope you all can buy it again soon!

On another note, I hate that we had to say goodbye to Carly Smithson on this week's elimination night. I think she is a phenomenal singer, and I was certain that she would be the last girl standing. Luckily, she's got a great hubby and family, and they are all being very supportive of her after her elimination. I'm sure, like Michael Johns, she will be signed to a record deal in almost no time. She deserves it.

I also understand that plans are already underway for the remaining five contestants for their hometown visits, should they make it to the Top 3. I wish I could make it out to Blue Springs, MO to support David Cook, but I don't think that's going to happen. So, instead, I'm hoping that Jason Castro winds up in the final 3, and if he does, I'll drive over to Rockwall to see him. He's not my Cookie, but he's pretty awesome in his own right. I'll be sure to bring him some Cheetos.