http://thestar.blogs.com/realitycheck/2010/07/american-idol-life-is-beautiful-for-jason-castro.html
07/23/2010
American Idol: Life is Beautiful for Jason Castro
(Jason Castro in his American Idol days in a Reuters file photo.)
You could say Jason Castro is on top of the world, except the former American Idol finalist was relaxing on a beach in Florida when I talked to him this week, his first break in quite a while, he said.
"I can't complain. Life is good," said the 23-year-old singer-songwriter.
Let's see, since he finished in fourth place on Idol's Season 7, he has released a debut album, is planning a tour in the fall, got married and got to sing on a soap opera.
On July 29 and 30, Jason will be seen on The Bold and the Beautiful performing his song "Love Uncompromised."
"I'm really excited I got to sing that one," he said. "It's probably one of the most romantic songs on the album. It reminds me of a good old-fashioned love song."
Jason also got about six lines of dialogue, maybe more, in his scenes with Hope (Kim Matula), Oliver (Zack Conroy) and Aggie (Sarah Joy Brown).
"I don't really have interest in doing an acting career," Jason said. "The only way I'd be in any sort of acting was if I got to play myself. That's exactly what I got to do here."
The soap opera Jason Castro is friends with Oliver, who's "on the phone trying to talk to his girlfriend. I'm there for moral support ... Lucky for him, I'm a good friend."
Jason, who's not a soap opera fan, said his scenes only took about 40 minutes to shoot. "It was really cool. I really enjoyed being on TV sets and stuff."
Of course, his first experience with that was on Idol in 2008.
Jason called that "an unforgettable experience. I wouldn't trade it for anything."
He adds, though, that he doesn't see Idol as the start of his music career. "I really feel like now is when my career is starting."
He was a rock band drummer through high school in Dallas and started teaching himself guitar when he went to college.
"I started looking at music in a new light, hearing lyrics and melodies for the first time," he said.
He'd been writing his own songs for about a year when he got on Idol and, as soon as that year's top 10 tour was over, he headed to L.A. to write more. "Writing is the main piece of the puzzle."
When it came time for a record deal, Jason said he wanted to get one on his own merits, not just as an Idol alumnus, and he feels he found that with Atlantic Records. "It's a really natural relationship."
His self-titled debut album came out in April. He and his band have been playing some one-off dates with hopes of a tour in the fall.
Jason said he still gets recognized everywhere he goes. "Not a day goes by that I'm not taking at least 10 pictures," he said. "Sometimes, obviously, I'd like a little peace and quiet, but for that I just stay home."
He acknowledges his signature dreadlocks make him hard to miss. "That's definitely not something I can hide ... you can't really just put on a baseball cap."
He's considered cutting them off. "I mean they're so long it's kind of an ordeal even just to go to bed. You've got to get them out of the way."
But he likes not having to go for haircuts and the dreads, which were a trademark in his band days in Dallas, remind him of the dreams of being a musician that he nurtured then.
"I look around at my friends graduating college, it's a pretty weird thing," Jason said, reflecting on how things have turned out for him.
"It really does feel like American Idol was my schooling. Then I went out into the real world and started figuring it out.
"I'm very privileged I would say. I'm very thankful for the chance to do this."
The Bold and the Beautiful airs on CTV weekdays at 1:30 p.m.
