sorry this isn't sports related

Aggieland's 'Idol' Hopeful

Much to the chagrin of all the Castro-nauts out there, Jason Castro '09 was eliminated Wednesday night on America's favorite reality show, American Idol.

Castro, the junior construction science major from Rockwall, finished an astonishing 4th out of the nearly 100,000 people that auditioned. His dreadlocks, good looks and dreamy lyrics helped him rise from obscurity to his place today, as a national celebrity.

On a recent trip to Las Vegas, Castro and the other three finalists were mobbed by fans outside of their hotel.

Regarding the scene at the hotel, Castro said "It was crazy, They were all just screaming their heads off. It was fun."

After his elimination, Castro asked two of his friends to take two large suitcases back to Texas for him. The contents of those cases...Fan mail. He had already shipped 2 other large trunks home.

He shot the Tambourine man... <--his quote from his facebook

During Castro's Tuesday night's performance, he butchered the words to Mr. Tambourine Man by Bob Dylan. Rising concerns that he was trying to be eliminated or that he purposely screwed up.

"I definitely did not do that on purpose," Castro said via conference call "I couldn't believe I forgot such a popular line, something that's, like, written on your soul. Somehow, it slipped my mind."

"I Shot the Sheriff" by Bob Marley, his first performance of the night was not well received by the `Idol' judges. Simon Cowell said it was "atrocious."

When asked about his undoing and his elimination Castro cited his inexperience.

"I think what it came down to was just my inexperience. Once we doubled up on songs, I wasn't able to focus." Castro said. "My mind was just split, and I just couldn't deliver either/or."

12th Man for Castro

Over the last several weeks, several organizations came together to throw Idol watching parties in the MSC Flagroom. People whooped every time he flashed up on the screen.

Castro, a member of the Aggie Men's Club, was honored by all the support he received from his Aggie brethren.

Castro said, "All the support was tremendous. I'm honored they all wanted me to do so well. I am anxious to get back and see everyone. I just don't know when that will be."

iTunes sensation

After two of his performances, Castro not only popularized himself with fans, but he also re-birthed forgotten or underrated songs.

This first sensation was after his performance of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah." The song made popular by Jeff Buckley, shot up the charts and became the #1 most downloaded song on iTunes following Castro's performance.

Jason Castro - Hallelujah

Jason Castro - Over the Rainbow

The second time our favorite dreadhead made iTunes a ton of money was after his performance of "Over the Rainbow" by Judy Garland. There was a version of this song, which was performed with a ukulele by a large Hawaiian man, who Castro called Brotha Iz. iTunes went nuts after this melodic tune hit the air, becoming the THIRD most downloaded song of the week.

We here at 12MC are proud of our Aggie friend for doing as well as he did. Great job, Jason!