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SINGAPORE : Singer Jason Castro won over millions of viewers with his soothing voice and laid-back charm on the seventh season of American Idol.
Though he did not win the competition, he finished a respectable fourth, not bad for someone who taught himself how to sing a few years ago by looking for techniques and tips on the Internet.
However, the 23-year-old Texan, whose self-titled album will be released on April 13, was shy and insecure about his singing and did not want anyone to hear him so he would go to the park to practise.
"If I could see anyone on the horizon, I wouldn't sing until they were out of sight, that was just how I learnt," he said in an interview with Primetime Morning.
Besides plenty of practise, one tip that Jason found particularly useful was recording himself sing and then playing it back and listening to it.
"You think something sounds good when you are singing but when you listen back and compare that to other singers, you realise that, okay I could do a little work here," said the singer-songwriter.
And of course it doesn't hurt to go on a little reality competition called American Idol.
"It [Idol] was more of an encouragement more than anything. Because when I first started singing I didn't really know if I had what it took but I really loved it, so I went out for the show.
"It puts you on the spot. It's a sink or swim kind of thing, either you were meant to do it or you weren’t, so being on the show you really learn a lot just from the music business, hanging out all day living in LA, learning from everybody around you. It’s just an experience of a lifetime," said Jason, who was the first contestant in the history of American Idol to ever perform with an instrument.
And the best thing he's gotten out of the experience is to be able to do what he is doing today - sing, write songs, perform and tour.
Expressing his most personal thoughts in his music, Jason said, "[Singing] is like telling the story, and writing the songs is like writing the story, both of them are cool. That's the cool thing about doing music. It goes in phases: there's a time to write, there's a time to go perform, there's a time to record and it all goes in cycles. It's all very rewarding."
"Touring is a lot of fun. It's always been the dream to play music every night to new people. It's just keeping that story going," he added.
And not only that, it also allows him to see the world and visit places he's never been before.
Jason, who had just wrapped up his first solo US tour, was in Singapore to perform at the Singapore Radio Awards on Wednesday night.
Accompanied by his dad and wife, whom he just married in January this year, this is the farthest the dreadlocked crooner's ever been away from home.
"We're having a blast, it's one of the most beautiful cities," he said.
In fact, he was so impressed with Singapore that he tweeted that he would consider moving here if it weren't a 24-hour plane ride from Texas.
Well, sleep on it Jason. Our doors are always open to you.
- CNA/il
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