JASON CASTRO at Ayala Terraces

First, a confession. I came to watch Jason Castro, the dreadlocked “American Idol” Season 7 alumnus, at Ayala Terraces over the weekend with a big fat lie. In every occasion and circumstance that I was asked if I ever were a fan of his during his AI stint, I acted like the great pretender and sustained the lie that I wasn't. He was actually a personal bet (apart from the Fil-Am contender Ramiele Malubay for obvious reasons), and his covers on AI I downloaded more religiously than those of the favorite Davids (Archuleta and Cook) of that “season of downloadables.”

Then when I was asked for the umpteenth time if I was going to watch his performance last Saturday evening, I explicated that I was suffering from what my doctor calls as swimmer's ear (this was not a lie). I swam in one day an equivalent of the five years that I steered clear of the beach, and all that water consumption so dulled my hearing that it would be an ordeal listening to this twenty-something singer, who's known for his toe-tapping pop, strummy folk, earthy style.

But of course, that was another lie. I was there two hours earlier than the scheduled performance, and bless my dulled hearing, I had a good excuse to press my face a bit closer to his and notice his aw-shucks, bright blue eyes that are not afraid to hold yours during a last-minute interview arranged by Cebu Holdings Inc.

A lovestruck lady writer, who shall remain nameless here, was muted (her word, not mine) and couldn't ask a thing until the last two minutes of the interview, and accused me (jokingly, of course!) of bursting the bubble when I asked about his wife. Jason, who married his highschool sweetheart last January, said that marriage is the state that he's really happy to be in, and he's wearing his heart on his sleeve in his just-released EP, Love Uncompromised.

From his all-original EP, Jason sang three numbers in addition to two of his most popular AI covers, so his gig was over just as I was warming my seat.

But at least, he performed his Jeff Buckley-inspired version of Hallelujah and Over the Rainbow (yes, with his ukelele) from his AI stint, but to those who didn't catch his mini-concert, watch out for his composition called Love Uncompromised from his debut album. It's a bit of a departure from the playful and light tone set by his first single off the album, Let’s Just Fall In Love Again, which is enjoying major airplay right now. Love Uncompromised is meant for all the jaded and cynical hearts out there: it's candid and mature, sexy and very sweet, and yes, a bit not age appropriate for the largely tween audience that night, but it wasn't the kind of song that would send mothers barking to cover tween ears either.

Worth-noting was how his gig turned out as a sort-of family affair as his wife was also there—a pretty, petite, dark-haired lady, who looked on proudly and clicked away as her husband was performing. His father was also there, who repeatedly checked on the microphones, made sure the set-up was in place, and who entertained the media interested to talk to his son, and shared tidbits about their family that's really the musical type, but that it was only Jason who pursued music professionally. The complete interview with Jason will soon come out in this section.

Just a little history to end this piece: Jason Castro is the fifth AI alumnus to come to Cebu, and the 3rd one to be brought by Ayala for a free show. The first one was the Filipina-Hawaiian third-placer Jasmine Trias for a Sinulog affair. The second was Constantine Maroulis, then Eliott Yamin—both came for Ayala.

Kris Allen, the reigning AI champ, was brought here by Fearless Productions only last February. All four of them, except for Constantine, The FREEMAN was fortunate to interview and feature.