The Other Castro (why I'm reserving judgement on Michael Castro)

Well, since it's a given that I am a huge Jason Castro fan, I believe it was inevitable that I would write about the American Idol auditions last night in Kansas City, MO. Only I wouldn't be writing solely about Jason this time. Last night, his younger brother, Michael, auditioned and claimed a spot in Hollywood.

I have sort of mixed feelings about this. I watched the show last night, and came to a myriad of conclusions. So I decided to sleep on it and write about it the next day.

I woke up to a still-ongoing debate in my head about Michael and thought of heading over to TelevisionWithoutPity, my American Idol constant. I've read the weecap (Jacob was, as always, on fire) and perused the forums, and I think I'm ready to figure this all out on paper.


I like Michael Castro. I do. But, as with all things that come secondly to us, comparisons are inevitable, and he will probably never reach Jason Castro-levels of likeability to me. I find it hard to say that, because I don’t feel like saying something bad about someone else's family member, especially if that family member is one I have been so over the moon about in so many ways even up to now.

So this is the Michael I have heard so often about. The brother Jason talks about who's better at singing than him. The brother he watches AI with, and talks about auditioning with. (I will skip over what was said in the episode, because I know they love to be funny, those Castros.) I've been told that he's a different kind of card. He is not Jason, and I will keep that in mind – despite the unavoidable comparisons that will be made. That being said, what is it with these Castros and the hair and the interview frights?? Anyway…

He sang Gavin deGraw, who I love so much. In that audition, he defied people's preconceptions about him –with a style bordering on the punk side, a wider vocal range, and better projection. In an instant, he showed people how he is different from his brother – our Jason with the dreads and the organic dress-ups and the laid-back attitude and the sweet sentimental voice. Vocal-wise, he certainly is a lot different than his older brother. In addition, Michael is younger and could even possibly be more relevant to the pop-seeking hitmakers in the industry (you can actually see Kara DioGuardi's mind working, as if she is trying to match Michael with a song she just wrote). Best of all, Michael seemed like the kind of person who could be molded to fit the hit of the day. He can be Gavin, he can be Miley Cyrus' brother, he can be Billie Joe Armstrong – heck, he can probably kick the asses of all three Jonas Brothers combined. And this is probably the reason why Simon Cowell has yet to figure Michael out. Because Michael sounds like possibly any generic pop act in the sun, with a few extras on him.

Now, this is not a bad thing. But neither is this a good thing. And more importantly, while he has a great voice and a pleasant enough personality, I think Simon nailed it on the head when he said "I never know with you Castros if you're in it or not". The reality is he seems like the kind of younger sibling who wants to try everything under the sun. His ballsiness, his "chutzpah" as Kara called it, seems to stem from his youthful exuberance. To paraphrase Michael, "if Jason can do it, I can".

My problem with him is that he doesn't seem to be in it for the long haul. Unlike his brother, who we all knew auditioned for the chance to make music. (And, as we all knew, came out disillusioned yet – God bless him – continues to plod on.) I WANT SO BADLY TO BE PROVEN WRONG ON THIS. I have yet to find out what he has under his belt – if he struggled with his music just like his brother, if he sang in public just for the love of it, if he really is serious. He shouldn't be doing this just to prove he can, he should be doing this because he believes he should. As far as I can know, he has sung covers (available on the Internet), and he has a mySpace page. But who doesn't these days? He's selling posters of himself on brother Jason's website – a demo would be much better, though, like David Cook and Brooke White have done. Has he hit the club scene? Tried to get his music out? Because a mySpace page doesn't really count. Because if you are serious and you have the chops, you will do more than just go online. You will try to go EVERYWHERE (which is what Jason did).

If Michael does prove to be serious about the music, then I will happily throw my hat in the ring alongside him and cheer him on. Otherwise, his brother's earnestness will never be a match for him, and he will always have doubters in his corner.

That being said, I was definitely glad that Michael auditioned that day, or I would have forgotten how much I missed Jason so bad. I read somewhere that he will be coming out with material very soon. And I am so excited. Seriously. His fans will love him more for it for sticking it out in spite of the craziness in the industry. I cannot wait.