Hammered by news of plummeting viewer numbers top by embarrassing questions over the Paula Abdul debacle it could be said American Idol has had a rough week.After Tuesday nights show one performance underlined the contestant that should not be in the final, indeed the one that should have gone home weeks ago... that performance came from Jason Castro.Castro struggled with his first song, forgot the words to his second, and couldn't come up with answers to the expected judges comments on such dire performances.Over the past few weeks, Castro has had the look of someone who entered a contest to fulfil a bet only to find himself drawn in way too deep for comfort, with the demands increasing, Castro had a harder time keeping up with the competition.For those that remembered former contestant Sanjaya Malakar who managed to last through to this stage despite lacking a singing voice, Castros two Tuesday performances were a lot worse than anything managed during Malakars time on the show. To ad particularly to Simon Cowells consternation Castro gave the impression that he was not trying at all, something the English judge has always accused him of.Come Wednesdays show, Castro admitted that it was getting tougher for him and cited his inexperience as a hurdle. Each week, it seemed like he was unfamiliar with the material, so he may have had to fight as hard as everyone else just to perform as well as he has. But his stage persona gave off the opposite impression. He'd always appeared as a happy-go-lucky busker, and belting out some random song. Grateful when complimented churlish when criticised, but never seeming comfortable in his surroundings.So as he stood onstage in the bottom two with Syesha Mercado, he quipped "Somebody told me that I shot the Tambourine Man yesterday. I thought that was pretty funny."
Then he added he had followed Simon Cowells advice and packed his suitcase and was ready to go, and the viewers duly obliged by removing the least talented of this seasons contestants.
Tagged in American Idol