Jason Castro

Sporting dreadlocks, an acoustic guitar, and a flower child outlook, Jason Castro turned his singer/songwriter charm into a fourth-place result on the 2008 season of American Idol. He became the first contestant to bring an instrument onto the program, drawing on his guitar work for relaxed takes on "I Shot the Sheriff," "Daydream," and "Travelin' Thru" throughout the run. Although Sayesha Mercado, David Archuleta, and David Cook finished ahead of him, Castro revealed his sales strength via a pair of digital-chart successes, one of them a ukulele-helmed reading of "Over the Rainbow" that led the digital rankings. That momentum produced a deal with Atlantic Records in April 2009 and the arrival of his debut album the next year. Five tracks from the album also surfaced on Who I Am, Castro’s initial contemporary Christian release, which reached stores in November 2010. He followed with his third studio album, the likewise Christian-oriented Only a Mountain, in 2013.