Jason Castro is the kid with the long dreads, oversized blue eyes and wide smile on this season "American Idol," and he's made it to the final five. Known for his well-received ukelele-strumming rendition, a la Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" a few weeks ago, he was less fortunate this week during Andrew Lloyd Webber week. But, as the LA Times reports (registration required), he has a loyal group of fans to cheer his spirits:
Jason Castro was having a rough week, and the dreadheads knew it. The loyal fan club, whose website daydreamingboy.com includes downloadable Support Jason fliers, watched Jason get slaughtered for his rendition of "Memory" and then learned from their sources in the Castro camp that he was coping with a mix of exhaustion and fever chills to boot.
So what were the devoted fans to do when their Idol was suffering from a high temperature and low morale? Why, send presents, of course. "We're always trying to think of things we can do to lift his spirits," explained Christalle Baxter, known to her fellow dreadheads as "dreadhead No. 1201."
Concerned that a gift of flowers could worsen Jason's illness by aggravating his allergies, the dreadheads settled on balloons. Christalle set up a Paypal account, and it wasn't long before the donations poured in.
Castro_gallery_190_2 In the end, the dreadheads collected $450 and ordered seven bouquets of balloons from Planet Florist in Westwood. According to Paul Psai, a designer at the florist, it took three cars to transport all the balloons. "It was the biggest order that we ever had."