Jason Castro

The decidedly laid-back Castro often performed while accompanying himself on the guitar, a first for any contestant in the history of "American Idol." He steadily gained the judges' and the viewers' votes with his minimalist, folk spins on familiar songs such as Leonard Cohen's gospel song "Hallelujah" (1984), Mariah Carey's hit ballad "I Don't Wanna Cry" (1991), and the classic "Over the Rainbow" (1939), which he sang while playing the ukulele. Following his performance of "Hallelujah" on the show, sales of Jeff Buckley's cover of Cohen's song shot up to the No. 1 spot on the iTunes singles chart. While the dreadlocked fan favorite often chose songs that fit his mellow vocals, his paltry renditions of Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff" (1973) and Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" (1965) were not well-received by the judges and viewers, and ultimately led to his being voted off the competition on May 7, 2008. Castro continued making music even after his stint on "Idol" was over, releasing the album Let's Just Fall in Love Again in 2010, and performing at live concerts with his band all across Asia.