Jason Castro's Stint On 'American Idol' Up In Smoke

American Idol's resident stoner was ousted after a tragic Bob Marley incident. (Courtesy Fox)

There was something cool about Jason Castro. Something that made him stand out from the other American Idol contestants. It could be the goofy grin; the sly, Jim Halpert looks he gave the camera when Ryan Seacrest would over-exuberantly exclaim, "This is American Idol!" Or perhaps it's the obvious - Castro didn't take the show, or himself too seriously and it was goddamn refreshing, I tell you.

In a show where the smarmy, goody-two-shoes Brooke White proclaimed over and over that this was her dream; a saccharine David Archuleta got all the compliments; a silly, silly girl sold her horse to buy a plane ticket to be on the show, then pleaded with the man she sold it to sell it back -- and the tears -- the constant stream of tears and melodrama. Christ. What this show really needed was a stoner to put things in perspective. And Jason Castro was just that stoner.

It was becoming more and more obvious that judges, particularly Simon Cowell, were frustrated with his nonchalant attitude.

When Seacrest announced that Castro would be leaving the show, Castro smiled and strapped on his guitar to make his final exit. When Seacrest opined that Castro looked "relieved," without missing a beat, the singer shot back, "It's three songs next week — I don't know what I would have done!"

What I'm saying here is this -- while I myself am not a stoner (had a terrifying experience with a brownie once), I like the stoner moxie. The carefree, chill-out attitude is something this world needs a little more of. Jason Castro knew he wasn't doing anything great; he wasn't fighting fires or flying helicopters into war-torn countries -- he was just singing on a stage. All the hype and drama over it seemed unnecessary really.