TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Fans Can Welcome Home Syesha Mercado At Free Concert By 'American Idol' Finalist

ADVERTISEMENT

By WALT BELCHER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 9, 2008

Having survived numerous close calls in the voting this season, "American Idol" finalist Syesha Mercado is scheduled to make a triumphant hometown visit today.

The 21-year-old will be in Sarasota, Tampa, Bradenton and St. Petersburg for a series of public and private appearances that are being taped to air next week on the Fox reality show.

Mercado, a student at Florida International University in Miami, has made it to the final three and is the only female singer left in the competition.

Today's events include a free public concert, a visit to Tampa radio and TV stations and a performance singing the national anthem at a Tampa Bay Rays game in St. Petersburg at 7 p.m.

The concert is at 3:30 p.m. on the Ca d'Zan terrace at John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art on Bay Shore Road in Sarasota. (Enter through the Visitor Pavilion.) The parking lot opens at 1 p.m. north of the Ringling Museum at New College of Florida. For directions, see the "Syesha page" at sarasotafl.org.

She begins the day at the MJ Kelli morning radio show on WFLZ, 93.3 FM, just after 7 a.m. She also is scheduled to visit with Nancy Alexander on WMTX, 100.7 FM.

At 8 a.m. she will be on "Good Day Tampa Bay" on WTVT, Channel 13 . Then she travels to Bradenton for a 10:30 celebration. She also is scheduled to drop by an AT&T store (the wireless sponsor of "Idol") at 11:15 a.m.

The next stop is her alma mater, Sarasota's Booker High School, where she will perform a private concert for teachers and students (to be streamed on myfoxtampabay.com). She also gets a SkyFox 13 helicopter tour of the county at 2:30 p.m.

Mercado broke down in tears on Tuesday after her performance of "A Change Is Gonna Come." She told host Ryan Seacrest that she was overcome with emotion after judge Paula Abdul told her she was living her dream, and with the meaning of the song, written during the civil rights movement.

CASTRO RELIEVED: Jason Castro says it was a relief to get out from under the pressure of competing on "Idol."

The 20-year-old novice performer told reporters Thursday that he was as happy on Wednesday night when he was ousted as he was when he made the top 24.

Although he wanted to win, he found it difficult to focus on learning lyrics and music to two songs a week. In a telephone news conference, he said he feared having to learn three songs for the finale and tape a hometown visit. "But I also wanted to win," he said.

The dreadlocked singer says he had been struggling with his performances ever since the contestants were required to sing two songs.

Castro, an inexperienced performer from Rockwell, Texas, got the least number of votes in the weekly viewers poll after botching Bob Marley and Bob Dylan songs on Tuesday night's performance show. He forgot the lyrics to "Tambourine Man."

Castro says he didn't mess up the line on purpose. "How could you forget a line that is written in your soul?"

There had been speculation among fans that he wanted out, and some thought he mouthed the words "don't vote" during the program. He says what he mouthed was "Vote. Vote."

Castro, who didn't start performing until his freshman year in college, says the longest set he had played prior to "Idol" was 30 minutes.

"I learned some songs but never all the way through," he says.

He says he "is about as raw as it gets," but he got through the auditions because the judges saw the potential. He also says he is goofy and an awkward conversationalist. "All my friends loved it because what you see is what you get, and I didn't change coming out here."

TUNE IN TONIGHT

TV's All-Time Funniest,

8 p.m., ABC

Viewers can vote online for the funniest TV mothers, fathers, kids, relatives, neighbors, bosses and so on.

Ghost Whisperer, 8 p.m., CBS

Melinda (Jennifer Love Hewitt) looks into a 1979 murder case tried by her father hoping to find clues to his disappearance.

For more of the Castro interview, go to TBO.com, keyword: Walt TV.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT