Entertainment

On Wednesday night, Jason Castro was told his time on American Idol was over. There would be no Fox-filmed parade, party and assorted hoopla, as was the plan should he make the top three.

Jason took the news well.

He admitted that his "inexperience is coming in," especially when the show started demanding two songs from each singer. "And there are three songs next week," he added before his farewell. "I don't know what I would have done."

That leaves David Archuleta, David Cook and Syesha Mercado to duke it out for the top spot. Ryan Seacrest noted that out of 51 million votes that came in this week, the trio were separated by just a million or so each. The competition could get rough.

Associated Press

Jason Castro

But not for Jason, whose laid-back honesty endeared him to fans known as Dreadheads. Before Ryan Seacrest revealed the results, he reminded the crowd what the judges had said of Jason's two Rock and Roll Hall of Fame songs, "I Shot the Sheriff" and "Mr. Tambourine Man."

"Somebody told me that I shot the tambourine man," Jason said with a giggle. "I thought that was pretty funny."

And when Ryan noted that Simon Cowell had told him to pack his bags, he replied, "I did."

Jason's apparent relief about his fate gives credence to rumors that the guy was actually ready to leave, thank you very much. Still, that doesn't mean he didn't appreciate the experience.

"Dreams do come true," he said in his swan-song montage, "so dream big."