In reply to Colleen's most recent blog and comments...  

Posted by Melinda

Unfortunately, I'm not as passionate about Jason as I once was. As a result, I sincerely doubt I will ever support him at the level I have been. That's not to say I won't still buy his music and attend his shows, but I'm afraid my traveling and "street teaming" days are over. I became too invested, and as a result, there has been a LOT of hurt along the way. Many tears shed.  And that is my own fault.

However, I don't think being a fan is tricky at all.  Actually, I think it's pretty easy.  I've been a fan of a lot of people for a very long time.  I've never expected one damn thing from any of the artists I've admired and supported along the way except music.  Then again, I've never supported an artist at the same level as I have supported Jason, and all fans are NOT created equal.  Sorry.  There are some who do nothing except buy music and attend shows.  And that's fine.  That's most fans.  That's me where most artists are concerned.  And the music and live shows are a perfectly acceptable "reward" for those fans.  

But there are others who have donated countless hours of time supporting Jason, in particular, when they could have been doing other things... like spending time with our own families and friends, cleaning, running errands, or simply taking care of ourselves.  Instead, we gave to this artist we believed in so much that we were willing to sacrifice some of that to see him succeed.  Not because he was an American Idol contestant, but because we felt he was a worthy human being and artist who needed a helping hand.  

As Colleen said, nothing I've ever done for Jason was done for thanks, but appreciation goes a long way with those who have worked the hardest for you and will ensure they continue to work hard for you. When your closest friends have been personally and genuinely thanked BY JASON for their contributions and you haven't been...even though you've worked just as hard...it leaves a mark.  It's human nature, and I make no apologies for the way I feel.  Anyone else would feel the same whether they admit it or not.  There are other things, recent things, that have happened that have left scars as well.  The details are unimportant, but I mention it, because people so often talk without having all the facts.  And trust me when I say that you, the reader, don't know as much as you think you know.  But people will pass judgment on you anyway based only on what they see.  

We've never claimed to have all the answers.  Sadly, by choice, I have no experience in the music industry.  I don't know if any of the "advice" we've ever given Jason along the way has any merit.  I think it's safe to say that most, if not all, of our active posting members have never wanted anything except the best for Jason, and we have longed to see him break free from the American Idol stigma for a while now.  I hope he can.  Meanwhile, he has a fanbase who found him through that show, got to know him through that show and tour, and grew to care about him because of that show... as much as I hate it now.  We are a needy bunch.  He may even consider us a giant pain in the ass.  But without us, he wouldn't be here.  And we have never claimed Jason hasn't been good to his fans.  In fact, it's because of his goodness that we always expect more, I guess.  

Some of the things Colleen speaks about, however, has nothing to do with humoring the fans.  It's just common courtesy, and it will take you a long way in life and professionally... for anyone.  Tweeting?  It isn't that time consuming, and it keeps people focused on you.  In the end, will it make any difference?  I don't know.  Twitter is so new, I'd venture to say that nobody knows.  If it doesn't though, what has an artist lost by dropping a few random tweets every day?  Really?  Five minutes a day?  But if it plays even a small part in helping that artist grow and sustain a fanbase, the reward...for the artist...is also music.  They get to keep doing what they love.  And we get to keep enjoying it.

If Jason had been greeted with the success Carrie Underwood had after departing American Idol, this wouldn't even be a thought in any of our minds.  But he's not experiencing that kind of success.  He's not an established artist yet.  And I happen to believe that anything he could do to sustain and/or grow his fanbase has far more impact that anything we could ever do.

Melinda

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 13, 2010 . You can leave a response and follow any responses to this entry through the Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom) .

5 comments

Anonymous  
7/13/2010 6:19 PM

Even though people do things without expecting anything in return, a simple thank you means more than you know. It's an acknowledgement that a person is appreciated and valued. Something that takes 15 seconds to do lasts in a memory forever.

Great blog Mel.

AM

selina  
7/13/2010 8:44 PM

I hope if Jason has read the blogs that he understands that you & Colleen wrote it with concern for his career. We all are concerned about his passion as an artist & his career path.

I do believe he does want to hear the truth from his fans. If the song sucks we should tell him & if we think he's messed up in other things we should tell him too! Afterall he can only grow if we give constructive criticisms.. We are definitely not here to kiss his arse & I know he doesnt want this. If I were him I'd worry the day we all keep our mouths shut & not say anything that would mean we have completely lost interest in him & his music.... I hope this will never happen because I see so much potential in him to be a successful artist.

He calls us his friends..... he treats us like his friends, well at least almost like his friends:) And as his friends we will continue to comment & show him how much we truly care about him.

Thats it from me:) Which is actually quite a bit considering I never really am good w/ writing!

Love u girls & you, Mr Jason Rene Castro

Selina

TwoStepsBack  
7/14/2010 1:37 AM

You claim to speak your mind, and I like people that are straight to the point, rather than beating around the bush. The important thing is how you say things. You can speak your mind without hurting other people's feelings, considering your choice of words, and your message will go through loud and clear anyway. There's a thin line between being honest and being rude. Respect for others that may not agree or that have other opinions, is a crucial thing in people that are so open about being honest and speaking their mind. I hope that is the case with you, because here comes my opinions. ;)

What I feel from these two blogs is, even though you're both claiming that it's not, that you feel that Jason hasn't thanked you enough for the amount of work you have done for him. I have seen him thank his street teams many times, but as for him to personally thank everybody... well, that is not possible for obvious reasons. There are so many of us that have put time and effort into Jason and promoting him and his music in different ways. Some have gone all out, while others have in a smaller scale. This is something that we have done by our own choice. If you have chosen to promote Jason and work with that instead of prioritizing you family and your "real" life, well, that is something that you yourself has to take responsibility for. Jason has never asked us to do that, but I am absolutely sure that he appreciates everything that everyone has done, big or small, if he has thanked them personally or not.

You say that people comment and come to conclusions without knowing the backgrounds story, well, I think that is what you do yourself.
You say 5 minutes to tweet isn't that time consuming, and you, in my opinion, demand that Jason does that everyday. You don't know what his life is like, some days he has the time to do it, some he might not. As important as his fans are he have other obligations as well, with work, family and other stuff that we know nothing about.
I am absolutely sure that he recognizes how much his fan base means to his career! I am convinced that he appreciates everything everyone is doing for him, and for interest to go down at certain points during someones carrier, is inevitable. To keep the interest going is of course important, but if that is by tweeting everyday... I'm not sure.

Someone else said here that they believe Jason wants to hear the truth from his fans, but telling him a song sucks... how is that by any means a truth? It's just an opinion from someone on how they feel about the song. Why would you even say that to someone? If I don't like a song, fine, I just don't listen to it. I feel no need to tell the artist that I don't like a song. How would saying that be useful to the artist in any way possible? Why would he even want to know? Tell him what songs you do like instead! Constructive criticism is absolutely valuable to everyone, but with any form of art, if it's music, movies, painting, poetry or whatever else there is, it is the artists inner feelings that are expressed, and how other people receive that is all totally different. Some like it and some don't. That is a fact, but from that to tell someone "that thing you put your soul and emotions into sucks"... well, that is not constructive in any way.

I have respect for what you all are feeling, and not being in your shoes can't make me feel the same way, but I hope you respect that I don't agree on certain things, and that I hope that you'll still be supporting Jason in the way you feel you can. Buying his music and speaking well of it, if you like it, is, I guess, all that he expects from us.

Melinda  
7/14/2010 7:50 AM

I don't feel either of us were rude, but that is your opinion. I'm afraid much if what we've said has been misunderstood. I'm not "demanding" anything of Jason. He's a grown man, and he can do what he wants. I do believe that there are things he could be doing, however, to keep interest up during a time when there isn't much going on, so when he doesn't, it's frustrating to me.

The internet is full of opinions, and we don't always see eye to eye. To that end, if I have something to say to Jason, good or bad, I will continue to go directly to him as I have always done. He doesn't have to agree with my opinion and neither does anyone else, but I do appreciate that you chose to post your comments to us so that we could have the opportunity to respond.

Thanks for reading. =)

Anonymous  
9/24/2010 4:28 PM

WTF, this guy is a loser and has been coddled be idiots all of his life. His singing is marginal and his 15 minutes has ended. Everyone get a life. Our country is being threatened by runaway spending. How about focus on that.

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