Article by Karina Gaytan
Photos by Gaby Deimeke
Jackie Castro is a 24-year old Colombian-American alt-pop artist. For as long as Jackie can remember, she always wanted to be a singer. Jackie's mom has home videos of her writing songs in her room at the age of 3. Singing always came naturally to her and there was never a question if it was what she wanted to do with her life. In 2016, Jackie made a prosperous debut into the music business with her band Castro, which consisted of her brothers Jason and Michael Castro. Due to their EP ‘Diamond Dreams’ debuting at #1 on the Singer/Songwriter charts on iTunes and augmenting over 9 million streams on Spotify, they attained a national television debut on The Wendy Williams Show.
In 2018, Jackie left Castro. The main reason being that they were at different periods in their lives, that made them unfit to function as a band. Jackie was 22 at the start of her career and was eager to work hard to make her goals transpire. Jackie wasn’t entirely fitted to executing that within the band, which lead to tension within them as a family. After leaving Castro, Jackie was able to discover her sound and music that is extremely significant to her. Her sound consisting of a mix of playful melodies, lush vocals, a balance of synths and acoustic instruments, and honest lyrics. Now an independent artist, Jackie has released a variety of hits, such as, "Romanticize," "You Want It, I Want It," and "Hourglass."
Jackie was strongly influenced by a variety of artists. Liz and Brittany from Delta Rae, whom she has toured with, influenced her stage presence. Taylor swift influenced Castro to become a singer/songwriter at the age of 12 and how one should treat their fans. When her brother Jason was playing shows, Jackie would join him and sing Taylor Swift covers. Jackie wants her audience to be able to hear the raw emotions she puts into every song she writes. Whether they originate from her deepest fears, insecurities, and regrets, or pure love, passion, and acceptance. Jackie has found that music helps us recognize how we’re honestly more alike than we are different. We are so psyched to be apart of Jackie’s journey, and hopefully, we see her accomplish all of her goals! Don't forget to stream and purchase Jackie's latest single, "Hourglass" on all platforms.