Idol Gives Back: A one-night event that is quickly becoming one of the biggest money raising TV shows that benefits disadvantaged children around the world.
The show opened with the “So You Think You Can Dance” top 10 from last season plus a few SYTYCD all-stars and the Elite 8 Idols as they joined forces to deliver a little song and dance routine to the cheers of the audience and the viewing public.
Once the show kicked off proper, the celebrity sightings were a virtual who’s who of the entertainment pages of your favorite magazines.
- NASCAR’s Jimmie Johnson asked his legion of fans to donate to this worthy cause
- George Lopez appealed to the Spanish-speaking audience to reach into their pockets
- Aussie native Kyle Minogue was up next and asked her fans from Down Under to donate what they could
- Maria Shriver quoted Ghandi in her plea for not only money donations, but also asked people to volunteer their time
- Ben Stiller went for humor in asking for donations reaching a gagillion dollars—a made up number according to Wikipedia
- Blinged out and wearing an Idol Gives Back hoodie, Snoop Dogg rapped while his pee-wee football team stormed the stage—in a good way, of course. For those of you not familiar with Snoop, he ain’t no Cliff Huxtable
- With a strategically placed band-aid on his check, LA Laker Kobe Bryant asked basketball fans around the country to put a full-court press on poverty
- Triple H from the WWE showed a softer side in asking wrestling fans to put their wallets into a figure-four leg lock and donate
- Idol judges, Randy and Paula, traded their comfortable chairs for center stage and introduced a video shot at Goshen Elementary school located not far from the Idol stage, but a world away in comfort and safety
- A not very clever skit with Carrie Underwood and “Desperate Housewives” plumber James Denton and his one-time main squeeze, Teri Hatcher lead into a performace of Carrie’s “Before He Cheats” by Teri with James playing the acoustic guitar in the band. She started pretty good, but got a bit pitchy as she made her way through the song—there is no way she’s the next American Idol!
- DWTS’s Mary Murphy threatened to do her signature “woo-hoo” scream until everyone watching donated. Idol Executive Producer, Nigel Lythgoe, pleaded with everyone to give in to Mary—because she is so darn annoying.
- The Jonas Brothers gave out the phone number and Idol website for donations
- Billy Crystal did a little Idol-related schtick and told a nice little story about a young lady who wanted sing on the show—that young lady was Miley Cyrus…aka Hannah Montana and Billy Ray Cyrus’ daughter. Billy and Miley did a little lame banter with Billy acting like he didn’t know who she was—it was pretty much a total waste of time…shocking, I know. And then she turned the tables and asked him if he “is in show business”. Real yawner…and then Miley sang “Good and Broken Chains”.
- Bono delivered a message from Africa and shared the story of a pretty fantastic lady who helps AIDS victims in Africa who need medicines to help fight this awful disease. It is really heart breaking to see these young children who were born HIV-positive and need these drugs just to have a chance—slight as it might be, to live another day.
- Fergie accompanied by John Legend sang “Finally”, a song John wrote and the two performed at this year’s Grammy Award show. The Duchess did a nice job, thanked those who donated already, and then introduced Ann and Nancy Wilson—aka Heart!
- The Wilson sisters rocked the house with a rousing rendition of “Barracuda”. Fergie joined the sisters on stage half-way through the song and she strutted her stuff in pair of tight black leather pants—which made Ann look like a small mountain, but you can not deny Ann’s voice is still as strong as ever.
- The second WWE Superstar, John Cena, threatened to put anyone who didn’t donate in a headlock.
- Adam Sandler and his sleeping bulldog asked everyone watching to get off the couch and donate
- The first family of the NFL, Eli and Peyton Manning, hit the stage at the Kodak Theatre to update everyone on the progress that is being made in their hometown of
- The first family of celebrity Soccer, Posh and David Beckham, asked for footballer fans in the viewing audience to bend their wallets like the Beckhams and donate.
- Bono’s second video installment from
- Annie Lennox shared the story of a family of four brothers who lost their entire family to AIDS. The eldest boy is 15 and is the head of the family—that is just not right. Annie took the boys to a hospital in
- Annie then performed “Many Rivers to Cross”, a Jimmy Cliff song, back at the Kodak Theatre. And while she played the piano and sang with her emotions on full display, a video of her time with these courageous young men played on the screens in the background.
- Jimmy Kimmel introduced Simon Cowell—but not before insulting Simon’s clothing, his anatomy, and his haircut. When he finally gave Simon his time, we were rewarded with a video which showed Simon in a
- Then Simon introduced the very talented Carrie Underwood who dazzled in an iridescent gold, floor-length dress and finally got to sing a song.
- Gloria Estefan and Sheila E. teamed up on “Get On Your Feet”—and pleaded with the audience to shake their money makers and donate what fell out of their pockets…quite clever!
- Sarah Silverman, Jimmy Kimmel’s main squeeze and a very saucy comic, dialed it down a bit and updated us on the great work of a host of people and organizations who are helping the many Africans who suffer from Malaria. Forrest Whitaker hosted a video showing the effects of this terrible disease—yet another disease that is causing African children to become extremely sick and even death. To help these children, they need malaria nets and special pills to safe their lives—the cost: $10/net, $2/pill. A small price to pay for these children to have a chance at a happy life.
- Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of Great Britain, said that the
- Reese Witherspoon shined a spotlight on the “Children’s Defense Fund”—a charity very close to her heart. A video shot in
- The Elite 8 took time away from the phones to sing “Seasons of Love” from the hit Broadway musical, Rent. Flanked by a couple of gospel choirs and seated around a grand piano, the Idols sounded great with each lending their unique style and sound to a wonderful song of hope.
- Dane Cook introduced Alisha Keys, a talented singer-songwriter who we learned is the global ambassador to “Keep a Child Alive” which is a charity that provides care to children with AIDS. Alisha took us on a tour of
- Ashley Tisdale and Vanessa Hudgens from the “High School Musical” franchise pleaded with kids to dig into their piggy banks and their parents to get out their wallets and donate
- Miley Cyrus was back to vamp it up, sing “I Can’t Wait to See You Again”, and to appeal once again to the ‘tween crowd—aka David Archuleta’s key demographic.
- Then Miley took us back to Clay County, KY—the childhood home of Billy Ray Cyrus. She introduced us to a family living in extreme poverty—in a home that most of us only know about from reading books and watching Farrelly Brother movies. But to these people, these conditions are very real. This family’s children as well as a number of those living in this area have been provided books and the opportunity to learn to read and learn—which will lead them to the chance at creating a better life for themselves and their families.
- To provide some comic relief, Ryan introduced us to the recently crowned Russian Idol, Ivan Popanov, who bore a striking resemblance to America’s very own, Robin Williams. Dressed in black leather pants and a gaudy gold lame-accented shirt that looked as if it were stolen from the closet of Sigfried and Roy, the Russian Idol kibitzed with Ryan while the AI judges sat stage left acting like they were going to do something other than become the butt of the Idol’s “jokes” and then he “sang” a song which was judged by Randy, Paula, and Simon. Randy called it “forcefully pitchy”, Paula commented on the shirt, and Simon said it was “brilliant”.
- TV funny man David Spade came on next and introduced Brad Pitt who has taken an interest in helping New Orleans recover from the damage left behind by Hurricane Katrina. Brad was shown helping rebuild houses, digging with President Clinton, and playing catch with the children who suffered the effects of the Hurricane, but who exhibit the strength of a region that will not allow an act of nature to ruin their lives.
- Brad then came on stage at the Kodak Theatre to the screams of the many ladies in the audience—as well as quite a few of the men. He introduced a video featuring Daughtry and the time they spent recently in Uganda. The video was set to Daughtry’s “What About Now” and held anthem status for the children to whom Chris and his band played.
- Other celebrities logging time on the show included Keifer Sutherland, Celine Dion, Whoopie Goldberg, Ellen DeGeneres, Keith Urban, Rob Schneider, Tyra Banks
My DVR cut out before the show ended, but I am pretty sure everyone got the theme of the show: get entertained and donate some money—all in the name of a very good cause.
Idol Gives Back was full of emotion, acts of kindness, and generosity—it is wonderful to see a show as big as American Idol lending itself to this type of event…
But it’s time to get back to what American Idol is all about—finding the best unsigned singing talent in the country.
Until next time, I will continue watching TV so you don’t have to…
Charlie
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