American Idol aired its annual Idol Gives Back special tonight and as usual it brought out some big names to support the charity! Victoria Beckham, Jennifer Garner, Alicia Keys, and Carrie Underwood are just a few of the stars who performed and traveled to help out. Learn more and donate here. Check out a few photos from the big evening and don't forget to enter to win a trip to a taping of Idol and The Ellen DeGeneres show!
Photos courtesy of Fox
Well, there were no charitable surprises on American Idol this year. Someone went home during Idol Gives Back week on Thursday, and the announcement literally made my jaw drop. Which of these eight folks couldn't get past the inspirational-song round? To find out and talk about it, just read more
As a concept, Idol Gives Back is a great thing. Here we have the most-watched show in the country, with an active viewing and voting base, working to get people to make the world better. Can't say I recall, oh, M*A*S*H or Seinfeld doing that.
The show's second installment aired Wednesday night, taking up a super-sized two and a half hours — apparently a little more, since my DVR chopped it off somewhere just past Miley Cyrus, Part II — and showing numerous views of tragic living conditions around the globe with big-name celebrities as our guide. The bulk of the show was taped over the weekend, but live in the Idol studios, the top 12 answered phones and the top eight gave us a few more inspirational songs. Executive producer Nigel Lythgoe said he wanted the show to be bigger and better than last year — and to top its $76 million fundraising effort. So, how do you think Idol did?
Without any actual Idol-related event (there wasn't even a fakeout elimination — instead, the goodbye comes tonight), the Idol Gives Back telethon is . . . just a telethon, albeit one with well-produced packages about poverty and tragedy, appearances by major stars, and musical numbers galore. There were a lot of good things about the special, and there were a few that didn't quite hit the mark. I suppose I was expecting something more fun, considering all the talent involved — but, then again, would "fun" have been the right note for a charity special? I'm not really sure.
Fox hasn't released any donation numbers for Idol Gives Back yet, but I'll keep you posted; I believe the last number I heard during the show was $20-something million, not including the $200 million of mosquito nets from Great Britain, but I could be wrong. Were you moved to donate? Did any of the acts stand out? You can read a few of my thoughts if you read more
Three wanna be American Idols will go on national TV tonight, trying to impress Americans in an attempt to get the most votes. I'm not talking talented singers, but rather the final three presidential candidates. I wonder if Ryan Seacrest is available to host Democratic debate #537?
Hillary Clinton, John McCain, and Barack Obama will appear on tonight's "Idol Gives Back" special, in a blatant attempt to look cool, I mean, raise money for charity. Are you excited to see the candidates at a fund raiser with Victoria and David Beckham, Jim Carrey, Adam Sandler, Alicia Keys, Celine Dion . . . ? Oh, and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will be there, too.
But it turns out that the American Idol charity might not be "giving back" all it claims to be. To see the case of the missing millions, read more
It's American Idol cliche at this point to talk about song choice, but I'm going to do it anyway: Considering how treacly and dull the show's Inspiration Night had the potential to be, I was really impressed with the variety of songs the top eight performed. It wasn't the overall best Idol performance night of the season (I still give that to Beatles Night, take one), but it was pretty good for still having so many darn singers in the competition.
There were a few other things that stole the spotlight last night, namely Randy's crotchetier-than-average commentary and Paula's odd boobs. But for the most part, the night was a chance for some singers to step up (and some favorites to falter). Don't forget to vote for who's going home, and to get my take, just read more
As Idol Gives Back week began on Tuesday, the top eight American Idol hopefuls sang songs intended to inspire us — and, I suppose, pull out our wallets to make some charity donations. Alas, one contestant's performance will be deemed not inspirational enough. Which singer do you think is going home next?
Photo courtesy of Fox
