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American Idol Fodder

American Idol: Idol Gives Back

mariah.jpgSince tonight's 2 hour, 40 minute "American Idol" extravaganza wasn't either a performance or results show, I'm just going to give the highlights. After all, "Idol Gives Back" is a fundraiser, and it's hard to critique something that has the sole purpose of raising money for charity. At last count, Ryan Seacrest delivered the good news that over $20 million had been raised for the night's selected charities, with still more coming in. Add that to what the sponsors had already pledged, and the night seemed to be a success. And after hearing all those heartbreaking tales from people all over the world, it will be nice to see that money be used to help them.

Now, it wasn't all tears and deadly seriousness on "Idol" tonight, so here's a recap of what you may have missed:

-This season's Top 8 performed three times, mostly with amazing results: At 7:30 p.m., the contestants sang their kickin' rendition of Rihanna's "Don't Stop the Music," complete with past contestants of "So You Think You Can Dance" dancing in the background. Not only was it good cross promotion, but the choreography was awesome! At 9:22 p.m., the Great Eight returned to sing "Seasons of Love" from "Rent." And I was blown away by everyone's solo- even Kristy's and Syesha's! They came back one more time, at 10:05 p.m., to close the show with an inspirational ditty called "Shout to the Lord." I definitely wasn't surprised to hear both Davids do a great job.

-Ben Stiller told America he'd recorded an album for charity called "Stiller Whips Whitney's Ass for Charity." Hmm, isn't this a family show? And a fundraiser?!

-Snoop Dogg took the stage, accompanied by some guy with a sparkly hat. I can't tell you much about the performance!I was too distracted by the hat.

-Wrestler Triple H made me believe that not only could he see me through my television, but he would also come find me and beat me up if I didn't donate. Somebody get me my checkbook! That guy's huge!

-Around 7:50 p.m., the show became The Oscars: Part Two, complete with announcements of who was walking out on stage. (For example: when Randy and Paula walked out like they were going to announce the Best Actor category.)

-Teri Hatcher and The Band From TV hit the stage to sing Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats." And while it was completely entertaining, it proved Teri Hatcher should just stick to acting. What was more interesting was her accompanying band, made up of stars from several different television shows. There was "Heroes" star Greg Grunberg on drums, James Denton from "Desperate Housewives" on guitar and Jesse Spencer from "House" on violin. The band also includes Bonnie Somerville ("Cashmere Mafia"), Bob Guiney ("The Bachelor"), and Hugh Laurie ("House").

-Filed under the "So Awkward It's Painful" category is the 32 minute-long unfunny skit between Billy Crystal and Miley Cyrus (all right, it wasn't that long, but it sure felt like it). If I had to hear Billy call her ‘Millie Cirrus' one more time, I was gonna toss my TV out the window.

-Miley sang twice tonight. Anyone else think her suggestive dance moves were kind of frightening? Please don't turn into another Britney, I beg you!

-Jimmy Kimmel got up on stage, but I think he may have missed the point of the evening. His monologue about Simon Cowell made me feel like we were roasting someone on a Comedy Central special. Plus, all that talk about Simon's chest was just uncomfortable. It was funny, though, to hear him say: "All the good will that Mary Poppins brought over, you've undone." (Simon's response a few minutes later: "I love the Jay Leno show." Zing!)

-After Gloria Estefan sang "Get On Your Feet," Sarah Silverman replied "That was so good, I almost got up and made it happen." (Look up the lyrics if you don't get it.)

-British Prime Minister Gordon Brown pledged to donate $200 million for mosquito nets in countries struck by malaria. Now that's a contribution!

-Robin Williams pretended to be a Russian Idol, and did not make me laugh.

-Finally Mariah Carey rocked the stage near the end of the show and sang "Fly Like a Bird." If you thought her bass player looked familiar, that's because it was Randy Jackson!

-Other people who showed up to help raise money: George Lopez, Kylie Minogue, Maria Shriver, Kobe Bryant, Mary Murphy (from "So You Think You Can Dance"), The Jonas Brothers (of which David Archuleta could easily join), Bono, Adam Sandler, Eli and Peyton Manning, Victoria and David Beckham, Annie Lennox, Kiefer Sutherland, Celine Dion, Whoopi Goldberg, Sheila E and Gloria Estefan, Reese Witherspoon, Dane Cook, Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Tisdale from "High School Musical 3," Rob Schneider, Brad Pitt and Daughtry.

Overall, it was an interesting night and should help raise plenty of money. But now it's time to put the checkbooks away and pull out the tissues, because there's going to be some crying tomorrow night when someone gets sent home! Tune in tomorrow night for the results show! –Chris Sardelli


Posted by Chris on April 10, 2008 12:34 AM
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Did Annie Lennox have on a tee shirt that said AIDS Positive? Tell me why.

-- 1. Posted by: Marjorie Punter at April 10, 2008 10:23 AM

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