LOS ANGELES, April 7, 2008
"American Idol," Hollywood Icons Give Back
Brad Pitt, Reese Witherspoon Among Celebs At Taping Of "Idol Gives Back" Charity Event
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Play CBS Video Video Second Cup Cafe: Ferras You may know Ferras from this season of "American Idol." His first single, "Hollywood's Not America," is the show's exit song. He stops by the Second Cup Cafe to perform material from his debut album.
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American Idol contestants perform at the "Idol Gives Back" fundraising special of "American Idol" in Los Angeles on Sunday, April 6, 2008. From left are: Brooke White, David Archuleta, Kristy Lee Cook, David Cook, Carly Smithson, Jason Castro, Syesha Mercado and Michael Johns (AP Photo/Mark Terrill)
"Idol Gives Back," the Fox singing competition's charity event, was taped Sunday night at the Kodak Theatre and is scheduled to air Wednesday. The star-studded gala kicked off with "Idol" finalists performing Rihanna's "Don't Stop the Music," while performers from "So You Think You Can Dance" twirled in the background.
"Idol" host Ryan Seacrest served as master of ceremonies of the event, which featured several live musical performances and celebrity appearances by Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, Peyton and Eli Manning, Jimmy Kimmel, Sarah Silverman, Reese Witherspoon and Brad Pitt.
"Tonight isn't just about raising money," Pitt told the screaming crowd. "Sometimes, to help people, we've got to travel outside of our comfort zone to really understand another situation."Photos: Celebrity Arrivals
One highlight was a duet by Fergie and Heart. They performed a lively but shorter-than-usual rendition of Heart's "Barracuda," which featured The Duchess launching into two cartwheels on stage.
"'Barracuda is usually five minutes long, so we were sweatin' it with the arrangement, and so was Fergie," Nancy Wilson said backstage. "We had two chances to get it right. The first two times we got it very wrong. We actually did it right when it mattered."
Other performers included Snoop Dogg and Charlie Wilson, John Legend, Miley Cyrus, Annie Lennox, Mariah Carey, Carrie Underwood, Gloria Estefan and Sheila E. Instead of singing one of her own songs, fourth-season "Idol" winner Underwood opted to croon George Michael's "Hand to Mouth."
"It's not about self-promoting," Underwood said backstage. "It's not about singing your latest single. It's not about trying to be the most-downloaded whatever on iTunes. It's all about getting people to call in and do something."
Other Celebrities including David and Victoria Beckham, Kiefer Sutherland, Ellen DeGeneres, Jim Carrey and Whoopi Goldberg appeared in pre-taped segments encouraging viewers to make donations. Hillary Rodham Clinton, John McCain and Barack Obama also appeared in pre-taped messages.
Beneficiaries this year include the Global Fund, Malaria No More, Children's Health Fund, Save the Children, Children's Defense Fund and Make It Right, Pitt's campaign to help New Orleans recover from Hurricane Katrina.
Last year, "Idol Gives Back" raised $76 million for underprivileged children. Producers anticipate this year's event will raise $100 million.
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- MAKING IT RIGHT, CHILDREN''S DEFENSE FUND, and CHILDREN''S HEALTH FUND do all their work in the U.S. SAVE THE CHILDREN & GLOBAL FUND work both in the U.S. and internationally. MALARIA NO MORE obviously doesn''t operate here, since we have zero cases of malaria.
I''m very sad to think that you might prize U.S. lives over others and that you might not value other people''s lives because you only care for what happens within our borders. - Reply to this comment
Since I am not familiar with the names, are any of the charities, besides Katrina, useful to any of the children in the UNITES STATES OF AMERICA?- Reply to this comment
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