In what was supposed to be an exciting extravaganza of Hollywood coming out to help raise awareness for those who are less fortunate in both the U.S. and Africa, "'Idol' Gives Back" offered a great deal of boredom and only a little bit of what they do best - performances.
Although it was great to see celebrity after celebrity talking to viewers via taped messages and urging them to call in to donate, from Whoopi Goldberg to John Cena, there seemed to be an emptiness about the whole thing. Sure, it was great for the producers to focus on the actual purpose of the night, but the video packages of seeing Bono, Annie Lennox and Alicia Keys going to Africa grew tiresome as the night wore on. If it could have been done in a less organized manner, it might have been better.
The highlights of the night were most definitely Fergie's performance with Heart on "Barracuda" and the Top 8's final number of "Shout to the Lord," which were fun and inspirational. It was also nice to see the Top 12 taking phone calls on the stage, which was great whether or not it was all for show.
Other numbers like the uber-scripted, unfunny dialog between Billy Crystal and Miley (or "Milly") Cyrus and the "Russian Idol" Robbin Williams were incredibly out of place and took away from the night. Miley's singing and Britney-like dance moves were enough to send a wave of disgust over some viewers (no offense to any Hannah Montana fans).
Noticeably missing were the three presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Barack Obama, who were all scheduled to deliver pre-taped video messages to encourage people to donate. For whatever reason, the videos were not shown, though they were in fact shown during the taping on Sunday night.
But it was still a great effort put on by Nigel & Co. and for a good cause, despite the fact that there were more valleys than peaks over the course of the night. As for tonight, someone will be feeling a little less than charitable after hearing the results, but hopefully the spirit of giving from IGB will lessen the blow.
Showing posts with label igb. Show all posts
Showing posts with label igb. Show all posts
Thursday, April 10, 2008
IGB gets message across, but falls flat
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
IDOL LIVE Blog - "'Idol' Gives Back" (4/9/08)
Tonight we blog during the two-and-a-half hour "'Idol' Gives Back" extravaganza, beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET. The event will feature a host of celebrity guests and special performances from finalists, both past and present, and non-'Idol' artists.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
"Idol Gives Back" preview
This coming week will be known as "Idol Gives Back" week, as an event that only American Idol can pull off will take place over a three-night span.
Kicking off festivities will be the Top 8 finalists when they perform inspirational songs on Tues., April 8. The following night, Idol begins at 7:30 p.m. ET for a special two-and-a-half hour event that will be filled with celebrities, guest performers and performances by the finalists. Those slated to make appearances on Wednesday's episode include Amy Adams, Annie Lennox, Ashley Tisdale, Billy Crystal, Bono, Brad Pitt, Carrie Underwood, Celine Dion, Chris Daughtry, Dane Cook, Eli and Peyton Manning, Elliott Yamin, Fantasia, Fergie, Forest Whitaker, Jennifer Connolly, John Legend, Mariah Carey, Miley Cyrus, Reese Witherspoon, Robin Williams, Snoop Dogg, Vanessa Hudgens and senators Barack Obama, John McCain and Hillary Clinton.
Corporate partners with Idol for the special that will be making large donations include ExxonMobil, News Corp., Ford, Coca Cola, AT&T and Allstate.
Last year, the event raised a combined $76 million from viewers and corporate donors. Considering the fact that this year's event is set to be even bigger and better than last year's, put money on the total being significantly larger this time around.
And the week will wrap up on Thursday at 8:00 p.m. ET, when the Top 7 is revealed and Jordin Sparks performs her hit single "No Air" with Chris Brown.
So, get ready to hit the couches, or in many cases, the TiVos.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Ramiele hangs up her cowgirl boots
Although Ramiele Malubay's departure last night was the right decision, it was still sad to see her go. Ramiele sang a teary-eyed "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind" as Carly Smithson, Brooke White, Kristy Lee Cook and Syesha Mercado rallied behind her, and went out strong.
The thing about Season 7 is there is no remaining contestant can be categorically described as "awful," something that has never happened in seasons past. Everyone has had at least just as many great nights as they have had off nights, and the judges' comments on the whole have skewed more positive.
Last night, audiences were treated to performances by The Clark Brothers and Dolly Parton, both of whom managed to get a rise out of the studio audience. Parton's graciousness was unmatched, and her performance coupled with the "Idol Gives Back" preview video caused Brooke to start crying right before she was told she was in the bottom 3. Her status as the third-lowest vote-getter was not as big of a surprise as many thought, because Brooke kind of blended in with the others and was perceived as being "boring."
Kristy Lee probably did not deserve her spot in the bottom 3 this week, but since everyone is really just that good, it does not make a huge difference one way or another. Odds are she or Jason Castro will be out next week.
The show was kicked off by a giant group performance of "9 to 5," including a venture to the judges' table and dancing in the audience. But the highlight of the night was probably when Simon "apologized" to four different directions of the studio, making up for all of the ones he owed different people like Carly, and he called her "cute." Very un-Simon-like.
Ryan took not-so-interesting 'Idol Live' phone calls, which were even more useless than last week. The most exciting question was probably to David Cook and Michael Johns about which song they would like to sing on the tour together, and Michael said "Islands In the Stream," which got lots of laughs.
Next week will be interesting, because there will be three doses of Idol, which will be enough to tire anyone out (inspirational songs or not).
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