You may think that American Idol is all about Simon Cowell being catty to a succession of awful singers and occasionally doing dramatic eye-rolls when anyone mentions harrowing massacres that happened less than 48 hours earlier, but you're wrong.
American Idol cares. American Idol cares about charity. And that's why tomorrow will see Idol Gives Back – a two-hour, star-filled fundraising show where viewers will be urged to raise money to help the needy in America and Africa. Idol Gives Back is an outstanding idea, especially since Bono is taking part – which hopefully means Simon Cowell will spend upwards of 45 minutes explaining in forensic detail just why Bono is such a terrible arsehole in front of an audience of tens of millions.
There's no doubting the success of American Idol. Through a simple formula of mocking the gay and mentally ill, looking thoroughly tired with any mentions of recent tragedies and rewarding prematurely grey twitchy rednecks, American Idol has helped to make Simon Cowell ridiculously wealthy.
And now it's time for American Idol to give back. Luckily this doesn't mean America giving Simon Cowell back to the British – really, no, it's fine, you can keep him – but that tomorrow Fox will broadcast a two-hour fundraising spectacular entitled Idol Gives Back. We're not sure what exact form Idol Gives Back will take; but it'll feature appearances from 'Sir' Bono, Celine Dion, Hugh Grant And His Performing Wedding Monkey, Annie Lennox, Gwen Stefani and Il Divo – who will presumably act as some kind of threat and sing to the American public if they don't pledge enough money.
But where American Idol is usually about nastiness and put-downs, can the show's massive audience be expected to sit through two hours of depressing videos about starving Africans? Probably not, Cecile Frot-Coutaz of Freemantle Media told CBS:
"We have to be really careful, because people watch `American Idol' for entertainment and to see their favorite contestant… Maybe some people don't want to spend two hours watching poverty and people suffering, but we're going to try to do it in a way that gives them great entertainment but raises awareness for people who are very poor, and children in particular, in the United States and Africa."
On the other hand, perhaps Idol Gives Back will be a huge success. After all, American Idol is the biggest show in America, so even if half of its audience donates a dollar it'll raise a staggering amount of money for good causes. And there's every chance that Idol Gives Back will be watched by a huge audience – provided that Simon Cowell can stop himself from rolling his eyes and tutting whenever someone mentions poverty, of course.
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mike says
I really think that American Idol is done… My parents love to watch it and I guess for the average person looking for a little entertainment, it can be great… But as far as getting some people on Idol who can accually belt it out seem to be disapating. The most successful idol has still been kelly from the very first Idol!
I wish you the best!
Mike Tyler
From (monkeymedia software the best food erp in the world.) http://www.monkeymedia.net