Best American Idol Episode Ever
Idol Puts On A Real Show With Best Episode Of All Time
American Idol pulled out all the stops with an entertaining show that kicked off not a single contestant and raised over $30 million for charity.
The Idol Gives Back episode tonight had something for everyone. First, there was the humor of Ellen Degeneres and Ben Stiller. Performers were many and included Earth Wine & Fire, Carrie Underwood covering Chrissie Hynde’s I’ll Stand By You, and Rascal Flatts performing My Wish,
It all came out to a telethon for modern times. The days of Jerry’s Kids are gone. The causes are poverty and AIDS these days. And no modern celebrity-studded fundraiser would be complete without Bono, who gave the message at the end that the feeling of saving a life just may be better than playing U2’s music to a crowd of thousands.
Co-founder of MySpace, Tom Anderson, was in attendance, as was Seal who liked Jack Black’s cover of his Kiss From A Rose. It was a performance that caused the usually nurturing Paula Abdul to deadpan, “The School of Rock called and they want their diploma back.” She almost delivered the line perfectly.
The many celebs lip-synching to The Bee Gees' Stayin’ Alive was different. It was a nice replacement for just another singing performance because it was unexpected. This comes just when it seemed Idol with its sagging ratings had no new tricks up its sleeve. Miss Piggy, Jimmy Fallon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Kirstie Alley were all apart of the dancing and lip-synching event.
Ellen Degeneres personally donated $100,000 on the show to much applause. Then Josh Groban performed You Raise Me Up with a choir of the cutest little African kids ever. So adorable! By this time, warm and fuzzies were on overload. Then came a tear-jerking segment on stopping malaria right before Kelly Clarkson did Up To The Mountain with Jeff Beck on guitar. Clarkson wore a Mamma Cass moo moo, no highlights in her brown hair, and arms to prove she hasn’t been missing a meal lately. But she’s still cute as a plump chick. It was a throwback to her days as a contestant and the puppy fat she lost. Honestly, she’s always been curvy and has looked good no matter what. But the moo moo… That was a rough fashion choice.
Celine Dion sang – kid you not – with Elvis Presley on the “1968 American Idol.” It was like when Natalie Cole sang with her dad…ah, the miracles of editing! When will there ever be another real American Idol like Elvis? Celine Dions will come and go through the ages, but there will only be one Elvis.
Madonna took a moment out of her Malawi trip to record a message about AIDS and how the kids there need medicine to fight the virus. American Idol really managed to get some big names to participate in this show! Talk about big names…Annie Lennox was up next singing and playing piano on Bridge Over Troubled Water. Her version sounded like no other. It was updated and fresh to the point that it took several bars to recognize what song she was singing. It was another nice surprise – and a much better surprise than the lip-synching from earlier in the show.
The shock of the night was that no one would be kicked off tonight since it was a charity night. But next week two Idols get kicked off! And this is how we wind down another season of watching the American dream go up for sale. The remaining Idols sang American Prayer to close out the show.
Phil and Lakisha will probably get kicked off next week.
