On Sunday night, April 6, the Kodak Theater in Hollywood was alive with the sound of music…and pleas from many of today’s A-list stars asking people to open their hearts and wallets at the taping of this season’s Idol Gives Back television special (airing on Wednesday, April 9 on FOX at 7:30/6:30c ).
From the electrifying opening number–courtesy of this year’s top eight Idols and the So You Think You Can Dance cast–to the heartwarming PSAs, performances and live appearances from celebs including Reese Witherspoon, Miley Cyrus and yes, even the king of giving back himself, Brad Pitt, it’s a show you won’t want to miss.
Last year, the Idol Gives Back special raised $76 million for charity and this year, with your help, they’re hoping to raise even more money to benefit important causes like Malaria No More, Save the Children, the Children’s Defense Fund and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. To donate, please call 1-877-IDOL-AID (1-877-436-5243) or go to www.americanidol.com. It’ll be worth every penny!
Hollywood.com took a seat backstage at the taping to get a sneak peek of the show and a chance to talk with some of this year’s celebrity volunteers. Here’s what they had to say …[PAGEBREAK]
Miley Cyrus on how important it is to donate to these causes:
“I think that it doesn’t matter if you donate a penny or a dollar. It’s one more penny than they had before. To have that self power and be able to say, ‘OK, no matter how much I’m putting in I’m making a difference.’ Not only is money needed, but just time. There are so many kids out there, I met so many children who were just walking around alone. And I know they would love to have friends there, and have people coming just to bring them hope. So whether it’s your time, no matter what you spend to give to them, it’ll be greatly appreciated.”
Snoop Dogg on what happened when his daughter met Miley:
“My daughter thinks Miley Cyrus and Hannah Montana are two different people. She took a picture with her and I said, ‘Who are you taking a picture with?’ And she said, ‘Miley Cyrus.’ I said “Where’s Hannah Montana?’ and she said ‘She’s not here yet!’”[PAGEBREAK]
Carrie Underwood on how Simon Cowell critiques the contestants:
“Somebody’s got to do it! That’s what he’s there for. It always drives me nuts when contestants sit there and argue with him. It’s like, ‘That’s what he’s paid to do. I took it. You sit up there and you take it. Take it like a man!’”
Annie Lennox on who influenced her to be an activist:
“Nelson Mandela was a direct influence on me because I had a chance to go to Cape Town for the very first time, when he launched the 46664 AIDS foundation, which is his foundation. I had an opportunity to spend time with him and he described the African pandemic as a genocide. I watched what he did and that’s when I decided to speak up about HIV and AIDS, especially in women. That was a big turning point in my life.”[PAGEBREAK]
John Legend on giving back:
“That’s my mission really as a performer. It’s not just to make a lot of money and sell a lot of records. To me, part of what I do is to give back, and to inspire people and to help them when I can and to educate people also. So that’s what I do as an artist, and I’m glad American Idol has provided a forum for it for us to do that. I also think it’s a good example for young people to realize that when you have the ability to help somebody, you should help them. And I think it’s a great message that a small donation can go a long way that even if you’re not rich that you can be a philanthropist. I think that’s a great notion for young people to have and I’m glad to be a part of that message.”
Miley Cyrus on never watching American Idol:
“The funniest part is that I’m here, and I’m so excited to be here, but I’ve never seen an episode ever – ever! Because I think it’s something you have to really get into, and I never have time to really get into it and see every episode. So I just read about it in the magazines and I say ‘That’s cool.’ And I know the people who came from American Idol, but that’s it. I voted on Dancing with the Stars but that’s about the only thing I got involved in!”
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Heart’s Ann Wilson on performing in front of the Idol judges:
“We saw them out there in the audience and we were like, ‘Don’t judge us! Don’t judge us! We’re off the scale! We’re off the scale!’”
John Legend on judge Simon Cowell:
“He keeps it real, you know? If I were him I’d probably say some of the same things! I’m very frank in my private judgments about other people’s singing, but I don’t really have a forum like Simon does to say it out loud. But I probably would say a lot of the stuff he is saying, because I’m a pretty tough critic when it comes to singing.” [PAGEBREAK]
Snoop Dogg on being part of Idol Gives Back:
“This is beautiful. We’re here to represent positivity we’re trying to give back. Sometimes you find yourself a little older and wiser and you don’t worry about your image. Because your image is something that people just buy into. This is reality, right here.”
Annie Lennox on how this show has touched her:
“It touches me very much because television is very powerful, and this show is going to go into the living rooms of millions of Americans. And I think that’s extremely exciting, because I think people are really hungry for a kind of consciousness shift, where we feel the connection between different countries. Rather than accenting the conflicts between them, we can see that we are all human beings and that human rights should all be fundamental.”
