American Idol Gives Back: Annie Lennox

David and Victoria Beckham back from break, very earnest-looking as well as they urge us to donate.

Ryan's randomly talking to people as they call in to donate, he does this bit where he's running from contestant to contestant, grabbing their phone. Up to nearly $18 million, swelled by some previous corporate donors.

Bono in Africa again, talking to more kids. They share 'memory boxes' from the parents they've lost to HIV/AIDs, keepsakes.

Annie Lennox, in a overly-produced segment where she asks a family of kids who have lost most of their relatives to AIDs over and over again do you have a father, do you have a mother, do you have an uncle, etc. They keep saying no.

There's all sorts of dramatic music and effects and camerawork and lighting; I think it's a bit too much, their stories are so stark and emotional I don't think it needs to be 'sold'.

Lennox is sobbing at the end of the piece, the issue obviously means a lot to her. We're back in the U.S., at the taped segments at Kodak, Lennox singing Many Rivers to Cross. It's stark and the most powerful performance of the night so far.

As I mentioned while blogging this same show last year, it bothers me when Idol brings its slick production values to the topic of poverty. It detracts from the seriousness of the issue; makes it fit all too neatly into the Idol world of soft lighting, quick cuts and blockbuster ratings.

I'm glad the issue is getting all this attention; I just wish the Idol producers would for just one night turn the images over to real documentary filmmakers, like the Maysles, Errol Morris, or even Ken Burns, who won't always go for the gaudy visual when telling their stories.

Kiefer Sutherland sends us to commercial in a brief 'please donate' clip.

You can donate at 1-877-436-5243 or https://www.idolaid.com/AidForm.asp.

American Idol Gives Back: Eli and Peyton Manning

Adam Sandler does the spot back from break, it seems like it was shot via webcam or something.

Ah, I just figured it out--they are live at their usual stage, all the contestants are spread out on stage answering phones (and using Apple laptops... so hard to tell). But the musical performances were for the most part all taped, from the Kodak Theater.

Except Ryan's pretending he's tossing it to the stars there, as if they were really standing by this very second (which they're not).

Anyway, Eli Manning! And his bro, Peyton--checking back on New Orleans, two and a half years later. The Mannings are good people, come across as very genuine in the clips. They talk to a bunch of kids, about how Katrina's affected them; some of the money Idol raises has been going to help rebuild the city.

I think Peyton's going to go into politics when his playing days are over; he's got that look, and earnestness.

You can donate at 1-877-436-5234.

American Idol Gives Back: Fergie, John Legend, Heart

Julianne Moore asks us to give, wishes everybody luck. Then Fergie and John Legend, she's singing Finally.

I like her generally, she has a heck of a voice and is always fun to watch. Has this neat miniskirt, in purple and white, a bit flower-like, on over all black. She then kicks to what she calls her idols, Heart, who rip into Barracuda.

Whoah, here comes Fergie striding back out--divested of her mini-skirt--she totally fits in. The only weird thing is seeing the camera pan out over the crowd, everyone's seated in these plush red chairs, I think it's the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. Really, they should have a few hundred kids crammed in down front; Fergie does a couple of cartwheels, it's all pretty cool and definitely kicks up the energy level of the crowd a notch.

Now it's the WWE's John Cena asking us to give.

You can donate at 1-877-436-5234.

Getty Images photo of Fergie

American Idol Gives Back: Jonas Brothers, Billy Crystal, Miley Cyrus, Bono

The Jonas Brothers tell us to give, with shrieks from fans in the background.

"Recently-retired from the New York Yankees" Billy Crystal does a bit, then introduces--Miley Cyrus!

Whoo-hooo, the kids go nuts; she's got on a jacket with a super-sparkly collar, and an eye-catching top underneath. Crystal pretends she's some up-and-coming talent. They don't have any chemistry, both are pretty stiff as they run through some gags pretending each doesn't know who the other is.

She only gets 'excited' and treats him like a celeb when he tells her he did a voice on Monsters, Inc.

So then she sings, Good and Broken Chains--hope all the contestants are taking notes, she looks and acts like a star. I don't think her voice is that great, but her performance is fun to watch.

The Top 12 are shown answering phones. Now here's the interesting thing... I know this show was taped on Sunday--heck, we posted photos from it on Monday.

So are they really answering phones, or is this all staged?!

Maybe some of the performances were taped, others are live. At any rate, we go to something we know is taped, Bono in Africa. Man, this is heartbreaking; a little orphan named Sophia who has AIDs looks into the camera and says she'd like America to keep helping her. Bono says she's 14--she seriously looks like she's 8.

Bono then talks to one of the volunteers, who said three of her kids died of HIV.... The footage is really touching, and vibrant despite the sadness of the subject matter.

You can donate at 1-877-436-5234.

American Idol Gives Back: Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul, Carrie Underwood, Terri Hatcher

Some wrestling star next--The Game Triple H?!--in a clip, asks us to give. Then, Paula Abdul in a red gown and Randy Jackson in a spiffy double-breasted black suit appear to talk about children's health.

They're pretty stiff, introducing video of their trip to Goshen elementary school, 150 miles from their studios in LA. A lot of the kids come from migrant worker families, Randy and Paula sound oddly formal in their narration but they seem to really connect with the kids in the video clips.

The poverty is pretty stark--one of the teachers breaks down talking about her kids. Donations have helped the school feed the kids, and do some renovations.

Then, a weird transition to a bit where Carrie Underwood is with some plumber guy from Desperate Housewives, Terri Hatcher stalks in and pretends to get jealous, says if Carrie's gonna steal her man, she's gonna steal her song.

Sure enough, Hatcher gets up on stage, sings a very amateurish version of Before I Cheat. If she were on the show, Randy would say pitch problems, and Simon would say she oversang. Paula would note how good she looks.

Mary Murphy does a hog yell, says she's gonna do it until we donate. Then she keeps yelling, Whoo-hooo!

1-877-436-5234

American Idol Gives Back: Maria Shriver, Ben Stiller, Snoop Dogg, Kobe Bryant

Everyone's all dressed up in their finest for Idol Gives Back tonight at the weird hour of 7:30 p.m. EST--and I'm here live, as your guest blogger. Eileen sends her regards, she's stuck at work.... :-(

The show kicks off with the cast from So You Think You Can Dance. They're... energetic. Then the Idol contestants join in and start singing Don't Stop the Music; it's a fun combination, they should do this more often.

Back from break, and it's Maria Shriver.... She quotes Gandhi, "You can be the change that you want to see in this world." Then, with more than 100 diverse volunteers on stage behind her, she gives a pretty smooth campaign speech, complete with more inspiring quotes. Maybe the wrong spouse is governor of California?

Up next is Ben Stiller, who does a similar schtick to last year. It looks like his black tie is on too tight, as he talks about giving a gugillion dollars.

Hmmm, a slick, vibrant video showing kids filling up brown water from a river and lugging it in plastic industrial-looking jugs across town. Then... drinking it?! Gross! They don't actually drink it, but ask us to imagine if we had to.

Next--Snoop Dogg performs. In a spiffy black hoodie, with the American Idol logo plastered across the front. Man, his microphone's got bling on it; imagine if he was 17 and trying out for the show.... He's got one of the youth teams he sponsors behind him, they look adorable all in Snoop Dogg jackets, trying to look hard and all but cute as heck. Charlie Wilson's up there too.

Kobe Bryant appears in a clip urging us to donate, wearing an odd circular bandaid on his left cheek.

By the way--you can donate at 1-877-436-5234.

Getty Images photo of Charlie Wilson and Snoop Dogg

David Archuleta must have "Angels" on his side

Click here for photos from last night's performances.

David Archuleta is next and he says he had a tough time picking an inspirational song this week because there were a few he was thinking about and he wasn't sure which one to sing, so he went through them and when he came to "Angels," by Robbie Williams, there was just something about that song was so different, that he felt it so strongly - the message and the lyrics - that despite what you're going through, there's always a light at the end of the tunnel.

He plays the piano tonight and I almost feel like the song could have been better if it had just been him and the piano... also there are parts of this song that are just too low for his voice - he may have picked the wrong key to sing in because some notes are so low for him that his voice actually gives out a bit. But once he gets to the chorus, he seems OK. I don't know - it's definitely not his best performance, but Syesha and Carly were still way worse, so I feel like it was OK and America is so in love with him, anyway, that even if it had been horrible, I'm sure he'd still be safe.

Randy tells him that was his hottest moment all season (WHAT?), that it was crazy hot and he loved it. Paula says fantastic and Simon says best song choice of the night, but not his best vocal. He thought it was a bit nasally and that the end part was better than the beginning. He then tells him that he's nitpicking because he's going to sail through to the next round.

Brook White is last tonight and she's singing "You've Got a Friend." She says a lot of people know it by James Taylor, but that Carole King actually wrote the song, that it was on her "Tapestry" album. She says that whole album inspired her to want to do music. She says she sang this song with two of her best friend in a talent show and that it has a lot of meaning to her and that it's just one of those feel-good songs that makes people feel happy.

Her dress has a kind of 60s flavor, a little bit hippy-ish, and I have to admit, I kind of like it. What I don't really like is her choice of song - it's boring and I'm totally tuning her out right now. She sounds OK, bit it's not her best. I think this performance cements the bottom three for me - I think it will be Syesha, Carly and Brooke.

Randy says it was just OK for him, that it wasn't her best performance, that it was just all right. Paula says it was one of her favorite songs growing up and that it was the perfect song to close the evening and that she's definitive. Simon says it was like a pleasant walk in the park - that it was nice. He says it wasn't original, but it was pleasant.


So, time for guessing. As I just mentioned, I think the bottom three will be Syesha, Brooke and Carly. I think Brooke will make it another week, just because she's had such strong performances in the past. I think Syesha and Carly share the same problem - they're both dull. But I think Carly picks songs that are just a touch more interesting that Syesha does, so my guess is Syesha goes home Thursday night. Now if all goes as planned, I will be blogging live (at least it will start out live) tomorrow night for "Idol Gives Back." Telethons are usually so boring and since I was on vacation last year, I don't really know what to expect, but I'm hoping it will be enjoyable and not just a show filled with video clips of stars doing good deeds.