'American Idol': America gives up the votes for 'Gives Back'

Quick update.  At a brunch today for the various charitable organizations who will be benefitting from "Idol Gives Back," it was announced that last night's vote total had topped 70 million votes.  The would be the show's all time record.

For comparison's sake, last week, 38 million people voted on the fate of the Top 7.

Last season's finale drew 63.5 million votes. 

The previous record appears to be the season three finale in which 65 million votes were cast.

122,293,332 votes were cast in the 2004 US Presidential election.

Corporate sponsors had pledged to match the vote totals, up to a certain point, with contributions to show's nine chosen charities in the US and Africa.

(Photo courtesy Fox)

Comments

[Matt]

"122,293,332 votes were cast in the 2004 US Presidential election" ... that's a meaningless comparison. After all a person can only vote once for the President, but can vote as much as they want for their Idol.

[Joe]

If the celebrities that appeared tonight would live like the rest of us for a couple of years, giving away their excess, and spending the money on AIDS meds, research, etc., the problem would be wiped out in just a few years. Hollywood spends billions per year. If they decided for one year to spend only 1/2 of what they spend, and gave the rest to the poor, then they would make a positive effect toward solving the problem. In other words, good intentions are good, but it is time for those with money to put their money where their mouth is and walk it out.

[sue gecht]

Very disappointed with the show last night. Although I'm glad they raised money, they should've have advertised it more as a fundraiser than an actual American Idol contest.

[Kim]

Let's not forget the voting was for four hours instead of the usual two. I agree with Joe, if the wealthy spent as much on charity as they do on clothing and limo services, we would not need all these fundraisers. The middle class is barely surviving now.

[DMitchell]

One of the best ways to combat poverty is through education.

Tenderfeet Children's Center is a school in Kibera, Kenya. This was the slum which was visited by Simon Cowell and Ryan Seacrest.

Tenderfeet operates on a shoestring budget funded directly through a grassroots approach.

If you are interested in finding out more about Tenderfeet, please visit:

http://TenderfeetKids.org

[Skip Fredricks]

I am not a cruel person But If I wanted to watch a charity TV show I would watch the Jerry Lewis Telethon If I wanted to watch a 'feel good' reality show I would watch extreme makeover Big deal they got 70 million votes Of course they did you could vote for twice as long Big deal FOX gave 10cents per vote FOX gets half of the text fee So by holding a 'charity' telethon and by letting people vote for two extra hours FOX actually MADE money How about if they would have donated ALL of it They thought Sanjia would ruin Idol I think this excuse of a show will I have been a fan of the show for four years Last night was the first time EVER I turned it off To quote Simon it's a SINGING COMPETITON thats why most of the 28 million people who watch it watch not a charity telethon I wonder what brillant network exec thought of this.

[Katie]

I'M CURED: Who actually believes that all or even most of the money raised will benefit the children shown? The majority of it will go to administration. I have learned this from experience.
AI is trying to boost back up its image from the beginning of the season, when they did some tacky things like dissing the current winner, to dissing contestants with mental disabilities, to just plain being tacky (Simon).
Finally, they put through bland contestants, and their viewership went down to around 11% less than last year. Those on fan boards think more.
Someone just told me that the real facts are: AI has only a few million viewers than Murder She Wrote did in it height. Viewers are offered so many choices that eventually one just wants to sit and be entertained. Personally, I don't know one person who still watches it.

[Virginia Voll]

Katie I am sad that you are so young and yet so cynical. I work with abused/neglected/abandoned children for a living. Most of the social service agencies I work with are mission driven and just scrape by. There is very little money for children in need. Please take a moment and really look into the agencies you think are using all the money for administration. At the agency I work for we have 32 teenage girls, all with different needs.In most social services agencies like ours, wages are low in comparison to other occupations, and funds are limited.

Even though we do not realize any of the money raised by American Idol, I am grateful that they use their fan base to raise money for those in need. It makes a huge difference. Think of what might happen if everyone took responsiblity for those less fortunate. Wow.

So hope you take a closer look at most programs that aid the needy.

P.S. When Murder She Wrote was on TV, I don't think there were quite as many choices.