iHeart Living Room Concert for America

The iHeart Living Room Concert for America was a concert special held on March 29, 2020, by iHeartMedia in response to the COVID-19 pandemic; to provide relief and support to the public in an effort to combat the spread of COVID-19. The special aired on Fox and was simulcast across their sister cable networks, along with a number of iHeartRadio broadcast radio stations and within its mobile app.[2]

iHeart Living Room Concert for America
Presented byElton John
StarringAlicia Keys
Backstreet Boys
Billie Joe Armstrong
Billie Eilish
Finneas O'Connell
Camila Cabello
Shawn Mendes
Tim McGraw
Dave Grohl
Sam Smith
H.E.R.
Demi Lovato
Mariah Carey
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producersJoel Gallen[1]
Rob Wade
John Sykes
Tom Poleman
Camera setupVideotelephony
Original release
NetworkFox
iHeartRadio
Release29 March 2020 (2020-03-29)

Overview

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The concert was hosted by Elton John, and it served as a partial replacement for the original timeslot for the 2020 iHeartRadio Music Awards, which was initially delayed to a later date and later cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3][4] It also served as a benefit for Feeding America and the First Responders Children's Foundation.[5] The entire production utilized video conferencing and video apps from each artist and band who appeared to compile the special.

John, himself, volunteered to host the special, despite not having a piano in his Los Angeles home. Originally, Fox and iHeart were in talks with an undisclosed comedian to host the special, but it fell through.[1]

It initially saw donations of nearly $8 million (and counting) raised for the charities.[6] This was credited from not only numerous fan contributions, but also $500,000 from corporate partner Procter & Gamble, which Fox matched, and also additional funds raised by Fox employees and corporate partner PricewaterhouseCoopers.[6] It was later reported that special eventually raised more $10 million for the charities as well.[7][8]

Performances

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Performers and performances on iHeart Living Room Concert for America
Artist(s) Song(s)
Alicia Keys "Underdog"
Backstreet Boys "I Want It That Way"
Billie Joe Armstrong "Boulevard of Broken Dreams"
Billie Eilish
Finneas O'Connell
"Bad Guy"
Camila Cabello
Shawn Mendes (on guitar)
"My Oh My"
Tim McGraw "Something Like That"
Dave Grohl "My Hero"
Sam Smith "How Do You Sleep?"
H.E.R. "Keep Holding On"
Demi Lovato "Skyscraper"
Mariah Carey "Always Be My Baby"
Elton John "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"

Appearances

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Broadcast

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The special was broadcast at 9pm EST on Fox and was simulcast on Fox Corporation-owned networks Fox News, Fox Business, Fox Sports 2, and Fox Deportes. It was also broadcast on a majority of iHeartRadio broadcast radio stations, including its mobile app.

In Canada, the special was simulcast on Much, MTV, and CP24, wherein its broadcast benefits the Canadian Red Cross.[11]

On Fox, the special scored 5.5 million viewers.[12][6] It also scored 1.5 in the key 18-49 ratings demographic, beating American Idol as most watched show for the evening in this demographic.[12][6] Overall, the special scored 8.7 million viewers.[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Schneider, Michael (March 30, 2020). "Fox, iHeart Execs Reveal Secrets Behind 'Living Room Concert' Performances (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
  2. ^ "iHeart Living Room Concert For America: Here's What Happened". Billboard. March 29, 2020.
  3. ^ "Camila Cabello & Shawn Mendes Perform 'My Oh My' at Concert for America". Billboard. 2020-03-29. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
  4. ^ Grein, Paul (August 24, 2020). "iHeartRadio Music Awards Canceled For 2020 -- But Winners Will Still Be Announced". Billboard. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  5. ^ Braine, Theresa (30 March 2020). "How to catch Sunday's iHeart Living Room concert hosted by Elton John". nydailynews.com.
  6. ^ a b c d e "'FOX Presents the iHeart Living Room Concert for America' raises nearly $8 million (and counting) for Feeding America & First Responders Children's Foundation".
  7. ^ Alexander, Bryan (2020-04-03). "Elton John's 'Living Room Concert for America' performance will re-air on Fox this Monday". USA Today. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  8. ^ Bell, Amanda (2020-04-05). "Elton John's Living Room Coronavirus Benefit Concert Raises $10 Million, to Reair on Fox Monday". TV Guide. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  9. ^ a b c d "Lady Gaga & Ellen DeGeneres Join Elton John's COVID-19 Relief Concert". E! Online. March 29, 2020.
  10. ^ a b "All The Special Guests Who Appeared On iHeartRadio's Living Room Concert". iHeartRadio. March 29, 2020.
  11. ^ "iHeartRadio Living Room Concert".
  12. ^ a b "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.29.2020 | Showbuzz Daily". www.showbuzzdaily.com. Archived from the original on 2020-04-02.
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