American Idol’ Raises More than $60 Million in “Idol Gives Back” Fundraiser

Aiming to raise funds for charities in the United States and Africa, ‘American Idol’ put together their first charity special “Idol Gives Back” and the results were staggering. The two-day affair has raised over $60 million with contributions still coming in.

‘American Idol’ began their drive on Tuesday with contestants singing inspirational themes. In traditional style, voters were able to call in or text who their favorite performer was and with each vote a donation was made by a sponsoring corporation.

On Wednesday night’s airing of ‘American Idol’ the show split between two stages with Ellen DeGeneres hosting live performances from several celebrities while Ryan Seacrest held down his regular duties on the ‘Idol’ stage.

Throughout Wednesday’s show viewers were able to call in and make their own donations to various organizations in the U.S. and Africa.

The success of the drive hinged on the voters and ‘Idol’ wasn’t disappointed as they received more than 70 million votes, a record for the show.