Bono on "Idol"

We are excited to announce that Bono (!!??!) will be making an appearance Wednesday night on American Idol. –email from Susan McCue of ONE.org

Now there is a sentence I never expected to read. You know, one with Bono and American Idol. As in Bono making appearance on the kitschy-est show on TV. Bono appearing with Simon, Paula, Randy and Ryan? Must be a joke. But it’s real.

Thinking on it, I am amazed by Bono’s comitment to fighting poverty. American Idol is not a shine on his personal brand, and Bono is very protective of his rock-star brand. He describes himself a rock-star. He likes being a rock star.

Bono is stepping out in a way that would make other brands squirm, or even retch. Stepping out because he knows that this is a huge stage from which he can bring his message to millions of AI viewers. Millions of young people and not such young people. He is committed to raising awareness and raising money. And if American Idol is a good venue, then let’s go.

Now, though, this is my PROOF that the fix was in to get rid of Sanjaya. I was very suspicious as his final performance was no worse than the weeks before when he wasn’t even in the bottom three.

But I bet that no matter how much Bono is committed to raising money to fight poverty and aids in Africa, standing on a stage with Sanjaya was probably too much. Crap, I bet he would even have done that. Bono shows us how to make ourselves better.

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