EnterTeenmentNews.com

Event Coverage

A Chance of a Lifetime was In Store for "Hannah Montana" Fans in West Virginia

The Charleston Town Center in Charleston, West Virginia, made summer days even sweeter by celebrating "Hannah Mall Mania" throughout the month of July. For three consecutive weekends, the mall sponsored "Hannah Montana" look- a-like and lip sync contests, and even got fan's Dads in on the action by hosting a Billy Ray and Miley (Father/Daughter) "Look-A-Like" contest as well. The main event, however, was the July 26 appearance of "Hannah Montana" star, Jason Earles who celebrated the winners of all the events by placing them at the front of the meet and greet line.

As every "HM" fan knows, Jason plays "Jackson Stewart" on the hilarious family show on the Disney Channel. The down-to-Earth actor was thrilled to travel to Charleston to meet with some of the show's most loyal fans.

Even though he wasn't scheduled to appear until 1:00PM, hundreds of fans started lining-up hours before so as not to miss their chance at seeing Jason. Around 12:00 the mall started showcasing the winners of their "Hannah" contests with performances by the lip-sync winners and a back to school fashion show. At the end of the fashion show, girls from the mall's teen board ended the last song by huddling together and sharing a "secret" then pointed to the escalator and there was Jason! The crowd went crazy and the screams were probably heard in every store in the mall.

Jason was met by a DJ from radio station sponsor, Electric 102.7, who asked a few questions. The actor welcomed the crowd and thanked everyone for coming and watching the show. He then jokingly apologized to the parents for the show causing them to have to buy so much memorabilia. We're sure the adults appreciated that.

He also took a minute to let everyone know that they had just finished filming the big screen version of "Hannah Montana." Yes, sometime next year the whole gang will be in a movie theater near you! Jason promises that if you like the show, you will LOVE the movie.

It was time to finally get down to business, and a table was set up on the platform for this TV sibling to get face to face with his fans. Some were really nervous and even crying! Jason often gave those fans a hug or talked with them until they calmed down. He also hi-fived a lot of the people and made sure they knew he was just as excited to meet them as they were to meet him!

Jason met with the winners of the "Jackson Stewart" Look-A-Like contest.

The appearance was supposed to end at 3:00PM because Jason had to catch a flight back to Los Angeles. As it grew closer to three, a lot of fans started to worry. They had been standing in line for a while but it was looking like they were running out of time. Three o'clock came and there were still at least a hundred people line. This could really be devastating for these faithful fans.

Jason wasn't about to let anyone leave disappointed. So even if that meant possibly missing his flight, or having to change his plans, he was going to stay until the last autograph was signed. For over three hours straight, he talked with everyone, shared a few laughs, and created a memory for these fans that will last a lifetime.

It's not often celebrities make appearances in Charleston, West Virginia, and now Jason Earles has set a pretty high standard. Fans flocked to the Charleston Town Center to see one of their TV idols in the hopes that he was as "real" as the character he plays on television. By taking time to meet with everyone, putting nervous fans at ease and staying until the last picture was signed, Jason proved that not only was he grateful for the success that he has been given, but that he truly deserves all of the attention.

If you missed Jason in Charleston, but want to see him, he will be appearing in Cleveland, Ohio on September 14, Charlotte, North Carolina on September 21, Birmingham, Alabama on October 5, Orlando, Florida on October 12 and Jacksonville, Florida on October 19.

More Photos from Jason's Mall Appearance:

For More on Jason... head to our articles page for an in-depth interview! Click Here!!!

Haven't seen enough pictures of Jason? Visit our Photo Gallery for more! Jason's Photo Gallery!

Miley Cyrus appeared on the Fox Special "Idol Gives Back"
Photo Provided by Fox

"Idol Gives Back" Raises Money, Hope and Awareness

On the Wednesday, April 23 broadcast of "American Idol," an announcement needed to be made. It was so huge that the show called on the President of the United States to deliver the message. President and Mrs. Bush made a special appearance to announce that the second annual "Idol Gives Back" television event had raised over $65 million dollars to help children and young people in the United States and around the world.

There is still time to donate to these incredibly worthy causes. Simply visit www.Itunes.com and download your favorite performances from the special either as songs or video performances. Better yet, download them both as the money collected goes to great charities that are making life better for the youth of the world. Those charities include the Children's Defense Fund (www.childrensdefensefund.org); The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (www.jointheglobalfund.org); Make It Right (www.makeitrightnola.org); Malaria No More (www.malarianomore.org); Save The Children (www.savethechildren.org); and the Children's Health Fund (www.childrenshealthfund.org).

We sent reporter Bessie Sorge to the special taping to bring you a full report from behind the scenes of this extraordinary special. Read on to find out just how this event was put together!

Backstage at "Idol Gives Back"

EnterTEENment was backstage at the Idol Gives Back taping bringing you the scoop of what went down. The show took place at the Kodak Theatre. This definitely was not your typical "red carpet" event. In fact, the red carpet really didn't exist. The "press room" was located on the 5th floor. Seats were not sold to that floor as they blocked it off for press only.

The press room looked like a typical lobby room that was divided in sections by black backdrops and huge florescent lights. There was one section that was blocked off that contained a red carpet and that section was only for TV interviews (i.e. Fox News, Access Hollywood, etc.). Next to the TV press was a line-up of approximately 10 photographers. On the other side of the room was a make-shift stage with the "American Idol" backdrop, approximately 25 chairs for the journalists and a microphone for the guest star speakers.

The doors were held open for the Mezzanine section. I arrived when Maroon 5 was filming their segment, so I walked in to watch a bit. They filmed their segment prior to the scheduled 7:30 rolling of the camera. There was a television set up in the press room that streamed through the speakers so that we could watch the show as it filmed with live feed from the stage. I took my seat in the journalist pit and watched TV while I awaited the arrival of the guest speakers.

The first people to come into the press room were the various speakers of each of the Charities. They educated each of the journalists about the background of the charities and how the donations America gave during "Idol Gives Back" would be put into use and how they would help each individual survive the terrible conditions in their countries. You may not realize how many people are affected from such terrible diseases, such as Malaria and AIDS. These are two of the biggest problems that are killing children and families today. The purchase of a simple mosquito net that costs $10.00 would protect an entire family from getting Malaria.

The first celebrity guest appearance backstage was Snoop Dogg, who performed "Can't Say Goodbye" with Charlie Wilson, and had about 30 kids from his football league onstage. Snoop Dogg was sporting an Idol Gives Back hoodie that said "Coach Snoop" at the bottom. A huge supporter of the charities involved with Idol Gives Back, Snoop Dogg was thrilled to be a part of this event. "To see my kids come on stage and to see us possibly be able to raise some awareness and some attention on the things I am doing in the community with the kids and try to generate some money to help us out because these kids are at risk and its so easy to join a gang, its so easy to get drugs, but its so hard to do something right with yourself," Snoop told reporters. "So we try to give them an opportunity to do something right for themselves. Hopefully, this will raise some awareness to them."

The next celebrity guest appearance was John Legend, who also performed on the show singing "Show Me" accompanied by the piano. Dressed in a nice off-white Calvin Kline suit, John came backstage eager to speak about the important cause of the night. His impression of the Idol Gives Back special was that "it's a good idea . . . especially for a show like American Idol that commands so much attention from the American public and has such high ratings for them to do something that gives back." He sees the show as the opportunity to teach the younger generation "to realize that when you have the ability to help someone you should help them." The support for Idol Gives Back has a personal effect on John's career, in that "part of what I do is to give back and to inspire people, and to help them when I can."

Heart was next to join the journalists in a little one-on-one interview session. The best performance of the night goes to them, hands down. They performed a duet with the Dutchess herself, Fergie, singing the oldie but goodie "Barracuda." One journalist asked how Heart became involved in the show and Heart gave all credit to Fergie, "Fergie covered 'Barracuda' in Shrek 3 and so that's why she asked us to come up with her." Anyone who is familiar with 'Barracuda' will know that it's a long song, so Heart explained that "we were kinda sweating it a little with the arrangement and so was Fergie. It took two chances to get it right and the first two times we did it we got it very wrong, but we actually did it right when it mattered." Just by watching that performance we thought so too! Heart recognizes the positive message of the show saying "It's really a big honor for us to get like 3 minutes in to do something big."

Next came another pop-Idol of the 80s, Annie Lennox, who performed "Many Rivers to Cross" accompanied only by the piano. Known for her huge support in the promotion of AIDS awareness, it was no surprise that Annie was a part of Idol Gives Back. She claims her inspiration derives from Nelson Mandela, the President of South Africa, who is a huge activist for AIDS awareness. Annie's take on Idol Gives Back is that "it touches me so much because the medium of television is very powerful and it is going to go into the living rooms of many Americans." As an activist of AIDS awareness, Annie has traveled the world and helps to educate people about the effects this disease has on millions of people, she states, "I think people are really hungry for a kind of consciousness shift where we feel the connectivity between the different countries." Her documentary is such an emotional piece. "To have the opportunity to go directly into someone's life," she explains, "and witness the struggles they have to endure is beyond a university course." She was so moved by her experience that she "has tremendous concern about those kids and I think about them every single day."

The next guest was one of my Idols (and probably many of yours too)� Carrie Underwood. After winning the American Idol title in Season 4 of the show, she has had two very successful albums: "Some Hearts" and "Carnival Ride."

Carrie is one of the most popular female musicians in Country Music right now. Her dress was a stunning design by Farah Angsara. She explained why she chose her gown: "My song is very serious and I was sitting down . . . well, if I'm sitting I might as well wear something that's just over the top beautiful."

The singer spoke of her success being a result of American Idol and says that "it's always great coming back to Idol." She doesn't get to watch the show as much because she is on tour now, but that she "got Tivo on my bus." From what Carrie has seen so far on "Idol" she concludes that it is "a great season" and "there's a lot of great people and they all have their own individual style." However, Carrie declined to say a favorite.

Coming from a family of teachers, (both her mom and her sister are teachers) Carrie is a huge supporter of education, stating that "I really wish that somebody would step up and do something for education because we're investing (and) that's a huge investment in our future." Her true passion for Idol Gives Back shined through with her song choice (George Michael's "Praying for Time"), Guess Simon cannot complain about this one. Carrie states that her song choice "is not about self promoting, it's not about singing your latest single, it's not about trying to be the most downloaded whatever on Itunes, it's all about getting people to call in and do something and that is a song that I've always loved and I've always loved the message." Choosing the song may have came easily to Carrie, but it took a while to get it just right, "it took me forever to be able to sing that through without crying and I know if that song makes me feel that way then maybe it will make a few other people feel that way, as well and maybe make them feel strongly about doing something." This is the reason I like Carrie Underwood as a person. Not only is she well versed, but she is probably the most selfless celebrity I have ever crossed paths with.

One of the biggest draws of the night was none other than Miley Cyrus, who performed two different songs. It is no surprise that the crowd went wild for her. Backstage Miley was really honored to be part of this event. She expressed that having "that self power and be able to say 'okay no matter how much I'm putting in I'm making a difference'." Her dedication and advocacy towards the education of these children is that of someone beyond her years. "Not only is money needed, but just time," she reasoned. "There are so many kids out there that I met, so many children that were just walking around alone. I know they would love to have friends there and have people coming just bringing hope."

In a filmed documentary Miley and her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, met up with a family that is so poor they cannot afford to buy books to educate their children. Miley spoke of her travels to Kentucky where her parents were from and expressed her desire to show the world how bad some towns have it.

On a lighter note, if you are wondering where she shops, her top was from Delias! If you go to www.delias.com you may just be able to purchase yourself one for your own closet!

The final celebrities stopping by were Gloria Estefan and Sheila E, who also performed on the show singing "Make it Happen." Gloria is a huge fan of American Idol and watches it every week with her daughter. "I know the pressure they're under," Gloria admits, "because as performers we what they are going through, week after week, live, standing there being criticized."

If you want to get Sheila E's shoes they are made by J.Lo. However, Sheila admitted that her manager "blinged my shoes," and Gloria joked that "J.Lo's gonna be mad." Sheila joked back, "J.Lo should have put the shoe out like this."

The opening number was high on the list of my favorite performances of the night. The Season 7 Idol contests all came out singing Rhianna's "Please Don't Stop The Music" along with former cast members from "So You Think You Can Dance." Together they combined dance moves and singing. The only other time we get a glimpse of the contestants is the show closing song where all the contestants sang "Shout To The Lord". After the song it looked like I was in New York City on New Years Eve. So much confetti dropped in the auditorium that I swear people will be cleaning it up for days.

Another key performance to look out for is Mariah Carey, who I feel put on the performance of a lifetime. I have to say that Mariah Carey looked the best she has ever looked in her life, and her vocals just blew everyone away. Clad in a tight black outfit and straight hair, she camethisclose to shattering the glass lens of the camera when she hit her high vocals. Old school Mariah is back and better than ever!

I was really moved by the stories that were told during Idol. Many celebrities came together for this show and traveled throughout the world to film documentary segments to educate America about the poverty and disease that is affecting millions of people around the world. Some of the most moving segments include: Simon Cowell's trip to New York visiting a family that could not afford health care; Annie Lennox's documentary about AIDS victims; and Randy and Paula's visit to Goshen Elementary School where the town is so bad that kids fear leaving their homes and are obese due to lack of resources (parks, pools) and nutritious foods (fruits, veggies).

Other documentary films include Celine Dion in South Africa, Forest Whitaker in Africa, Reese Witherspoon in New Orleans, Brad Pitt in New Orleans, Eli and Peyton Manning in New Orleans, to name a few. The show also has Public Service Announcements from celebrities such as Ellen Degeneres (who says she is Oprah), Jonas Brothers, Fantasia, Jennifer Connolly, Kobe Bryant, Whoopie Goldberg, Julianne Moore, the Beckhams, Kiefer Sutherland, Dolly Parton, Mary Murphy, George Lopez, Keith Urban, and many more, all requesting people to call in and donate (and EnterTEENment requests you do too!!!!).

Tonight's show is definitely not one to miss, between all of the action-packed performances, the comedic dialogue (Robin Williams, Sarah Silverman, and Jimmy Kimmel) you will not want to leave your television set.

Be sure to tune into American Idol tonight at 7:30 p.m. And most importantly, don't forget to donate. Even a little will go a long way to helping people in need. So, please dial the numbers below and vote for this worthy cause!

You can donate online at: https://www.idolaid.com/AidForm.asp for more information.

You can donate via telephone by calling: 1 (877) IDOL AID or 1 (877) 436 5243

We leave you with the show-closing words of Ryan Secreast: "The people you've helped will never meet you, but let us thank you on their behalf."

Photos Provided by: FOX