Sales Rack: The Homemade Charity of "One World Together At Home"

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Whether or not we want to admit it, we’re living in a very interesting time for media. I’m not talking about the fact that major studios are dropping the biggest films onto digital platforms. No, this has nothing to do with Trolls: World Tour (2020). While I think there is room to argue that these are informing a shift in how we consume media in the long run, my point has little to do with entertainment that has existed in some form of completion prior to the COVID-19 outbreak.

I’m talking about a time when we are all in quarantine and having to find ways to not go mad inside the confines of our house. This may be easy if you’re a solitary person, existing in a confined space for hours and finding ways to get around these matters. However, it has been very difficult to say the same for entertainers whose job are to, you know, entertain. Get a crowd together to cheer and feel the exhilaration of exhibitionism. That is the type of behavior that I want to talk about today.

It has existed before today in different forms. The NBA has had muddled success with both an NBA 2K Tournament and later a notorious Horse competition that has become a walking punchline. Others like Rosie O’Donnell have resurrected their talk show to hold charities by interviewing all of the Broadway stars, hunkered up in their apartments with nothing more than their voice to keep them company.

COVID-19 has been the great unifier in that we’re all forced to resort to whatever means we have to communicate. Whereas major studios could hand out high-end cameras and revel in high production values in the past, most of those are shut down now. We’re all stuck having to rely on our phones and laptops (mostly) to present video of ourselves. There’s nothing more humbling than knowing that somebody as established as Idina Menzel has to communicate to Rosie O'Donnell on her phone as she wanders around her kitchen.

The only thing that’s not great? Seeing how much better designed certain peoples’ homes are. We can’t all live in Paul Revere Williams houses.

My bigger point is that we’re living in an era where we’re experiencing a new form of charity events. There have been hundreds, even thousands, of live streams in the past that have been made to raise funds for different causes. However, they all had production values that are sorely lacking here. For starters, there have been ensembles that make the janky production here show a stronger disparity.

A lot of noteworthy events have taken place over the past week, and they all have the same underwhelming quality to them. If you go in just expecting to see something on par with anything like the 9/11 or Hurricane Katrina relief shows, you’re going to find yourself baffled.


However, there’s something to be said for the lo-fi approach that everyone is taking. The two most noteworthy shows come bearing similar gifts. The first is a Disney-sanctioned singalong that featured the likes of Auli’i Cravalho, Donny Osmond, Ariana Grande, and a High School Musical (2004) reunion. This was considered to be nothing more than a friendly moment for families to come together and enjoy the music.

It is to Disney’s credit that they could make an otherwise harmless, pointless hour into something refreshing. That’s in large part because ABC’s counterprogramming isn’t great right now (unless you’re into Baker and the Beauty), but also because it works. Most of us have spent our free time watching entertainers learning how to use Zoom in order to just express themselves, to sing to a public who only wants to sway and feel the sensations deep inside. Music has made us feel like a community in times of peril, and that’s the charm of Disney cobbling together a night of celebrity karaoke.

If there’s anything that’s tragic about this current format, it’s that we’re not afforded the change of camera. There’s rarely an edit that could liven up a static shot. Some have found ways to get around this, such as having multiple screens for various collaborators break back and forth. Osmond’s cover of “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” is arguably a highlight solely because of his ability to make a cheeky cover by his children into a Brady Bunch parody that’s heavy on the syrup. There are examples that people are having fun with this new form of media, though for the most part we’re going to be stuck with the static shot.

Lady Gaga

However, there was rarely a better tee-off for this charity-minded era than Saturday Night’s One World: Together At Home. It was to recognize the group Global Citizen, which was created by Coldplay singer Chris Martin as a way to raise awareness for those working to fight the pandemic. It includes having involvement with the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) as they present a mix of performances with highlights from the various real-life figures who are making a difference.

Don’t get it twisted. This wasn’t a moment where celebrities came together to pat themselves on the back. This is nowhere near as cynical as “Do They Know It’s Christmastime At All?” This is largely an infomercial broken up with occasional performances, presented across every major channel. This is one of the rare opportunities where you’ll get to see the kings of late night come together for a shared cause. Despite being promoted as a night hosted by Lady Gaga (she appears almost as a bookend), duties were split between Jimmy Fallon (The Tonight Show), Jimmy Kimmel (Jimmy Kimmel Live!), and Stephen Colbert (The Late Show) who took turns mixing their own comedic wit with introduction duties to the various segments over the two hour event.

On one hand, you get what you paid for. Fallon, Kimmel, and Colbert were charming enough. Kimmel went so far as to make his deliveryman a pizza as an act of gratitude. However, the performances ranged in overall quality. A lot of this was due to sound mixing, with many not familiar with how to film themselves singing in an acoustic environment. This was especially true of Billie Eilish, whose low harmonies weren’t made to exist without a microphone isolating her from brother Finneas’ organ playing directly next to her. While the sentiment is greatly appreciated, it showed how unprepared certain artists were for this circumstance.

Others like Elton John singing “I’m Still Standing” or Jennifer Lopez with the Barbra Streisand standard “People” looked to have more of a comfort in this moment. Even then, there was this sense that they weren’t doing it for the pageantry. Everyone chose songs that held some significance to them, lacking any bigger reasons. That could be why Billie Joe Armstrong chose the Iraq War song “Wake Me Up When September Ends” and Paul McCartney “Lady Madonna.” It’s an odd mix, showing a lack of planning on a larger level. Even when there are smaller moments to admire, you can’t help but feel like better communication could’ve strengthened the message of the show. After all, Disney doing a night of Disney songs may seem superfluous, but at least you knew what to expect.

Though if we’re being honest, the real heart of One World was the message behind it. If you’re like me, you have been following the daily news and capturing every breaking development. Not a lot of One World is necessarily new to me, though that wasn’t an issue.



To me this was about more than stating the obvious. It was about presenting a thought-out understanding of why COVID-19 research is important. The one image that kept appearing throughout the show was for the doctors and nurses who have been working to keep people healthy. Interviews feature nurses taking off their masks to reveal small bruises on their face from the slipshod masks and protective gear they needed to use in the wake of supply shortages.

Somehow seeing those faces and hearing their stories gives the heartwarming substance underneath, making you understand where the humanity lied in all of this. We’re not all just spinning wheels in our living room. There is an actual effort made by people who genuinely care. W.H.O. and Bill Gates came out at various points to discuss how they were helping to spread awareness. It was the most encouraging part of everything.

This raises the question as to what we expect from these charity events. Do we really expect the music to be exemplary, or is it about the message? If we’re being honest, few of the songs over the course of One World were essential. Without a consistent theme between all of these songs, save for how we’re passing the time, it kind of felt too monotonous. I know that the limited means impact how we see the show, but there’s still the sense that this was more of a talent show format, watching videos that you could find on YouTube with a more convenient experience.

However, I don’t know that anyone would purposely watch this show if it was just the message. It’s something I’ve learned watching PBS fundraisers. While I haven’t donated a penny to them, I still have gotten suckered into many pledge drive coverages because they provide quality entertainment. It’s often breaking up great performances, like Jesus Christ Superstar Live!, with desires to keep the channel operating. It’s a perfect subliminal tool that is as endearing as it is annoying. On one hand, you want PBS to survive, but you also just want to hear John Legend singing “Gethsemane” without commercial interruptions.

I think there is a lot of value in One World existing as this filmed infomercial. Putting faces to the hard workers, celebrating their accomplishments, is something that I feel is necessary in these trying times. I may know everything about this presentation, but I found my heart becoming fuller at the idea that every channel was dedicating primetime airing to these people, showing those mask bruises and hearing stories about how they won over shortcomings. So much of the present is maddeningly uncertain that I need that reminder. Not everyone watches the same news that I do, so I can’t be sure that they have heard the same stories. But to know that in a time where media is more fragmented than ever that we were all hearing the same story makes me feel better about the world. Not only that, but One World had the smarts to include entertainers and professional figures from around the world, adding a deeper sense of global unity.


At the end of the day, this was meant as a way to advertise Global Citizen and raise funds for COVID-19 research (it earned over $128 million). I think that it’s a valuable cause, regardless as to whether I enjoyed any one performance (Taylor Swift was possibly the best, if just for emotional resonance). To me it was a distraction from the bigger cause, though without it the chance of people tuning in probably wouldn’t happen. That’s just how we all are. We need that piece of entertainment to warm our heart and remember that everything will be okay if we work together. Music unites us in that way, and it’s true whether we’re singing Disney or a Green Day standard. Our ability to have that same wavelength, even as we interpret it differently, is a powerful thing.

Though I wonder what this will say about “new” media going forward. I don’t believe we’re going to be changing things up any sooner. We’re going to have people singing from home by their piano, pleading for a cure to this problem. How will we evolve and make it more interesting and purposeful? I don’t know. While One World isn’t the most revolutionary show and somedays I’m tired about hearing about The Big C™ so often, it’s great to know that people are trying to make a difference. I’d love to see this type of entertainment that doesn’t treat self-awareness as a comedic crutch, but that’s to be expected. We’re working towards it. Right now, we just need to know that we’re together in a fight for a better, healthier future.

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