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]
Overview
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
Performers and performances on iHeart Living Room Concert for America
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]