The whole hour of Elton John’s “Living Room” concert on Fox last night was just great, with real singers and musicians performing ad hoc from their homes. Backstreet Boys somehow put together “I Want It That Way,” a song still no one knows what it means or what way they want it. Alicia Keys was tremendous with “Underdog,” which soared to number 2 on iTunes.
But the real cherry on the sundae was Elton himself, whose hosting was spot on. At the end, after claiming he didn’t have a piano in his house, it turned out he had a good enough keyboard, and sang a little impromptu “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me.” I clapped. It very moving.
Ratings: just fine, 4.5 million people watched. They were third in their time slot, but it’s Fox, which can’t compete with “American Idol” (they used to broadcast that show), and “NCIS: Somewhere.” But they’ll get an Emmy nomination. Joel Gallen did a terrific job.
Listen: they should do this again, with Elton and another group– Sting? Paul McCartney? Stevie Wonder? One thing they need, though, is black male artists. And I don’t mean just John Legend. Smokey Robinson? Sam Moore? Let’s get some vets in there.
