LOS ANGELES (BNA Records) - They are still in the midst of finalizing the line-up for NBC's "Concert for the Tsunami Victims," which will be broadcast live on Saturday January 15th. Drawing on top names from movies, TV, music, theatre and sports, the entertainment community will gather as one to extend a helping hand to the families devastated by the South Asian tsunami catastrophe.
"We were trying to figure out how to get involved," says Chesney, just back from his Christmas break - and waist deep in preparations for the release of Be As You Are: Songs from an Old Blue Chair. "You watch this stuff on tv... You look at the pictures in the paper... And you can't even imagine how those families must feel. Truly, it is beyond comprehension. So when the people putting this show together called to ask, I didn't even have to think about it. I was like, 'Where do you need me to be?'"
The one hour special, which will be carried on the entire family of NBC networks - NBC, Bravo, USA, MSNBC, Sci Fi, CNBC and Trio - will be broadcast live to the East coast, tape delayed on the West coast with the phone bank staying open throughout the night. The special will also be promoted through the Clear Channel network of radio stations.
"There are something like 150,000 people who're dead," Chesney says, sadly. "But just as importantly, there are tens of thousands who are hurt and someone told me around two million people who are displaced. That means, more people will die if we can't help them get aid... and everyone is being impacted by conditions created by this disaster. The American people have already been amazing in opening up their hearts... This is one more attempt to reach out and help out."
"The Concert for the Tsunami Victims" is in keeping with the various entertainment communities coming together for myriad events following September 11, 2001 - another pivotal day the world was rocked by tragedy. A pair of concerts featured performances by many of the greatest names in music and comedy, with taped messages of hope and consolation from the leaders of politics, sports, TV and film - and this very special event continues that thread of outreach on the biggest scale.
"It not only makes you realize how small each of us really is," says the man who sold 1.2 million concert tickets last year and won the American Music Awards' fan-voted Artist of the Year. "And it also makes you realize how much we all need each other. If we can always remember to reach out to each other, to try to make each other's way a little lighter, then we're making this world a wonderful place to live."
"The Concert for the Tsunami Victims" airs live on NBC and its family of networks next Saturday, January 15th. Additional talent will be announced daily. You can also tune in to see Kenny perform a song from Be As You Are on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" February 1.
