Goofy, glitzy-- but sincere

There are two ways a celebrity summit like Wednesday night's "Idol Gives Back" charity telecast can achieve razzle-dazzle nirvana: through staged spontaneity or grandeur. When the first occurs, as when Fergie did flips across the floor while rocking out with Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart, we viewers are plunged into the fun of the moment. Unexpected gestures by our favorite stars collapse the distance between us and them.

In the second case -- as when Carrie Underwood, perched on a stool in an iridescent Farah Angsana gown, offered up George Michael's ballad "Praying for Time" with grace, compassion and dignity -- we are lifted up beyond the day's irritations and momentarily made better. We might even reach for the phone and pledge the money we'd planned to spend on iTunes.

Like the paradigm-shifting talent show that created this charitable opportunity, Fox's "Idol Gives Back" deftly balanced these contrasts between goofiness and glitz. It shouldn't have worked -- Jimmy Kimmel shouldn't have been able to make jokes about Simon Cowell's man-breasts moments after the sublime Annie Lennox nearly broke into tears while singing the reggae hymn "Many Rivers to Cross."

You'd think Miley Cyrus would look ridiculous playing the cool teen to Billy Crystal's grandpa, singing one of her teen-scream hits, and then showing up (on film) in an Appalachian holler, telling destitute kids they'd make great teachers one day.

And this year's "Idol" contestants themselves shouldn't have been able to go from mild freak-dancing with the contestants of "So You Think You Can Dance" to donning white and singing the contemporary worship song "Shout to the Lord." But that's what they did, opening the show with a little heat and closing it with a holy glow.

This is the entertainment universe we live in now, one "Idol" has helped create: a funhouse with collapsing walls, where the down-and-dirty mingles with the spiritually tinged and a stellar performance has only a moment to rest in our minds before being cut down to size by a friendly joke.

Ryan Seacrest guided us through the contradictions in the show, his giant chipmunk eyes melting when he talked about how much good the millions raised would do and regaining their glint when Robin Williams (pretending to be the Russian Idol) reached for Simon Cowell's derriere during a bear hug. He showed the most dexterity when wandering through the onstage phone bank manned by the "Idol" kids (a great gimmick -- pledge $10, kids, and possibly talk to David Archuleta), turning on a dime from joking with Jason Castro to intoning about the horrors of malaria.