Jessica Simpson & the Pussy Cat Dolls entertain the troops in Kuwait
MySpace put together some music acts such as Jessica Simpson, Disturbed, and the Pussy Cat Dolls and sent them over to Kuwait to entertain our troops. They called it Operation MySpace.
The concert, shot live in HD, was well deserved and was a good distraction for our soldiers who are fighting for our lives everyday. MySpace wrote to it's members, " It's 2008 and the world has changes but our troops still need our support."
Before the music began, about 5,000 service members heard a message of support and appreciation from President Bush.
Then, before comedian Carlos Mencia got the troops laughing, he gave them some words of thanks.
"You guys work every single day doing a job that other people would never even dream of doing," he said. "You do it proudly, and you do it with a smile, and I salute all of you."
His job was to keep the troops enthusiasm going while the singing acts got ready.
DJ Z-Trip was also present and cranked up the volume on some special mixes.
Air Force Tech Sgt. Marcus Waller, deployed from MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., expressed gratitude for the celebrities' appearance.
"I just want to give a big thanks to Carlos Mencia, the Pussycat Dolls and the various artists coming out in support of our troops," Waller said. "We really appreciate it. It's good to see faces, people thinking about us. As a whole, the U.S. military, we want to give you a big, 'Thanks.'"
The artists gave their thanks to the troops saying how this interaction with the with has impacted all of them greatly.
Nicole Schersinger, lead singer of the Pussy Cat Dolls said, "This has been a life changing experience for us."
"We're coming over here to play rock music, and Frank's in the military," said Richard Patrick, lead vocalist for Filter. "Let's bridge the two worlds and let everybody know it's really one world."
Disturbed's vocalist David Draiman added,"We're happy that we finally have the opportunity to get out here and talk the talk ... and play for the troops and do what we said we've been meaning to do for the longest time. We're feeling really, really good about it."
Jessica Simpson concluded, "What you guys represent is true sacrifice," she told the troops before singing her last number.
Although this day was suppose to be wonderful and memorable, some of the troops felt that Jessica Simpson was taking this opportunity to make some money and show her face rather than be there solely for the purpose of entertaining the troops.
Media takeout had this to say:
I am [Department Of Defense] civilian here in Kuwait working at the camp that held the OPERATION MYSPACE tour which was a charity event. She was the only act that was paid. Jessica insisted that they pay here approximately $150,000 [plus] $10,000 a day for Ken Paves and $6,000 a day for her stylist and make up artist.
When she arrived on the air field she had a pre-order that no one was allowed to come up to her and touch her she was looking very stuck up and snobby. When she came in the dining facility she only served the food for the troops for 5 minutes.
Her concert was last and everyone pretty much left before then. The Pussycat Dolls and the rock group Disturbed were so nice they were literally walking around with the troops without there body guards.
To thank MySpace for doing this for the troops, and to leave a message for our soldiers, visit MySpace.com/operationmyspace.
