Tina Fey, Jon Stewart and Jimmy Fallon all appeared, and ''Sopranos'' star James Gandolfini is also participating. The mood early on was somber but hopeful, from Aguilera's ''Beautiful'' to Bon Jovi's ''Living On a Prayer.''

Joel picked up the tempo with ''Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway),'' and Fallon gamely led an all-star performance of ''Under the Boardwalk'' that featured Joel, Springsteen and Steven Tyler. The show will air across the stable of NBC Universal networks, including USA, CNBC, MSNBC, E! Entertainment, The Weather Channel and Bravo.

NBC Universal invited other networks to televise the event, but so far only HBO, Discovery Fitness & Health and Velocity have signed on. In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the networks organized a benefit together behind the scenes, and it was televised on more than 30 networks simultaneously, including all the big broadcasters.

After Hurricane Katrina, NBC televised its own benefit before the other broadcasters, one that became best known for Kanye West's off-script declaration that ''George Bush doesn't care about black people.'' The other broadcasters cooperated on their own telethon a week later, and NBC televised that one, too.