tonight on "nightline," justice for somer. a mother's message to the man charged today with kidnapping and killing her 7-year-old daughter. >> we got you. and you ain't getting away. >> but did it take too long? and how did authorities finally get their suspect? sponging it up. he might just be the world's most famous cartoon character. we go behind the scenes with the brains and voimss -- >> so i can go, he was on tv. >> that bring spongebob squarepants and his gang in bikini bottom to life. and, pop prince. ♪ >> the king of pop's heir

apparent. he brought millions to taerms at michael jackson's memorial. tonight, usher talks about the sounds and people who shaped his song and dance. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, martin bashir and cynthia mcfadden in new york city, this is "nightline," march 26th, 2010. >> good evening, i'm terry moran. and we begin tonight with a murder charge in a tragic case we've been following since october. that's when 7-year-old somer thompson disappeared on her walk home from school outside of jacksonville, florida. an expansive search ended just a few days later, when her body was found in a land fill 50 miles away. well, today, police announced they have their killer. for the family of this little girl, it is a terrible moment, packed with emotion, as senior justice correspondent pierre thomas reports.

>> 158 days ago, my 7-year-old twin daughter was walking home from school. someone took her away from me, her siblings and the world. a monster. that's all this person is is a monster. >> reporter: somer's dispeerps last october 19th was a mystery that destroyed the small florida town's sense of innocence. today, police said they believe they found the monster. >> jared harrell has now by formally charged with the murder of somer thompson. >> reporter: the suspect, a 24-year-old man living only doors away. >> he contacted somer as she was walking home from school. we have evidence that will show that harrell assaulted somer and killed her and dumped her body in a dumpster which ultimately ended up in a land fill in

georgia. >> reporter: today, a bit of closure for a nightmare that began on a crisp fall day when a little girl vanished. the community was petrified. >> she's one of the most loving little girls in the whole wide world. she doesn't know a stranger. and if somebody has her, please just bring her home. she's got a twin and he misses her, and we all miss her and we just want her to come home, okay? >> reporter: for days no clear sign what happened. then, the ugly truth. somer's body was found in a georgia land fill. >> all i remember is losing it, i mean, literally losing it. the senselessness of it. why mine? why anyone's? my baby was thrown in the trash. how could you do that? how could anyone do that? >> reporter: the discovery of somer's body touched off an outpouring of support for the

thompson family, as officials searched for her killer, cable tv news carried tear-filled statements -- >> i don't care if you ever get in trouble -- i just want my baby back. >> reporter: and the candle light vigils, where hundreds sang. ♪ >> reporter: somer's favorite song. ♪ take my sunshine away >> reporter: somer had been found, but her killer was still out there, and residents were on edge. her mother, single and working at the time somer disappeared, dets prattly needed to know what happened. >> i want to see this person's face. i can't wait to meet him face to face. >> he was arrested without incident. and is being held on a $1 million bond on those charges. >> i want them to die. i want them to get the death penalty. >> reporter: who is jared harrell, and if he is the killer, could he been stopped earlier? back in august 2009, harrell's roommates accused him of having

child pornography on his computer. >> in my view, there's a sense of urgency when you seize anything that has child pornography on it. you never want a child to be victimized. >> reporter: but no arrest was made until february. >> i think that the police are really going to get second-guessed on this one. >> reporter: authorities in florida tell abc news had had to prove the porn really belonged to harrell, and that took time. police also said they are overwhelmed by the number of child porn allegations. >> it is scary to think how many people are actually doing that in our community right now. and i'm talking not in dozens, i'm talking hundreds of cases that we got out there. it's a very scary thing. >> reporter: the arrest warrant charges 29 counts of possession of extreme child pornography. specifically, little girls about somer's age. if all the charges are true, harrell really is a monster. but in this secretly recorded jailhouse conversation with his mother, the 6'2", 250-pound

harrell sounds like a scared little boy. >> hey, honey. how are you doing? >> i'm holding in there, i guess. >> that's good. that's good. >> everybody's kind of telling me i look a little stressed. that's how, literally, i think the stress is killing me. >> reporter: the child porn case directed police to harrell, who discovered lived near somer. after receiving dna analysis today, he was in court to face the charges. harrell hung his head when the judge advised him of the premeditated murder charge in a three-minute proceeding. he potentially faces the death penalty. as for somer's mother, she's left with sweet but painful memories. >> she laughed and she danced. she didn't have very good rhythm, but she still tried. she was just so wonderful. and you take it for granted. you never think you're going to be sitting here -- you have a lot of regret because you may have been too busy.

and you weren't really busy. you were just too busy in your head. and i'll have to live with that, and that's hard. i just hope she knew that i loved her. >> reporter: along with that hope today, she offered her daughter a mother's prayer. >> that somer is in heaven and she has no recollectiorecollect probably, of what happened to her. >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm pierre thomas. >> a mother's prayer that we hope will be answered and that justice, whatever it may be in this case, will be served. our thanks to pierre thomas for that report. we're going to take a break. when we come back, we're going to turn the page completely, bring you a story out of the entertainment world. we're going to go inside a multibillion dollar cartoon empire. who are they? how do they do it? stay tuned to find out. we are surrounded by information. human beings use their 5 senses

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you know who lives in a pineapple under the sea? sponge bob square pants. kids love him? how do i know? my daughter is among some of his millions of fans. the show has been around for a decade, going strong, a television hit, a merchandising machine. but what kind of creative process fuels the success? neal karlinsky infiltrated bikini bottom. ♪ who lives in a pineapple under the sea ♪ >> sponge bob runs ahead, laughing, trips on a rock.

>> reporter: this is the world of spongebob squarepants. a show that's grown into a multibillion dollar phenomenon so popular, it is among the top rated shows on all of cable television. >> we're going to let those two lead us straight to the -- >> reporter: steven banks is the show's head writer. >> spongebob squarepants is about a sponge that lives in a pineapple under the sea, he works at the krusty krab, he makes krabby patties. then there's plankton, who wants nothing more than to get the secret recipe to make krabby patties. >> you weak-minded fool! >> which will allow him, for some reason, to be able to take over the world. >> reporter: of course he's not a sea sponge, but a kitchen

sponge, who works at a fry cook in a place called bikini bottom. with what you might call a co r colorful cast of characters and assorted misfits. there's the squirrel scientist who lives in a bubble. >> i play sandy cheeks. >> i like you, sponge bob. >> reporter: the greedy boss. >> clancy brown, and i play mr. krabs. >> reporter: the depressed cynical neighbor. >> roger bumpiss, and i play squidward. >> reporter: the dopey good friend. >> i'm patrick. >> reporter: and, of course, the sponge himself. >> tom kenney, spongebob squarepants. >> reporter: no, not him, the real sponge bob, though we could only reach him by phone. i but thinking of getting myself some square pants. where do you shop? >> at the store.

>> reporter: you seem like you are working all the time. do you ever take a vacation? >> oh, i don't think that mr. krabs believes in vacations. >> reporter: me kids really wanted me to ask you this question. so, what is the crabby patty secret formula? >> nice try, neal, or should i say, plankton? >> reporter: what is the secret sauce? why is this so popular? >> secret sauce. >> what's going to happen to us? >> funny is funny. >> we're probably get 40 lashes. >> oh, no! >> the stories are funny. just maintained its longevity. >> i think it's sponge bob's whimsical optimism. >> i'm ready. i'm ready. i'm ready. >> he cannot be defeated and i think that has a lot to do with his appeal. >> i'm ready! >> go sponge bob! whoa! >> reporter: you think it's the adult humor? >> i think you've hit it on the head.

adults these days are still very immature. >> luckily the american culture has worked for us. >> reporter: a full 25% of the show's audience are adults who don't even have kids. what is a good sponge bob story? >> silly and simple. >> reporter: the show's creators say they're not necessarily writing kids stuff. >> we're trying to make a show we would laugh at when we watch. no one's ever gone, like, gee -- if you can do that, if you can say, 10 million 8-year-olds will love this, every show would be a hit, and that doesn't happen. that's what we think is funny. >> reporter: making a children's cartoon isn't child's play. it takes nine months to make just one episode. >> sponge bob comes out of the freezer. he says, like a fresh frozen crabby patty with extra freezer burn flavor. >> reporter: the artists pitch

the show to executive producers in a room plastered with illustrations. >> people would be surprised to see you drawing on post-it notes. >> makes it easy because you can switch them around. >> the joke there is supposed to say -- >> reporter: a cleaned up version is run by a network executive for approval and to make sure nothing offensive slips in. >> with sam's costume, you may want to cover her chest a little bit more. it's a bit revealing. yeah, yeah. >> that's just a little glimpse into the mind of a cartoonist, so -- >> reporter: it's one of the few cartoons left that still uses paint for animation. the deadlines are fierce. >> so it's not enough to be good or creative. you have to be fast. >> yeah, it's -- that's the ticket here. kind of creative on demand. >> reporter: vincent waller o r oversees it all. >> i go over all the designs. and i made you as a fish.

>> reporter: that's me? >> as best i can do as a fish. >> reporter: not sure what to say about that. the cartoon has been going ten years now, broadcast around the world in 25 languages. [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: and it's spawned a line of toys, clothing and food with sales estimated at nearly $1 billion a year. >> the only reason my family and i aren't living under a bridge is, i can do that. how do you explain that? it's a bizarre day job. >> reporter: tom and the rest of the cast rehearse around a table. >> not for long -- >> and then we're going to run this all the way through to sandy's line 98. >> reporter: when they finally record the show -- there are no added special effects for their voices. >> oopsi-daisy.

>> pure genius. >> krusty krab. >> at 112, please. >> oh, my show! >> hmm, you seem tense. you seem tense. oh, somebody's tense. >> reporter: the show's executive producer says sponge bob is simply this. a fun-loving, hyper active, man child. so, are you a man child? are you all just immature here? >> well, i think all animators are a little immature. you have to have part of you that didn't grow up. >> you're it! >> reporter: maybe that's it. the secret formula that's turned an unlikely character into a global we nonnon. sometimes it just doesn't pay to be mature. >> what do you think this is, some kind of party? >> oh, yeah! >> reporter: i'm neal karlinsky for "nightline" in burbank, california.

>> love that sponge. bong bob's up for best cartoon at the kid's choice awards. best of luck to the cast, and thanks to neal karlinsky for that. when we come back, we're going to usher in a pop star. you heard right, usher is yes, we're looking even if that means we have to shop all day, right, honey? yep, all day. good thing you're starting here. we compare your progressive direct rate to other top companies', so you can save money! look! we saved a lot! and quick, too. and no more holding her purse! it's a european shoulder bag. it was a gift. mm-hmm. shopping less and saving more. now, that's progressive. call or click today. [ deep breathing ]

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>> ann >> announcer: "nightline" continues from new york city with terry moran. >> at just 31 years old, usher raymond iv has already sold more than 40 million albums worldwide and collected five grammy awards. well, now, he's got a new album hitting stores next week. he's been called the heir apparent to michael jackson.

if that's possible. usher talked to us about the king of pop and his other influences in tonight's "play list." ♪ daddy's home ♪ home for me >> for me, it's about a musical journey. it's about borrowing to be great. understanding musical culture and making sure that you put a little bit of, you know, something that you found in it for everybody. ♪ we made it ♪ we made it . >> some of my early musical memories would have to be in the church. song called "i made it." that's a song that my mother would sing. every other sunday she would perform. i would watch her sing in the choir and, you know, eventually i decided to join her youth choir. ♪

>> new edition. i can remember as a kid attending a new edition concert. of course, i sat in the nose bleed section. we weren't rich. one of the greatest moments in my performance history was in d.c. at a performance that new edition put on. i was standing on the side of the stage and we're all good friends now, but i knew all the choreography to the song. they look over to the left and they are waving me on the stage. so i walk out on the stage. they're missing one tick, this one move that you, do, you drop your leg, there's one person missing, so i run out there and i do that one little moment. it was -- and the crowd went crazy. from nose bleed to actually being on the stage. ♪ i got to make sure i'm right ♪ before i let go >> "before i let go" is by far one of the most invigorating

songs in history, man. when you heard that song, no matter where you are, it puts a smile on your face. no matter what age you are. believe me. right now probably somewhere in some incredible weather or either cold weather, you know, making everybody feel super warm with happy feelings. you know, these are incredible songs that are timeless. i can remember hearing them as a kid. i play them for my children. and i try to do that. i try to, you know, give them and instill, you know, true classic music into them a little so they have an ultimate sense of value from music. ♪ you own my heart and mind ♪ i truly adore you >> you had artists like prince who kind of created really the standard for what r & b slow classic was, and there was songs like "adore you" that kind of gave, that were a staple. and even to this day -- every

album, i always create a record just like that, because, you know, that, to me, represents r & b history. that's just something about a falsetto that i think women go crazy over. you know, if you are able to hit that high, high note, they go crazy. so -- thanks, prince. ♪ i saw mommy kissing santa claus ♪ "i saw mommy kissing santa cla s claus." that's the first time i heard michael jackson's voice. i began to notice then the type of performer he was and by different programs i'd seen and the fanfare, what michael was on television and you just admired him. i was very, very young, but i saw it. upon his untimely death, i was invited to perform at his

memorial. this, i knew, was probably going to be one of the most hardest moments of my musical career to be able to stand in front of this world, the world, everybody was watching this. i didn't make it through rehearsals because it was just -- i really got choked up. but i knew this was, you know, an opportunity to pay tribute to michael in a way that was, you know, very -- was helpful. they'll never be another michael jackson. this lifetime. ♪ i say yeah ♪ shorty got down ♪ come and get me ♪ yeah >> jimmy: >> jimmy: tonight, christoph waltz, tom papa, manchester orchestra, and donald trump, too.