Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve
Encyclopedia
Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest (formerly Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve) is a television program
that airs every New Year's Eve
on ABC
. It has been hosted by Dick Clark since its first airing on Sunday, December 31, 1972. Ryan Seacrest
has been the program's co-host since the December 31, 2005 telecast. The show features performances from various contemporary artists, as well as coverage of the dropping of the Times Square Ball
in New York City
's Times Square
. The program airs live in the Eastern Time Zone
, and then on tape delay
in the other areas of the United States
so that the show is correlated to when midnight strikes in the other respective time zones.
Since December 31, 2000, a pre-show of New Year's Rockin' Eve has aired in primetime, featuring additional musical performances and live updates from Times Square
.
(including its long-running ball drop
), along with live musical performances on location by popular artists
(which are exclusive to the broadcast). Since 2005, Ryan Seacrest
has hosted the live show outside in Times Square itself (along with a celebrity correspondent providing additional reports from the crowds), while Dick Clark co-hosts and makes appearances from the Times Square Studios
.
Since the 2000/2001 edition, coverage has began with New Year's Rockin' Eve Primetime, an hour-long pre-show aired at 10:00 PM ET containing additional performances and reports. Following the Primetime show, coverage continues at 11:35 PM ET/PT after local programming (such as late local newscasts) from ABC's affiliates. To allow the new year's countdown to correspond with the local station's time zone
, the second half is usually Tape delayed
by either local affiliates (especially in the Central and Mountain time zones) or by ABC's west coast feed so that the show continues at 11:35 PM local time. When the Ball Drop occurs at 11:59 PM (which has traditionally been accompanied by Dick Clark welcoming the new year), some stations may also air split screen coverage of a local new year's event (such as the Buffalo Ball Drop or Atlanta's Peach Drop). Following the Ball Drop, coverage shifts to concert segments recorded on the West Coast in Hollywood (except in the 2009/2010 edition, which was held at America's Party
in Las Vegas, Nevada
). Since the 2006/2007 edition, these concert segments have been hosted by Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson of The Black Eyed Peas
.
While New Year's Rockin' Eve has aired every year on ABC since 1974, the show was handled differently in 2000 due to ABC News
' day-long special, ABC 2000 Today
. While Rockin' Eve was not aired, Dick Clark still played his traditional role alongside ABC News correspondents for its coverage from Times Square of celebrations in the Eastern time zone.
In terms of years on air, Clark's string of being the permanent host of the series, 38 years, is the second-longest of any host of an American entertainment television program, behind only Jerry Lewis
, who has hosted his eponymous telethon
from 1966 through 2010. Both Lewis and Clark are ahead of Don McNeill
and Bob Barker
, both of whom lasted 35 years. (Though Don Francisco
has spent 49 years as host of Sábado Gigante
, that show has only been based in the United States for 25 of those years.) However, Barker and McNeill hosted daily programs, not annual shows as Lewis and Clark have.
, who hosted 21 consecutive New Year's Eve shows from 1956
to 1976
on CBS
, and for a time in syndication. Lombardo's first radio broadcast on New Year's Eve was heard on December 31, 1928 over CBS Radio
, and for a time he even split hosting duties by broadcasting on CBS Radio before midnight EST and on NBC Radio after midnight. Lombardo would host 48 straight New Year's Eve broadcasts until his death in 1977, and famously performed "Auld Lang Syne
" by his Royal Canadians as the clock struck midnight, ushering in the start of a New Year.
Once the Lombardo orchestra began their annual television shows, there would be a live segment from Times Square
, which was (and still is) the focal point of the nation's largest New Year's celebration. In the early years of Lombardo's television specials, pioneer broadcast journalist Robert Trout
reported on and counted down to Midnight in New York's Times Square; but for most of Lombardo's years on television, another legendary newsman, Ben Grauer
, had the honor.
The first New Year's Eve special on television was broadcast on December 31, 1941 on WNBT New York, and consisted of entertainment broadcast from the Rainbow Room
, atop the RCA Building
in New York's Rockefeller Center
.
Due to World War II
, there would be no more New Year's Eve specials on television until December 31, 1945. WNBT produced a remote broadcast of festivities in Times Square. While NBC had begun to feed programs to WRGB
in the Albany area and WPTZ
in Philadelphia, information is unavailable as to whether either or both of these stations broadcast the program, or if it was seen just locally in New York.
Unless New Year's Eve fell on a weekend, NBC
would carry a special New Year's version of The Tonight Show
each year beginning in 1954, including coverage of the arrival of the New Year in Times Square.
Dick Clark himself had actually emceed one New Year's Eve TV special prior to 1972; on December 31, 1959, he emceed a 90-minute New Year's special on ABC from 11 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. EST.
music skewed to an older generation, so Dick Clark started his telecast in 1972
to compete. In 2001, Clark recalled how he let everyone know his special was going to have a different approach:
The first show, Three Dog Night's Year's Rockin' Eve 1973, on NBC, was hosted by Three Dog Night
and also featured Blood, Sweat & Tears
, Helen Reddy
and Al Green
.
The musical segments for the first Rockin' Eve were pre-taped in the main ballroom on board the Queen Mary
, which had been moved to Long Beach, California
after three decades of trans-Atlantic service for the Cunard Line
in 1967, extensively remodeled, and had reopened as a hotel in 1971. This pattern continues to the present day: Most of the musical segments are taped in a studio in advance, while the segments from Times Square are telecast live.
The second show, New Year's Rockin' Eve 1974, also on NBC, was hosted by comedian George Carlin
and featured The Pointer Sisters, Billy Preston
, Linda Ronstadt
and Tower Of Power
.
Since then, the program has been broadcast over ABC.
By the 1980s, with Lombardo deceased and the Lombardo orchestra (which continued to perform with other conductors) no longer appearing over network television on New Year's Eve, and CBS continuing their own shows without them until 1995-96, Rockin' Eve became the dominant New Year's Eve television program; it routinely attracts millions of viewers, many of whom watch while with families and friends at New Year's "house parties" across the country.
, coverage of the millennium
from ABC News
hosted by Peter Jennings
, broadcast live from coast-to-coast throughout the country. Despite this, Dick Clark still appeared as a correspondent in Times Square alongside ABC News correspondent Jack Ford, and was still given his usual honor of counting down the seconds remaining until the new millennium began, doing so with Ford, since the latter had been assigned to Times Square during the broadcast. Since the broadcast was live for the entire country at 12 a.m. EST, only East Coast viewers celebrated midnight with Dick Clark. At midnight for the other time zones, Dick Clark's countdown and the ball drop were not replayed. Instead, countdowns for other cities were shown live at their respective midnights. Because of ABC 2000 Today, Clark's role was limited. However, Clark won a Peabody Award
for his coverage. Traditionally, Clark shares an on-screen kiss with his wife Kari Wigton after the ball drops.
hosted the Friday, December 31, 2004 and Saturday, January 1, 2005 broadcast because Clark was in the hospital with a stroke
, suffered only a few weeks earlier, marking the second time Clark could not host his New Year's Eve broadcast and the first time since 1972 that he did not get to count down to the New Year on the air.
During this edition of New Year's Rockin' Eve, when the countdown for the final seconds of 2004 began rolling, host Regis Philbin said it was the first time he has ever hosted a New Year's Eve special on live television and that it surprised him to see over a million people cheering and dancing in their audience with their hats, noise makers, and confetti
, directly in his sight. He offered a short speech consisting of well wishes for Dick Clark and quickly made one final New Year's resolution when the ball began to drop.
During CNN's New Year's Eve special
, hosted by Anderson Cooper
and broadcast around the world on both CNN
& CNN International
, revelers in Times Square told CNN's Jason Carroll
that Philbin was "all right" filling in for Clark.
would become the executive producer and co-host with Clark. It was also announced that Seacrest will eventually become sole host should Clark be unable to continue with the program. Seacrest, who had hosted Fox's New Year coverage in 2005, switched places with Philbin, who moved over to Fox for 2006.
On Saturday, December 31, 2005 and Sunday, January 1, 2006, Dick Clark appeared on Rockin' Eve 2006 in a slightly smaller studio role along with Seacrest and correspondent Marysol Castro
in Times Square, and Hilary Duff
in Hollywood. During the program, Clark remained behind a desk, and was only shown in limited segments. His speech was slower and deeper, and he appeared to have limited use of his right arm. However, he seemed to be completely in control of his faculties, making comments on how great the evening was going in Times Square. During the show, Clark said:
Before Clark was counting down to 2006, he mentioned he "wouldn't have missed this [the telecast] for the world." Clark's countdown, however, was ahead of the actual time and in fact with three seconds still remaining on the clock Clark had already finished his countdown, declaring "Happy 2006!" with the crowd at Times Square still counting down the remaining two seconds.
Reaction to Clark's appearance was mixed, as reported by CNN. While some TV critics (including Tom Shales of The Washington Post
, in an interview with the CBS Radio Network
) felt he was not in good enough shape to do the broadcast, stroke survivors and many of Clark's fans praised the MC for being a role model for people dealing with post-stroke recovery.
One of the performances on the 2005-2006 special was from Mariah Carey
, who sang some of her hits from her #1 album The Emancipation of Mimi
directly from Times Square
.
performed "Candyman
", which was a track from her newest album, and her 2003
single "Fighter
" live in Times Square moments before midnight. RBD
performed three songs, "Tu amor
", "Wanna Play
", and "Ser o parecer
". It was the first time a Spanish-speaking group performed a song in Spanish on the broadcast. Meat Loaf
also performed a shortened version of his song "Paradise by the Dashboard Light
" with Aspen Miller
(who has been signed to be the lead female singer on his "Bat out of Hell III" tour.)
Dick Clark returned to hosting the show once again, the second time after recovering from his stroke. At first, Clark's countdown was again slightly off from the actual time, but by 11:59:55 p.m., he had lined himself up, forcing himself to skip the number 10 in order to keep up with the actual time in the last seconds. Shortly after midnight, Clark was seen in a heartfelt moment with host Ryan Seacrest, as Seacrest thanked him for his commitment to the show over the years and his continued willingness to be a part of the event. After that, they went on to share a few jokes, and then Seacrest picked up hosting duties for the remainder of the show.
Afterwards, Rihanna
hosted the remainder of the events in New York, while Fergie hosted the (pre-taped) portion originating from Hollywood.
remained co-host along with Dick Clark, whose voice had improved greatly since the previous year. This was Clark's third year back on the broadcast after his stroke. Fergie again hosted the west coast party in Hollywood. During the ball drop at midnight, Clark remained on time throughout the countdown, although he skipped :01 in order to be on time. After midnight, Ryan Seacrest joined Clark in the studio for another moment (as with the past few years) in which Clark and Seacrest thanked each other for their commitment to the event. After that, Seacrest was handed hosting duties until 1 a.m. Eastern time. After 1 a.m., Fergie was handed hosting duty. Jordin Sparks
sang her song, "Tattoo
on the Times Square stage.
Miley Cyrus
was next up. She sang her songs "Start All Over
" and "G.N.O. (Girl's Night Out)". Later, she also sang one of her Hannah Montana songs, "We Got the Party
" as a duet with the Jonas Brothers
. The Jonas Brothers performed their singles "Hold On
" and "SOS
" Carrie Underwood was the main performer and sang a medley of "Flat On The Floor", "All-American Girl
", and "Before He Cheats
".
At the Hollywood party singers Plain White T's
, Fergie, Sean Kingston
, Natasha Bedingfield
, Taylor Swift
, will.i.am
, and OneRepublic
performed songs.
Kellie Pickler
served as Ryan Seacrest's correspondent for the majority of the show, replacing Marysol Castro
. The Jonas Brothers
, Jesse McCartney
, Taylor Swift
, and the Pussycat Dolls
performed again. Former President Bill Clinton
and Senator and Secretary of State-to be Hillary Rodham Clinton
officiated the dropping of the ball.
Clark's role in this edition was significantly expanded; in the previous years since his stroke he had only hosted one segment in addition to the countdown, but for 2008-09, Clark split the time roughly evenly between himself and Seacrest during the half-hour leading up to the ball drop. However, like in previous years, Clark mostly disappeared after midnight, ceding duties to Seacrest and Fergie, and did not appear at all during the prime time broadcast.
in Las Vegas; musical guests in the segments taped there included The Black Eyed Peas
, Colbie Caillat
, Robin Thicke
, Keri Hilson
, Selena Gomez
, Justin Bieber
, David Guetta
, and Orianthi
. Once more, Fergie served as hostess for these pre-taped music segments.
Jennifer Lopez
and Daughtry performed live in Times Square during the special, while Good Morning America
s Melissa Rycroft
reported on festivities there.
On December 2, 2009, American Idol 8 runner-up Adam Lambert
issued a statement claiming he had been booked to appear but that the booking was canceled under pressure from ABC after his controversial performance at the 2009 American Music Awards. Neither ABC nor Dick Clark Productions ever confirmed whether or not Lambert had indeed been booked.
Clark involved himself somewhat more in interacting with the hosts during his time on air, and stayed on a few minutes longer than he had in previous years. His speech was still a bit slurred and occasionally incomprehensible to some viewers. During the countdown, Clark accidentally began counting by twos at the 14-second mark, but corrected himself at the 11-second mark and remained on time for the remainder of the countdown. Starting this year, the Toshiba
billboard countdown clock as seen in Times Square was also shown in the lower right of the screen.
performed live from Times Square. Also, after a year's hiatus, the pre-taped musical performances recorded in Hollywood returned. For the fifth consecutive year, singer Fergie appeared as hostess, this year of the pre-taped segments taped in Hollywood. Actress Jenny McCarthy
appeared as a hostess of the Times Square festivities.
Among the performers who also appeared were Avril Lavigne
, along with her new single "What The Hell", Natasha Bedingfield
who performed her latest single "Strip Me
", Jennifer Hudson
, Ne-Yo
, Train
, Mike Posner
, Willow Smith
, Jason Derülo
, Far East Movement
, La Roux
, Ke$ha, Drake
, and closing the show, the supergroup NKOTBSB
(the combined Backstreet Boys
and New Kids on the Block
).
Dick Clark made no mistake on the countdown to the 2011 New Year as he did during the previous year, maintaining perfect timing. He began counting down at the 24-second mark.
, Lady Gaga
, Pitbull
, Hot Chelle Rae
and One Republic will appear on the show, performing live in Times Square.
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
that airs every New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. It has been hosted by Dick Clark since its first airing on Sunday, December 31, 1972. Ryan Seacrest
Ryan Seacrest
Ryan John Seacrest is an American radio personality, television host, network producer and voice actor. He is the host of On Air with Ryan Seacrest, a nationally syndicated Top 40 radio show that airs on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles and throughout the United States and Canada on Premiere Radio Networks,...
has been the program's co-host since the December 31, 2005 telecast. The show features performances from various contemporary artists, as well as coverage of the dropping of the Times Square Ball
Times Square Ball
The Times Square Ball is a time ball dropped each year during the New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square, Manhattan, New York City. The ball is made by Waterford Crystal and electric lights is raised to the top of a pole on the One Times Square building at 6:00 pm and then lowered to mark the...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
. The program airs live in the Eastern Time Zone
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
, and then on tape delay
Broadcast delay
In radio and television, broadcast delay refers to the practice of intentionally delaying broadcast of live material. A short delay is often used to prevent profanity, bloopers, violence, or other undesirable material from making it to air, including more mundane problems such as technical...
in the other areas of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
so that the show is correlated to when midnight strikes in the other respective time zones.
Since December 31, 2000, a pre-show of New Year's Rockin' Eve has aired in primetime, featuring additional musical performances and live updates from Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
.
Format
The program has typically consisted of live coverage of New Year's Eve festivities in Times SquareTimes Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
(including its long-running ball drop
Times Square Ball
The Times Square Ball is a time ball dropped each year during the New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square, Manhattan, New York City. The ball is made by Waterford Crystal and electric lights is raised to the top of a pole on the One Times Square building at 6:00 pm and then lowered to mark the...
), along with live musical performances on location by popular artists
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
(which are exclusive to the broadcast). Since 2005, Ryan Seacrest
Ryan Seacrest
Ryan John Seacrest is an American radio personality, television host, network producer and voice actor. He is the host of On Air with Ryan Seacrest, a nationally syndicated Top 40 radio show that airs on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles and throughout the United States and Canada on Premiere Radio Networks,...
has hosted the live show outside in Times Square itself (along with a celebrity correspondent providing additional reports from the crowds), while Dick Clark co-hosts and makes appearances from the Times Square Studios
Times Square Studios
Times Square Studios is an American television studio located in the Times Square neighborhood of the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York...
.
Since the 2000/2001 edition, coverage has began with New Year's Rockin' Eve Primetime, an hour-long pre-show aired at 10:00 PM ET containing additional performances and reports. Following the Primetime show, coverage continues at 11:35 PM ET/PT after local programming (such as late local newscasts) from ABC's affiliates. To allow the new year's countdown to correspond with the local station's time zone
Time zone
A time zone is a region on Earth that has a uniform standard time for legal, commercial, and social purposes. In order for the same clock time to always correspond to the same portion of the day as the Earth rotates , different places on the Earth need to have different clock times...
, the second half is usually Tape delayed
Broadcast delay
In radio and television, broadcast delay refers to the practice of intentionally delaying broadcast of live material. A short delay is often used to prevent profanity, bloopers, violence, or other undesirable material from making it to air, including more mundane problems such as technical...
by either local affiliates (especially in the Central and Mountain time zones) or by ABC's west coast feed so that the show continues at 11:35 PM local time. When the Ball Drop occurs at 11:59 PM (which has traditionally been accompanied by Dick Clark welcoming the new year), some stations may also air split screen coverage of a local new year's event (such as the Buffalo Ball Drop or Atlanta's Peach Drop). Following the Ball Drop, coverage shifts to concert segments recorded on the West Coast in Hollywood (except in the 2009/2010 edition, which was held at America's Party
America's Party
.America's Party is the name of the free New Year's Eve party held on the Las Vegas Strip put together by Las Vegas Events and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. The party is telecast with special events for the Eastern Time Zone as America's Party: Live from Las Vegas...
in Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
). Since the 2006/2007 edition, these concert segments have been hosted by Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson of The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...
.
While New Year's Rockin' Eve has aired every year on ABC since 1974, the show was handled differently in 2000 due to ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
' day-long special, ABC 2000 Today
ABC 2000 Today
ABC 2000 Today was ABC News's coverage of the turn of the millennium from December 31, 1999 into January 1, 2000. Part of the 2000 Today programming in the United States, Peter Jennings anchored the 23 hours and 10 minutes of broadcast in Times Square Studios in Manhattan, New York...
. While Rockin' Eve was not aired, Dick Clark still played his traditional role alongside ABC News correspondents for its coverage from Times Square of celebrations in the Eastern time zone.
In terms of years on air, Clark's string of being the permanent host of the series, 38 years, is the second-longest of any host of an American entertainment television program, behind only Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
, who has hosted his eponymous telethon
Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon
The MDA Labor Day Telethon is an annual telethon in the United States to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association . The first MDA telethon was during the Thanksgiving Day weekend of 1952 and titled Party for MDA. It has been held annually since 1966...
from 1966 through 2010. Both Lewis and Clark are ahead of Don McNeill
Don McNeill (performer)
Don McNeill was an American radio personality, best known as the creator and host of The Breakfast Club, which ran for more than 30 years.-Early career:...
and Bob Barker
Bob Barker
Robert William "Bob" Barker is a former American television game show host. He is best known for hosting CBS's The Price Is Right from 1972 to 2007, making it the longest-running daytime game show in North American television history, and for hosting Truth or Consequences from 1956 to 1975.Born...
, both of whom lasted 35 years. (Though Don Francisco
Don Francisco (television host)
Mario Luis Kreutzberger Blumenfeld , better known by his stage name, Don Francisco, is a Chilean television personality, and a popular television personality on the Univision network reaching Spanish-speaking viewers in the United States...
has spent 49 years as host of Sábado Gigante
Sábado Gigante
Sábado Gigante is a Spanish-language television show that is Univision's longest-running program and the longest-running variety TV show in the world. Sábado Gigante is an eclectic and frenetic mix of various contests, human-interest stories, and live entertainment...
, that show has only been based in the United States for 25 of those years.) However, Barker and McNeill hosted daily programs, not annual shows as Lewis and Clark have.
Before Rockin' Eve
Before Dick Clark, the best-known New Year's Eve shows on radio and then television were hosted by bandleader Guy LombardoGuy Lombardo
Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo was a Canadian-American bandleader and violinist.Forming "The Royal Canadians" in 1924 with his brothers Carmen, Lebert, and Victor and other musicians from his hometown, Lombardo led the group to international success, billing themselves as creating "The Sweetest...
, who hosted 21 consecutive New Year's Eve shows from 1956
1956 in television
The year 1956 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1956.-Events:*January 28 – Elvis Presley makes his national television debut on CBS on Stage Show, the first of six appearances on the series....
to 1976
1976 in television
The year 1976 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1976.-Global television events:*The Olympics, broadcast from Montreal, Canada, draw an estimated one billion viewers worldwide....
on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, and for a time in syndication. Lombardo's first radio broadcast on New Year's Eve was heard on December 31, 1928 over CBS Radio
CBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
, and for a time he even split hosting duties by broadcasting on CBS Radio before midnight EST and on NBC Radio after midnight. Lombardo would host 48 straight New Year's Eve broadcasts until his death in 1977, and famously performed "Auld Lang Syne
Auld Lang Syne
"Auld Lang Syne" is a Scots poem written by Robert Burns in 1788 and set to the tune of a traditional folk song . It is well known in many countries, especially in the English-speaking world; its traditional use being to celebrate the start of the New Year at the stroke of midnight...
" by his Royal Canadians as the clock struck midnight, ushering in the start of a New Year.
Once the Lombardo orchestra began their annual television shows, there would be a live segment from Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
, which was (and still is) the focal point of the nation's largest New Year's celebration. In the early years of Lombardo's television specials, pioneer broadcast journalist Robert Trout
Robert Trout
Robert "Bob" Trout was an American broadcast news reporter, best known for his radio work before and during World War II...
reported on and counted down to Midnight in New York's Times Square; but for most of Lombardo's years on television, another legendary newsman, Ben Grauer
Ben Grauer
Benjamin Franklin Grauer was an US radio and TV personality, following a career during the 1920s as a child actor in films and on Broadway. He began his career as a child in David Warfield's production of The Return of Peter Grimm. Among his early credits were roles in films directed by D.W....
, had the honor.
The first New Year's Eve special on television was broadcast on December 31, 1941 on WNBT New York, and consisted of entertainment broadcast from the Rainbow Room
Rainbow Room
The Rainbow Room was an upscale restaurant and nightclub on the 65th floor of the GE Building in Rockefeller Center, Midtown Manhattan, New York City.-Cuisine:...
, atop the RCA Building
GE Building
The GE Building is an Art Deco skyscraper that forms the centerpiece of Rockefeller Center in the midtown Manhattan section of New York City. Known as the RCA Building until 1988, it is most famous for housing the headquarters of the television network NBC...
in New York's Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National...
.
Due to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, there would be no more New Year's Eve specials on television until December 31, 1945. WNBT produced a remote broadcast of festivities in Times Square. While NBC had begun to feed programs to WRGB
WRGB
WRGB, channel 6, is a television station located in Schenectady, New York, USA. WRGB is owned by Freedom Communications, and is the CBS affiliate for the Albany-Schenectady-Troy television market...
in the Albany area and WPTZ
KYW-TV
KYW-TV, virtual channel 3, is an owned and operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. KYW-TV shares a studio facility with its sister station, CW flagship WPSG just north of Center City Philadelphia...
in Philadelphia, information is unavailable as to whether either or both of these stations broadcast the program, or if it was seen just locally in New York.
Unless New Year's Eve fell on a weekend, NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
would carry a special New Year's version of The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
each year beginning in 1954, including coverage of the arrival of the New Year in Times Square.
Dick Clark himself had actually emceed one New Year's Eve TV special prior to 1972; on December 31, 1959, he emceed a 90-minute New Year's special on ABC from 11 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. EST.
Early years
By the 1970s, Lombardo's big bandBig band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
music skewed to an older generation, so Dick Clark started his telecast in 1972
1972 in television
The year 1972 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1972.For the American TV schedule, see: 1972-73 American network television schedule.-Events:...
to compete. In 2001, Clark recalled how he let everyone know his special was going to have a different approach:
The first show, Three Dog Night's Year's Rockin' Eve 1973, on NBC, was hosted by Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night is an American rock band best known for their music from 1968 to 1975. During that time the band charted 21 Billboard top 40 hits in America, three of which reached Number One...
and also featured Blood, Sweat & Tears
Blood, Sweat & Tears
Blood, Sweat & Tears is an American music group, originally formed in 1967 in New York City. Since its beginnings in 1967, the band has gone through numerous iterations with varying personnel and has encompassed a multitude of musical styles...
, Helen Reddy
Helen Reddy
Helen Reddy , often referred to as "The Queen of 70s Pop", is an Australian-American singer and actress. In the 1970s, she enjoyed international success, especially in the United States, where she placed fifteen singles in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. Six of those 15 songs made the Top 10...
and Al Green
Al Green
Albert Greene , better known as Al Green, is an American gospel and soul music singer. He reached the peak of his popularity in the 1970s, with hit singles such as "You Oughta Be With Me", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Love and Happiness", and "Let's Stay Together"...
.
The musical segments for the first Rockin' Eve were pre-taped in the main ballroom on board the Queen Mary
RMS Queen Mary
RMS Queen Mary is a retired ocean liner that sailed primarily in the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967 for the Cunard Line...
, which had been moved to Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
after three decades of trans-Atlantic service for the Cunard Line
Cunard Line
Cunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...
in 1967, extensively remodeled, and had reopened as a hotel in 1971. This pattern continues to the present day: Most of the musical segments are taped in a studio in advance, while the segments from Times Square are telecast live.
The second show, New Year's Rockin' Eve 1974, also on NBC, was hosted by comedian George Carlin
George Carlin
George Denis Patrick Carlin was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, actor and author, who won five Grammy Awards for his comedy albums....
and featured The Pointer Sisters, Billy Preston
Billy Preston
William Everett "Billy" Preston was a musician who gained notoriety and fame, first as a session musician for the likes of Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and The Beatles, and later finding fame as a solo artist with hits such as "Space Race", "Will It Go Round in Circles" and "Nothing from...
, Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
and Tower Of Power
Tower of Power
Tower of Power is an American R&B-based horn section and band, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing for over 43 years. They are best known for their funky soul sound highlighted by a powerful horn section...
.
Since then, the program has been broadcast over ABC.
Rockin' Eve' becomes a TV institution
Almost immediately, Rockin' Eve attracted younger viewers who preferred the contemporary rock and pop music featured on the show as opposed to the big-band music featured on the Lombardo show.By the 1980s, with Lombardo deceased and the Lombardo orchestra (which continued to perform with other conductors) no longer appearing over network television on New Year's Eve, and CBS continuing their own shows without them until 1995-96, Rockin' Eve became the dominant New Year's Eve television program; it routinely attracts millions of viewers, many of whom watch while with families and friends at New Year's "house parties" across the country.
2000:
ABC 2000 Today New Year's Rockin' Eve was not broadcast from Friday, December 31, 1999 leading into Saturday, January 1, 2000, due to ABC 2000 TodayABC 2000 Today
ABC 2000 Today was ABC News's coverage of the turn of the millennium from December 31, 1999 into January 1, 2000. Part of the 2000 Today programming in the United States, Peter Jennings anchored the 23 hours and 10 minutes of broadcast in Times Square Studios in Manhattan, New York...
, coverage of the millennium
Millennium
A millennium is a period of time equal to one thousand years —from the Latin phrase , thousand, and , year—often but not necessarily related numerically to a particular dating system....
from ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
hosted by Peter Jennings
Peter Jennings
Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings, CM was a Canadian American journalist and news anchor. He was the sole anchor of ABC's World News Tonight from 1983 until his death in 2005 of complications from lung cancer...
, broadcast live from coast-to-coast throughout the country. Despite this, Dick Clark still appeared as a correspondent in Times Square alongside ABC News correspondent Jack Ford, and was still given his usual honor of counting down the seconds remaining until the new millennium began, doing so with Ford, since the latter had been assigned to Times Square during the broadcast. Since the broadcast was live for the entire country at 12 a.m. EST, only East Coast viewers celebrated midnight with Dick Clark. At midnight for the other time zones, Dick Clark's countdown and the ball drop were not replayed. Instead, countdowns for other cities were shown live at their respective midnights. Because of ABC 2000 Today, Clark's role was limited. However, Clark won a Peabody Award
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
for his coverage. Traditionally, Clark shares an on-screen kiss with his wife Kari Wigton after the ball drops.
2002
Throughout the Monday, December 31, 2001, show leading to Tuesday, January 1, 2002, there were segments of people saying, "Happy New Year, America," in response to the September 11 attacks.2005
Regis PhilbinRegis Philbin
Regis Francis Xavier Philbin is an American media personality, actor and singer, known for hosting talk and game shows since the 1960s. Philbin is often called "the hardest working man in show business" and holds the Guinness World Record for the most time spent in front of a television camera...
hosted the Friday, December 31, 2004 and Saturday, January 1, 2005 broadcast because Clark was in the hospital with a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
, suffered only a few weeks earlier, marking the second time Clark could not host his New Year's Eve broadcast and the first time since 1972 that he did not get to count down to the New Year on the air.
During this edition of New Year's Rockin' Eve, when the countdown for the final seconds of 2004 began rolling, host Regis Philbin said it was the first time he has ever hosted a New Year's Eve special on live television and that it surprised him to see over a million people cheering and dancing in their audience with their hats, noise makers, and confetti
Confetti
Confetti is a multitude of pieces of paper, mylar or metallic material which is usually thrown at parades and celebrations, especially weddings . Confetti is made in a variety of colors, and commercially available confetti is available in imaginative shapes...
, directly in his sight. He offered a short speech consisting of well wishes for Dick Clark and quickly made one final New Year's resolution when the ball began to drop.
During CNN's New Year's Eve special
New Year's Eve Live (CNN program)
New Year's Eve Live with Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin is an annual program broadcast on CNN and CNN International. It originates live from Times Square in New York City...
, hosted by Anderson Cooper
Anderson Cooper
Anderson Hays Cooper is an American journalist, author, and television personality. He is the primary anchor of the CNN news show Anderson Cooper 360°. The program is normally broadcast live from a New York City studio; however, Cooper often broadcasts live on location for breaking news stories...
and broadcast around the world on both CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
& CNN International
CNN International
CNN International is an international English language television network that carries news, current affairs, politics, opinions, and business programming worldwide. CNN is one of the world's largest news organizations. It is owned by Time Warner, and is affiliated with CNN, which is mainly...
, revelers in Times Square told CNN's Jason Carroll
Jason Carroll
Jason Frederick Carroll is a national correspondent for CNN.Carroll began his broadcast career at KAKE-TV in Wichita, Kansas, where he served as a general assignment reporter...
that Philbin was "all right" filling in for Clark.
2006
In August 2005, it was announced that Ryan SeacrestRyan Seacrest
Ryan John Seacrest is an American radio personality, television host, network producer and voice actor. He is the host of On Air with Ryan Seacrest, a nationally syndicated Top 40 radio show that airs on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles and throughout the United States and Canada on Premiere Radio Networks,...
would become the executive producer and co-host with Clark. It was also announced that Seacrest will eventually become sole host should Clark be unable to continue with the program. Seacrest, who had hosted Fox's New Year coverage in 2005, switched places with Philbin, who moved over to Fox for 2006.
On Saturday, December 31, 2005 and Sunday, January 1, 2006, Dick Clark appeared on Rockin' Eve 2006 in a slightly smaller studio role along with Seacrest and correspondent Marysol Castro
Marysol Castro
Marysol Castro is a television journalist and was weather anchor for the The Early Show on CBS in 2011. Prior to that, she was the weather and features correspondent for the weekend edition of Good Morning America on ABC from 2004 to 2010.-Early life and career:Born to Puerto Rican parents in New...
in Times Square, and Hilary Duff
Hilary Duff
Hilary Erhard Duff is an American actress, singer-songwriter, entrepreneur, and author. After working in local theater plays and television commercials in her childhood, she achieved fame playing the title role in the Disney Channel television series Lizzie McGuire. She also reprised her role in...
in Hollywood. During the program, Clark remained behind a desk, and was only shown in limited segments. His speech was slower and deeper, and he appeared to have limited use of his right arm. However, he seemed to be completely in control of his faculties, making comments on how great the evening was going in Times Square. During the show, Clark said:
Before Clark was counting down to 2006, he mentioned he "wouldn't have missed this [the telecast] for the world." Clark's countdown, however, was ahead of the actual time and in fact with three seconds still remaining on the clock Clark had already finished his countdown, declaring "Happy 2006!" with the crowd at Times Square still counting down the remaining two seconds.
Reaction to Clark's appearance was mixed, as reported by CNN. While some TV critics (including Tom Shales of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, in an interview with the CBS Radio Network
CBS Radio Network
The CBS Radio Network provides news, sports and other programming to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by CBS Corporation, and operated by CBS Radio ....
) felt he was not in good enough shape to do the broadcast, stroke survivors and many of Clark's fans praised the MC for being a role model for people dealing with post-stroke recovery.
One of the performances on the 2005-2006 special was from Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
, who sang some of her hits from her #1 album The Emancipation of Mimi
The Emancipation of Mimi
The Emancipation of Mimi is the tenth studio album by American recording artist Mariah Carey, released in the United States on April 12, 2005, by Island Records. Following the relatively poor critical and commercial responses to her albums, Glitter and Charmbracelet , The Emancipation of Mimi...
directly from Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
.
2007
For the Sunday, December 31, 2006 show leading into Monday, January 1, 2007, Christina AguileraChristina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...
performed "Candyman
Candyman (Christina Aguilera song)
"Candyman" is a swing jazz song written by Christina Aguilera and Linda Perry for Aguilera's third studio album, Back to Basics. It was released as the album's third and final American single in early 2007. It received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at 2008 Grammy...
", which was a track from her newest album, and her 2003
2003 in music
-January:* January – following an investigation by The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and London detectives, police raids in England and the Netherlands recover nearly 500 original Beatles studio tapes, recorded during the Let It Be sessions. Five people are arrested...
single "Fighter
Fighter (song)
"Fighter" is a song recorded by American recording artist Christina Aguilera. The song was written by Aguilera and Scott Storch, and produced by Storch for Aguilera's fourth studio album, Stripped. The song was released on June 3, 2003 as the third single. The song peaked at number twenty on the...
" live in Times Square moments before midnight. RBD
RBD
RBD was a two-time Latin-Grammy nominated Mexican pop group that gained popularity from Televisa's teen drama series Rebelde. RBD sold over 17 million digital downloads and over 20 million albums worldwide in four years since their formation, according to EMI...
performed three songs, "Tu amor
Tu Amor
"Tu amor" is the first single released from RBD's fourth studio and first all-English album, Rebels. It is an English song with a Spanish title.-Song information:...
", "Wanna Play
Wanna Play
"Wanna Play" is a pop song written and produced by Andrea Martin and recorded by RBD for their fourth studio album , Rebels. Ryan Seacrest confirmed in late 2006 that "Wanna Play" will be RBD's second English single...
", and "Ser o parecer
Ser o Parecer
"Ser O Parecer" is RBD's first single of their third Spanish studio album Celestial, as well as off their third Portuguese album, Celestial . This marks the song as their most successful Spanish single in the United States, as well as the world...
". It was the first time a Spanish-speaking group performed a song in Spanish on the broadcast. Meat Loaf
Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday , better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor...
also performed a shortened version of his song "Paradise by the Dashboard Light
Paradise by the Dashboard Light
"Paradise by the Dashboard Light" is a song written by Jim Steinman. It was first released in 1977 on the album Bat Out of Hell, with vocals by the American musician Meat Loaf alongside Ellen Foley...
" with Aspen Miller
Aspen Miller
Aspen Vincent is an American voice actor and pop singer.Possibly best-known for the role of Dodie Bishop in Nickelodeon's Emmy-nominated As Told by Ginger, she also performed the role of Baby Alice in the Rugrats episode 'Hurricane Alice', and has done voice-over work for several CD-ROM games...
(who has been signed to be the lead female singer on his "Bat out of Hell III" tour.)
Dick Clark returned to hosting the show once again, the second time after recovering from his stroke. At first, Clark's countdown was again slightly off from the actual time, but by 11:59:55 p.m., he had lined himself up, forcing himself to skip the number 10 in order to keep up with the actual time in the last seconds. Shortly after midnight, Clark was seen in a heartfelt moment with host Ryan Seacrest, as Seacrest thanked him for his commitment to the show over the years and his continued willingness to be a part of the event. After that, they went on to share a few jokes, and then Seacrest picked up hosting duties for the remainder of the show.
Afterwards, Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
hosted the remainder of the events in New York, while Fergie hosted the (pre-taped) portion originating from Hollywood.
2008
For Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve 2008, the Monday, December 31, 2007 show leading into 2008, Ryan SeacrestRyan Seacrest
Ryan John Seacrest is an American radio personality, television host, network producer and voice actor. He is the host of On Air with Ryan Seacrest, a nationally syndicated Top 40 radio show that airs on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles and throughout the United States and Canada on Premiere Radio Networks,...
remained co-host along with Dick Clark, whose voice had improved greatly since the previous year. This was Clark's third year back on the broadcast after his stroke. Fergie again hosted the west coast party in Hollywood. During the ball drop at midnight, Clark remained on time throughout the countdown, although he skipped :01 in order to be on time. After midnight, Ryan Seacrest joined Clark in the studio for another moment (as with the past few years) in which Clark and Seacrest thanked each other for their commitment to the event. After that, Seacrest was handed hosting duties until 1 a.m. Eastern time. After 1 a.m., Fergie was handed hosting duty. Jordin Sparks
Jordin Sparks
Jordin Brianna Sparks is an American pop / R&B singer-songwriter and actress. She hails from Glendale, Arizona who rose to fame as the winner of the sixth season of American Idol. Sparks won when she was 17 years old, making her the youngest winner in Idol history...
sang her song, "Tattoo
Tattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
on the Times Square stage.
Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus is an American actress and pop singer-songwriter. She achieved wide fame for her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana....
was next up. She sang her songs "Start All Over
Start All Over
"Start All Over" is a pop song performed by American recording artist Miley Cyrus. It was released as the second and final single of Cyrus' debut album Meet Miley Cyrus, the second disc of the dual album Hannah Montana 2/Meet Miley Cyrus...
" and "G.N.O. (Girl's Night Out)". Later, she also sang one of her Hannah Montana songs, "We Got the Party
We Got the Party
"We Got The Party" is the third first from Hannah Montana 2:Non-Stop Dance Party.This song was performed at the Hannah Montana episode "Me and Mr. Jonas and Mr. Jonas and Mr. Jonas. " The episode where the Jonas Brothers appear asking Robbie Ray to write a song for them, and Hannah singing this...
" as a duet with the Jonas Brothers
Jonas Brothers
The Jonas Brothers are an American boy band. The band gained its popularity from the Disney Channel children's television network. From the shore region of New Jersey, the band consists of three brothers: Paul Kevin Jonas II , Joseph Adam Jonas , and Nicholas Jerry Jonas...
. The Jonas Brothers performed their singles "Hold On
Hold On (Jonas Brothers song)
"Hold On" is a song by American pop band Jonas Brothers. The song was released as the band's first single from their self-titled second album in 2007. The iTunes music store named this single as #3 on their "Best of the Store" Playlist on August 7, 2007....
" and "SOS
SOS (Jonas Brothers song)
"S.O.S" is a song by American pop band Jonas Brothers. The song was released as the band's second single from Jonas Brothers, their second studio album, in 2007. It was also their debut single in Europe in May 2008 and in UK in early June 2008...
" Carrie Underwood was the main performer and sang a medley of "Flat On The Floor", "All-American Girl
All-American Girl (song)
"All-American Girl" is a song composed by country pop singer Carrie Underwood, Ashley Gorley and Kelley Lovelace. It is the second single from Underwood's second studio album, Carnival Ride, released in the United States on December 17, 2007...
", and "Before He Cheats
Before He Cheats
"Before He Cheats" is a song written by Chris Tompkins and Josh Kear and the third wide-release single from Carrie Underwood's debut album, Some Hearts. It was the fifth release from the album overall. It was named the 2007 Single of the Year by the Country Music Association...
".
At the Hollywood party singers Plain White T's
Plain White T's
Plain White T's is an American Pop rock band from Chicago, Illinois. Formed in 1997 by high school friends Tom Higgenson and Ken Fletcher, the group had a mostly underground following in Chicago basements, clubs, and bars in its early years, and underwent numerous personnel changes.The band is best...
, Fergie, Sean Kingston
Sean Kingston
Sean Kingston is a Jamaican-American singer. He pursued a music career and debuted in 2007 with the album Sean Kingston.-Early life:...
, Natasha Bedingfield
Natasha Bedingfield
Natasha Anne Bedingfield is a British pop singer and songwriter. Bedingfield debuted in the 1990s as a member of the Christian dance/electronic group The DNA Algorithm with her siblings Daniel Bedingfield and Nikola Rachelle...
, Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America...
, will.i.am
Will.i.am
William James Adams, Jr. , better known by his stage name will.i.am and occasionally by his other stage name Zuper Blahq, is an American rapper, musician, songwriter, singer, actor and producer...
, and OneRepublic
OneRepublic
OneRepublic is an American pop rock band from Colorado Springs, Colorado. Formed in 2002 by Ryan Tedder and Zach Filkins, the band achieved massive success on MySpace, becoming the most prominent unsigned act on the website then...
performed songs.
2009
The Wednesday, December 31, 2008 show leading into Thursday, January 1, 2009 introduced a slight name change to reflect both hosts of the show—Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve 2009 with Ryan Seacrest.Kellie Pickler
Kellie Pickler
Kellie Dawn Pickler is an American country music artist and television personality. She gained fame as a contestant on the fifth season of the Fox reality show American Idol, eventually finishing in sixth place. In 2006, she signed to 19 Recordings and BNA Records as a recording artist, releasing...
served as Ryan Seacrest's correspondent for the majority of the show, replacing Marysol Castro
Marysol Castro
Marysol Castro is a television journalist and was weather anchor for the The Early Show on CBS in 2011. Prior to that, she was the weather and features correspondent for the weekend edition of Good Morning America on ABC from 2004 to 2010.-Early life and career:Born to Puerto Rican parents in New...
. The Jonas Brothers
Jonas Brothers
The Jonas Brothers are an American boy band. The band gained its popularity from the Disney Channel children's television network. From the shore region of New Jersey, the band consists of three brothers: Paul Kevin Jonas II , Joseph Adam Jonas , and Nicholas Jerry Jonas...
, Jesse McCartney
Jesse McCartney
Jesse McCartney is an American singer-songwriter, actor and voice actor. McCartney achieved fame in the late 1990s on the daytime drama All My Children as JR Chandler. He later joined boy band Dream Street, and eventually branched out into a solo musical career...
, Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America...
, and the Pussycat Dolls
Pussycat Dolls
The Pussycat Dolls are an American pop girl group and dance ensemble based in Los Angeles; currently consisting of Lauren Bennett, Vanessa Curry, Kristal "Lyndriette" Smith, Tiffany "Taz" Zavala, Kia Hampton and Paula Van Oppen. The Pussycat Dolls were founded by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995...
performed again. Former President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
and Senator and Secretary of State-to be Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
officiated the dropping of the ball.
Clark's role in this edition was significantly expanded; in the previous years since his stroke he had only hosted one segment in addition to the countdown, but for 2008-09, Clark split the time roughly evenly between himself and Seacrest during the half-hour leading up to the ball drop. However, like in previous years, Clark mostly disappeared after midnight, ceding duties to Seacrest and Fergie, and did not appear at all during the prime time broadcast.
2010
For the first time, the pre-taped musical segments for Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2010 originated from America's PartyAmerica's Party
.America's Party is the name of the free New Year's Eve party held on the Las Vegas Strip put together by Las Vegas Events and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. The party is telecast with special events for the Eastern Time Zone as America's Party: Live from Las Vegas...
in Las Vegas; musical guests in the segments taped there included The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...
, Colbie Caillat
Colbie Caillat
Colbie Marie Caillat is an American pop singer-songwriter and guitarist from Malibu, California. She debuted in 2007 with Coco, which included hit singles "Bubbly", "Realize", and "The Little Things". In 2008, she recorded a duet with Jason Mraz, "Lucky", which won a Grammy. Caillat released her...
, Robin Thicke
Robin Thicke
Robin Charles Thicke is an Award-winning American R&B singer-songwriter, musician, composer, and actor. Thicke's albums, which he previously released under the moniker Thicke, are noted for their feature of a predominantly R&B sound. Robin Thicke has penned hits for popular artists such as...
, Keri Hilson
Keri Hilson
Keri Lynn Hilson is an American R&B singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Decatur, Georgia, Hilson began her music career as a songwriter, penning tracks for several artists in the mid-2000s as part of the five-person production and songwriting team, The Clutch...
, Selena Gomez
Selena Gomez
Selena Marie Gomez is an American actress and singer best known for portraying Alex Russo in the Emmy Award-winning Disney Channel television series Wizards of Waverly Place...
, Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber is a Canadian pop/R&B singer, songwriter and actor. Bieber was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun, who came across Bieber's videos on YouTube and later became his manager...
, David Guetta
David Guetta
Pierre David Guetta , known professionally as David Guetta , is a French house music producer and DJ. Originally a DJ at nightclubs during the 1980s and 1990s, he co-founded Gum Productions and released his first album, Just a Little More Love, in 2002. Later, he released Guetta Blaster and Pop Life...
, and Orianthi
Orianthi
Orianthi Panagaris , better known simply as Orianthi, is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and guitarist. She is perhaps best known for being Michael Jackson's lead guitarist for his ill-fated This Is It concert series. Her debut single "According to You" has peaked at No. 3 in Japan, No. 8...
. Once more, Fergie served as hostess for these pre-taped music segments.
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...
and Daughtry performed live in Times Square during the special, while Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
s Melissa Rycroft
Melissa Rycroft
Melissa Katherine Rycroft-Strickland , from Dallas, Texas, is a reality television contestant and former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. She was a drill team officer at Newman Smith High School in Carrollton, Texas where she graduated in 2001...
reported on festivities there.
On December 2, 2009, American Idol 8 runner-up Adam Lambert
Adam Lambert
Adam Mitchel Lambert is an American singer, songwriter, and actor from San Diego, California. In May 2009, he finished as the runner-up on the eighth season of American Idol...
issued a statement claiming he had been booked to appear but that the booking was canceled under pressure from ABC after his controversial performance at the 2009 American Music Awards. Neither ABC nor Dick Clark Productions ever confirmed whether or not Lambert had indeed been booked.
Clark involved himself somewhat more in interacting with the hosts during his time on air, and stayed on a few minutes longer than he had in previous years. His speech was still a bit slurred and occasionally incomprehensible to some viewers. During the countdown, Clark accidentally began counting by twos at the 14-second mark, but corrected himself at the 11-second mark and remained on time for the remainder of the countdown. Starting this year, the Toshiba
Toshiba
is a multinational electronics and electrical equipment corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a diversified manufacturer and marketer of electrical products, spanning information & communications equipment and systems, Internet-based solutions and services, electronic components and...
billboard countdown clock as seen in Times Square was also shown in the lower right of the screen.
2011
For Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2011, Ke$ha and Taio CruzTaio Cruz
Taio Cruz is a British singer-songwriter, record producer, occasional rapper, and entrepreneur. In 2008, he released his debut album Departure, which Cruz wrote, arranged and produced himself. It achieved initial success in the UK and earned him a MOBO Award nomination...
performed live from Times Square. Also, after a year's hiatus, the pre-taped musical performances recorded in Hollywood returned. For the fifth consecutive year, singer Fergie appeared as hostess, this year of the pre-taped segments taped in Hollywood. Actress Jenny McCarthy
Jenny McCarthy
Jennifer Ann "Jenny" McCarthy is an American model, comedian, actress, author, activist, and game show host. She began her career in 1993 as a nude model for Playboy magazine and was later named their Playmate of the Year. McCarthy then parlayed her Playboy fame into a successful television and...
appeared as a hostess of the Times Square festivities.
Among the performers who also appeared were Avril Lavigne
Avril Lavigne
Avril Ramona Lavigne is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She was born in Belleville, Ontario, but spent most of her youth in the small town of Napanee. By the age of 15, she had appeared on stage with Shania Twain; by 16, she had signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records worth more...
, along with her new single "What The Hell", Natasha Bedingfield
Natasha Bedingfield
Natasha Anne Bedingfield is a British pop singer and songwriter. Bedingfield debuted in the 1990s as a member of the Christian dance/electronic group The DNA Algorithm with her siblings Daniel Bedingfield and Nikola Rachelle...
who performed her latest single "Strip Me
Strip Me
Strip Me is the third studio album by British singer-songwriter Natasha Bedingfield. Originally due for release on 9 November 2010, the album's release was pushed back to 7 December 2010 on Phonogenic Records...
", Jennifer Hudson
Jennifer Hudson
Jennifer Kate Hudson is an American recording artist, actress and spokesperson. She came to prominence in 2004 as one of the finalists on the third season of American Idol coming in seventh place...
, Ne-Yo
Ne-Yo
Shaffer Chimere Smith, Jr. , better known by his stage name Ne-Yo, is an American pop and R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer and actor. Beginning his career as a songwriter, Ne-Yo penned the hit "Let Me Love You" for singer Mario...
, Train
Train (band)
Train is an American pop rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1994. The band currently comprises a core trio of Patrick Monahan , Jimmy Stafford and Scott Underwood ....
, Mike Posner
Mike Posner (musician)
Michael Robert "Mike" Posner is an American singer, songwriter, and producer. Posner released his debut album, 31 Minutes to Takeoff, on August 10, 2010...
, Willow Smith
Willow Smith
Willow Camille Reign Smith , often known simply as Willow, is an American child actress and singer. She is the daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, and the younger sister of Jaden Smith. Smith made her acting debut in 2007 in the film I Am Legend and later appeared in Kit Kittredge: An...
, Jason Derülo
Jason Derulo
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, Far East Movement
Far east movement
Far East Movement is an Asian American electro hop quartet based in Los Angeles. The group formed in 2003 and consists of Kev Nish , Prohgress , J-Splif , and DJ Virman...
, La Roux
La Roux
La Roux are an English electropop duo made up of singer, keyboardist, co-writer and co-producer Eleanor Kate Jackson, and co-writer and co-producer Ben Langmaid. Jackson describes their relationship as "very much a half and half sharing situation... not like a singer producer outfit", but also...
, Ke$ha, Drake
Drake (entertainer)
Aubrey Drake Graham , who records under the mononym Drake, is a Canadian recording artist and actor. He originally became known for playing Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation....
, and closing the show, the supergroup NKOTBSB
NKOTBSB
-Chart positions:...
(the combined Backstreet Boys
Backstreet Boys
The Backstreet Boys are an American vocal group, formed in Orlando, Florida in 1993. The band originally consisted of A. J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, Nick Carter and Kevin Richardson. They rose to fame with their debut international album, Backstreet Boys...
and New Kids on the Block
New Kids on the Block
New Kids on the Block are an American boy band from Boston, Massachusetts, assembled in 1984 by producer Maurice Starr. The band currently consists of brothers Jordan and Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood.New Kids on the Block enjoyed success in the late 1980s and...
).
Dick Clark made no mistake on the countdown to the 2011 New Year as he did during the previous year, maintaining perfect timing. He began counting down at the 24-second mark.
2012
Although not all musical guests have yet been booked for Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2012, it has been confirmed that Justin BieberJustin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber is a Canadian pop/R&B singer, songwriter and actor. Bieber was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun, who came across Bieber's videos on YouTube and later became his manager...
, Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
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, Pitbull
Pitbull
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, Hot Chelle Rae
Hot Chelle Rae
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and One Republic will appear on the show, performing live in Times Square.
In popular culture
- In an episode of The King of QueensThe King of QueensThe King of Queens is an American sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007.This show was produced by Hanley Productions and CBS Productions , CBS Paramount Television ,and CBS Television Studios in association with Columbia TriStar Television , and Sony Pictures...
, the character Arthur SpoonerArthur SpoonerArthur Eugene Spooner is a fictional character played by Jerry Stiller on the sitcom The King of Queens. He lives with his daughter Carrie and her husband, Doug Heffernan.-Biography:...
claims that Clark stole the idea of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve from him. He admits that Clark did not steal the Rockin' part.
- An episode ("The One with the Routine") of FriendsFriendsFriends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
featured Monica and Ross, Joey and Janine dancing in one of the pre-taped segments of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve.
- The Will SmithWill SmithWillard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. , also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood...
song "Will 2K" contains the line "Dick Clark holdin' it down" despite Clark's reduced role in the festivities that year.
- In the series pilotTelevision pilotA "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
of FuturamaFuturamaFuturama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
("Space Pilot 3000Space Pilot 3000"Space Pilot 3000" is the pilot episode of Futurama, which originally aired in North America on March 28, 1999 on Fox. The episode focuses on the cryogenic freezing of the series protagonist, Philip J. Fry, and the events when he awakens 1,000 years in the future...
"), Dick Clark's head, which has been preserved in a jar, hosts New Year's Rockin' Eve 3000
- Footage of the celebration can be seen in the final scene of The X-FilesThe X-FilesThe X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
episode "MillenniumMillennium (The X-Files)"Millennium" is the fourth episode of the seventh season of The X-Files. It is a crossover with the show Millennium. It is also the episode in which Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully share their first kiss of the series after developing a relationship throughout the previous six seasons.- Plot :In...
."
- In the 1999 Treehouse of Horror episode of The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, Dick Clark hosts an edition of New Year's Rockin' Eve in Springfield. When a Y2K bug sets the clock back to strike 1900 at midnight, Clark laments, "Oh no.... it's happening!" as his skin melts away to reveal a robotic skeleton underneath. Nearby Springfield citizens flee.
- In When Harry Met Sally, Harry thinks to himself that it will not be so bad spending New Year's alone because there's "Dick Clark, that's tradition".
- In an episode of Mad About YouMad About YouMad About You is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 23, 1992 to May 24, 1999. The show starred Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt as a newly married couple in New York City. Reiser played Paul Buchman, a documentary film maker. Hunt played Jamie Stemple Buchman, a public relations specialist...
, Dick Clark is at his home deciding to opt out of that year's celebration. He later regrets not hosting that year's telecast when Paul Buchman causes the men to tangle and stop the ball during the countdown. In the credits for the episode, Dick Clark vows to his wife to come back and host the next year as well as bring back American BandstandAmerican BandstandAmerican Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...
.
- In the January 1, 2001 comic strip of Penny ArcadePenny Arcade (webcomic)Penny Arcade is a webcomic focused on video games and video game culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. The comic debuted in 1998 on the website loonygames.com. Since then, Holkins and Krahulik have established their own site, which is typically updated with a new comic...
, Gabe calls an automated customer service machine complaining that "your dumb cable is out, and I can't watch Dick Clark get his mack on."
- In the episode ("The Countdown") of The O.C.The O.C.The O.C. is an American teen drama television series that originally aired on the Fox television network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 21, 2007, running a total of four seasons...
both Kirsten and Seth mention being home on New Year's Eve to watch Dick Clark and the ball drop, "two images that should not be used in the same sentence."
- In the Broadway musical, RentRent (musical)Rent is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème...
, before the song "Happy New Year", Mark dubs his New Year's Eve break-in party "New Year's Rockin' Eve."