DWTS Alums Hosting New Year’s Specials in Times Square

ABC’s annual “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest” is the biggest New Year’s Eve celebration on TV. “American Idol” host and radio personality Ryan Seacrest has hosted the show since 2006 after Dick Clark helmed the special for decades (Clark passed away in 2012). Here is what you need to know about the performers and hosts for the 2022-2023 broadcast, including a couple of “Dancing With the Stars” alums who are hosting live from Times Square.

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‘Dick Clark New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest’ Hosts

Seacrest will be manning the desk live from Times Square in New York City for the annual ball drop countdown that rings in the new year. The show airs beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific times and broadcasts continuously (excepting a break for local news) until 2 a.m. Eastern.

Joining Seacrest in Times Square are actress and producer Liza Koshy returning as Seacrest’s co-host, plus country artist Jessie James Decker will also join the duo in Times Square as the Powerball correspondent for her fourth consecutive year.

Emmy, Grammy and Tony Award winner Billy Porter is also returning for his fourth year hosting the countdown for the Central time zone in New Orleans.

On the West Coast, Ciara will be hosting once again from Disneyland, though those segments are pre-taped. And for the second year in a row, DJ D-Nice will return as the Los Angeles co-host.

The show will also return to Puerto Rico as the first countdown on the show to welcome the New Year with Puerto Rican actress and singer Roselyn Sanchez as co-host. Multiplatinum-selling Puerto Rican singer and rapper Farruko will also be in attendance to give a spectacular performance. Last year, the Island was the inaugural destination for the show’s first-ever Spanish language countdown.

In addition to “Dancing With the Stars” season 31 contestant Decker hosting the “First Powerball Millionair of the Year” live in Times Square, “Dancing With the Stars” alum Jonathan Bennett is returning as the official host for Times Square. The famous New York landmark that hosts the ball drop on New Year’s Eve airs its own commercial-free webcast and Bennett is returning as the host. He will man the Countdown Stage that will feature performances throughout the evening.

According to the Times Square press release, performers include Chelsea Cutler, JVKE, dance troupe ANEW, Jax, Osmani Garcia and Duran Duran.

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‘Dick Clark New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest’ Performers & Performance Lineup

For the 2022-2023 “Dick Clark New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest,” there is a star-studded lineup of performers from coast to coast.

The performers in Times Square include:

• New Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Duran Duran will perform a medley of classics from their catalog right before midnight.
• R&B group New Edition will perform a medley of hits including “Rub You the Right Way,” “My Prerogative,” “Poison,” “If It Isn’t Love” and “Cool It Now.”
• South Korean rapper and BTS member j-hope will perform a medley including “= (Equal Sign),” “Chicken Noodle Soup” and “Butter (Holiday Remix).”
• TikTok sensation Jax will sing pop hits “Victoria’s Secret” and “90s Kids.”

The pre-taped performances at Disneyland include:

• Disneyland co-host Ciara will perform a medley of “Better Thangs” and “Jump.”
• American indie pop band Fitz and The Tantrums will perform “Sway” off of their latest album, “Let Yourself Free,” as well as “HandClap.”
• Country music duo Maddie & Tae will perform “Bathroom Floor” and “Every Night Every Morning.”
• Reggae artist Shaggy will sing his classic hits “Boombastic” and “Angel,” for which fellow Jamaican artist Olaf Blackwood will join.
• Actor Ben Platt will perform his 2021 song “Imagine” and be joined by indie sister duo Aly & AJ for power ballad “Go Your Own Way.”
• Star of Disney’s live-action film “The Little Mermaid” Halle Bailey will sing her hit “Cool People” and a cover of Janet Jackson’s “Together Again.”
• South Korean boy band TOMORROW X TOGETHER, known as TXT, will perform “Good Boy Gone Bad” and “0X1=LOVESONG (I Know I Love You)” featuring Seori.
• New artist Bailey Zimmerman will sing his debut single “Fall In Love” and “Rock And A Hard Place.”
• Singer-songwriter Lauren Spencer Smith will sing “Fingers Crossed” and “Flowers.”

The performers at D-Nice’s Los Angeles party include:

• Wiz Khalifa will celebrate the New Year on the L.A. stage with performances of “Memory Lane” and “Black & Yellow.”
• Singer-songwriter FINNEAS will perform “Let’s Fall in Love for the Night” and “Only a Lifetime” off his debut album, “Optimist.”
• Def Jam recording artist Armani White will perform “Billie Eilish” and “Goated.”
• Australian singer-songwriter Betty Who will perform “Blow Out My Candle,” and also a rendition of Kate Bush’s 1985 “Running Up That Hill.”
• Singer Dove Cameron will perform “Boyfriend” and “Bad Idea.”
• Pop singer-songwriter Nicky Youre will perform “Sunroof” and newly released “Eyes On You.”

And in New Orleans, Porter will perform a medley of his hits.

“Dick Clark New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest” airs Saturday, December 31 beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific times on ABC.

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