Additional performances by Kelly Clarkson, Goo Goo Dolls, Earth, Wind & Fire, Brett Eldredge, Jimmy Fallon, Tori Kelly, Leslie Odom Jr., Pentatonix, Dan + Shay, Gwen Stefani, Meghan Trainor, Cast of “Ain’t Too Proud” and the Radio City Rockettes
NBC is ringing in the holiday season with its iconic “Christmas in Rockefeller Center” special on Wednesday, Dec. 2 at 8-10 p.m. ET/PT.
Viewers will be treated to festive performances by Kelly Clarkson, Goo Goo Dolls, Earth, Wind & Fire, Brett Eldredge, Jimmy Fallon, Tori Kelly, Leslie Odom Jr., Dolly Parton, Pentatonix, Dan + Shay, Gwen Stefani, and Meghan Trainor. The evening includes a special holiday treat with Clarkson and Eldredge performing together, along with duets featuring Parton and Fallon, and Trainor and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame supergroup Earth, Wind & Fire. The cast from the Tony Award-winning hit “Ain’t Too Proud” will perform a musical number and the Radio City Rockettes will also make an appearance.
Clarkson, Parton, Pentatonix, Stefani, and Trainor will perform at various locations around the country.
NBC News’ TODAY co-anchors Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Craig Melvin, and Al Roker will host.
Prior to the primetime telecast, an additional live hour of the special will be broadcast on all NBC Owned Television Stations as well as many of the NBC affiliates (7-8 p.m. ET. Check local listings). The regional hour will be co-hosted by “Access Hollywood’s” Mario Lopez along with NBC4 New York’s Natalie Pasquarella and David Ushery. Check local listings
“Every year our viewers look forward to NBC’s iconic tree-lighting ceremony,” said Doug Vaughan, Executive Vice President, Special Programs, NBC Entertainment. “There’s something special about kicking off the holiday season with such an awe-inspiring event.”
The tradition of the Rockefeller Christmas tree dates back to 1931 during the Great Depression. The first official tree-lighting ceremony occurred two years later in 1933 in front of the then eight-month-old RCA Building (the current Comcast Building). The Christmas tree gathering was enhanced in 1936 with the opening of the Rockefeller Plaza outdoor ice-skating pond. NBC-TV televised the tree lighting for the first time in 1951 on “The Kate Smith Show” and as part of the nationwide “Howdy Doody” television show from 1953-55.
The 88th annual holiday special will celebrate the lighting of a 75-foot tall, 45-foot wide Norway Spruce from Oneonta, N.Y. The tree weighs approximately 11 tons. It will be adorned with more than 50,000 multi-colored LEDs and will be topped with a stunning Swarovski star.
NBCUniversal will continue its partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation for the 12th year in a row to support tree-planting efforts across the United States. For each of the 50,000 bulbs decorating the Spruce, NBCUniversal will plant a tree in areas that have been affected by wildfires, hurricanes, and other natural disasters. This ongoing partnership is an important annual tradition that has helped to restore forests for future generations to enjoy.
After the tree leaves Rockefeller Center, it will be milled into lumber for donation to Habitat for Humanity and used to build homes in the region.
While the holidays are a time of celebration, there are also many families who are facing extraordinary challenges. At key moments throughout the night, viewers will have the opportunity to donate to Red Nose Day in support of children and families facing hunger and food insecurity this holiday season. In the U.S. alone, an estimated 1 in 4 children in the U.S., or around 18 million, have faced food insecurity in 2020 and may not know where their next meal will come from – a critical issue that has been significantly worsened by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Money raised during the broadcast will support programs providing meals to children and families as well as helping to address child hunger and long-term food insecurity both domestically and internationally.
With health and safety the highest concern, there will be no public access to the tree lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center. The public is invited to view the live national broadcast “Christmas in Rockefeller Center” from home on NBC.
“Christmas in Rockefeller Center” is produced by the Emmy Award-winning Brad Lachman Productions. Brad Lachman serves as executive producer, Bill Bracken will co-executive produce and Debbie Palacio directs.
For more information on “Christmas in Rockefeller Center,” visit NBC.com and the NBC Universal Media Village website at NBCUMV.com.
Global icon and country music superstar Dolly Parton shares the spirit of the holidays in her new one-hour entertainment special "A HOLLY DOLLY CHRISTMAS," to be broadcast Sunday, Dec. 6 (8:30-9:30 PM, ET/8:00-9:00 PM, PT) on the CBS Television Network and available to stream live and on demand on CBS All Access.
Christmas is Dolly Parton’s favorite time of year, and America’s beloved entertainer is excited to share some much-needed joy and holiday cheer at the end of this challenging year. Performing from an intimate, candlelit set, Dolly brings both powerful, faith-filled hymns and light-hearted holiday classics to viewers, sharing personal Christmas stories and faith-based recollections of the season, interspersed with songs from her new, record-breaking #1 holiday album A Holly Dolly Christmas.
“I am so proud to be a part of the CBS family this holiday season with my new Christmas special,” said Dolly Parton.
“When Dolly Parton calls and tells you she wants to do a Christmas show, you don’t hesitate,” said Jack Sussman, Executive Vice President, Specials, Music & Live Events/Alternative & Reality for CBS.
“A special with the multi-Grammy Award-winning, prolific song-writing, epic live performer of all time? She had us at hello. There’s only one Dolly Parton, and we are so excited to be bringing her to viewers this holiday season.”
"A HOLLY DOLLY CHRISTMAS" is produced by Sandollar Productions and NOZ Entertainment. Executive producers are Dolly Parton and Danny Nozell.
Today, Oprah Winfrey announced that beloved pop culture icon, country music star, and songwriting legend Dolly Parton will be her next guest on “The Oprah Conversation,” premiering Friday, November 13 at 12:00 am ET, exclusively on Apple TV+.
One of the most cherished figures in American music and considered by her fans an American treasure, Dolly Parton discusses her lifetime of songwriting, storytelling, and being a unifier in divided times.
Dolly Parton joins Oprah for a heartfelt conversation and looks back at the personal stories that helped shape her career, the music that’s beloved by generations, and her hopeful view on how life will look after the pandemic.
When Oprah asked Dolly about her upcoming milestone birthday, Dolly said,
"I don't think about my life in terms of numbers. First of all, I ain't never gonna be old because I ain't got time to be old. I can't stop long enough to grow old. I'm just going to be the best I can be at whatever age I am."
Dolly shares deep and meaningful anecdotes about the importance of her faith in shaping her notoriously positive outlook on life, the inspirations for some of her hit songs like “Jolene,” and her motivation and passion for supporting children’s literacy with her continued work with The Imagination Library, her book gifting program for children. In addition, Dolly provides a sneak-peek into the exciting guests and songs to expect in her forthcoming holiday album A Holly Dolly Christmas.
“The Oprah Conversation” is a timely Apple Original series that features Oprah leading intimate discussions with today’s foremost newsmakers, thought leaders, and masters of their craft, exclusively on Apple TV+. Filmed remotely and incorporating audience engagement, Oprah hosts conversations that aim to bring truth and perspective to a range of topics shaping our world, revealing gripping stories of human connection.
The series continues to explore impactful and relevant topics with fascinating thought leaders from all over the world, and also offers poignant conversations between Oprah and change-makers such as Emmanuel Acho, host of the provocative web series “Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man” in a two-part episode; Professor Ibram X. Kendi, bestselling author of “How to Be an Antiracist”; Bryan Stevenson, Equal Justice Initiative founder and bestselling author of the memoir that inspired the acclaimed film “Just Mercy”; global music icon Mariah Carey; Oscar-winning actor and humanitarian Matthew McConaughey; and legendary Grammy Award winner Stevie Wonder.
“The Oprah Conversation” is available now, alongside “Oprah Talks COVID-19” and “Oprah’s Book Club” on Apple TV+, which has set records as the only new streaming service to instantly launch globally in over 100 countries, and to have been honored with 118 awards nominations and 39 wins and accolades in its first year.
Apple TV+ is available on the Apple TV app in over 100 countries and regions, on over 1 billion screens, including iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, iPod touch, Mac, select Samsung, LG, Sony, and VIZIO smart TVs, Amazon Fire TV and Roku devices, and at tv.apple.com.
Today, Amazon Music announced “Dolly Parton's Comin' Home for Christmas”, an exclusive holiday experience featuring a performance and Q&A for fans with the country music icon. Emmy Award winner Leslie Jordan will host the event beginning at 10am PT/12pm CT on November 13 via Amazon Music’s Twitch channel and within the Amazon Music mobile app via Twitch and Amazon Music’s new live streaming functionality, as well as on Amazon Live - Amazon.com/live - on desktop, mobile, Fire tablet, or via the Amazon Shopping App on Fire TV.
“The memories of home and the joy that surrounds the holiday season made 'COMIN’ HOME FOR CHRISTMAS' the perfect title for this very special event with Amazon Music,” says Dolly Parton. “Even though this year has in many ways kept us apart from one another, I hope this special will bring us all together!"
“Dolly Parton's Comin' Home for Christmas” will include a performance by Dolly of new music from her latest album, A Holly Dolly Christmas, including, “Circle of Love,” “Comin' Home For Christmas” and “Mary, Did You Know?” Dolly will then join live to take questions from viewers, who can submit questions beforehand by commenting on her social posts about the event. Host Leslie Jordan said,
“Well, Sh*t. Meeting Dolly was like getting every gift I ever wanted under the Christmas tree. Her Christmas program on Amazon will be a gift to us all. What a joy it will be to join her as the host on November 13th.”
Amazon Music and Amazon Live have also collaborated with Dolly to raise awareness for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a book gifting program that gifts free, high-quality books to children from birth until they begin school, no matter their family’s income. The stream will include a link for viewers interested in learning more about the organization. The Imagination Library will be the subject of a new feature-length documentary set to air on Facebook on December 9, 2020. Watch the trailer for "The Library That Dolly Built."
To get ready for the event, fans can shop Dolly Parton’s Amazon Music store to find exclusive merch items they cannot find anywhere else, including a wide variety of tees, hoodies, and popsockets. Additionally, Amazon Music is featuring two exclusive bonus tracks from A Holly Dolly Christmas, “The Wishbook” and “Three Candles.” Further, only Amazon is offering her new 8-track and cassette for A Holly Dolly Christmas, each containing a bonus track.
Their collaboration on “God Only Knows” earned Dolly Parton and for King & Country the 2020 GMA Dove Award for Short Form Video Of The Year. This powerful music video features Dolly as she and the duo of for KING & COUNTRY struggle to find themselves before turning to faith and belief. They shot the full-length video in Nashville, produced by Patrick Tohill and directed by Benjamin Smallbone.
Following its release, “God Only Knows” has won “Song of the Year” honors at the K-LOVE awards, received a GMA Dove Award for Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year (2019), and the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song. Additionally, the impactful video for “God Only Knows” has amassed over 9.3 million views on YouTube. For KING & COUNTRY also took home Artist of the Year.
Since 1969 the GMA Dove Awards has honored outstanding achievements and excellence in Christian and Gospel Music. The show celebrates rich musical diversity. Awards are presented to individuals representing modern various genres including Rock, Bluegrass, Country, and more! See a full list of 2020 award winners.
