Freshly-minted New Yorker and longtime NBC fixture Kelly Clarkson will host the network's annual broadcast of the Rockefeller Center's Christmas tree lighting. NBC will air the live two-hour special Christmas in Rockefeller Center on Nov. 29 starting at 8 p.m. ET. The show will concurrently livestream on the streaming service Peacock.
Clarkson will sing during the broadcast, 20 years after she first performed at the annual event.
"I'm so excited to consider this city and Rockefeller Center my new home, and I can't imagine a better way to kick off Christmas this year than to be a part of this beautiful New York tradition with the lighting of the tree!" Clarkson shared in a statement published by Today.
A live, one-hour special will precede the broadcast. It'll be hosted by Access Hollywood's Mario Lopez as well as NBC New York anchors Natalie Pasquarella and David Ushery.
The news comes shortly after Clarkson moved The Kelly Clarkson Show, which is part of the NBCUniversal family, from Los Angeles to NBC Studios at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. She became synonymous with NBC after her stints on the network's primetime singing competitions series The Voice.
In addition, NBC aired her 2021 holiday special Kelly Clarkson Presents: When Christmas Comes Around.
The lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree dates back 90 years to 1933. The tree lighting was first televised in 1951 on The Kate Smith Show.
"More than 30,000 multicolored, 7 1/2-watt bulbs are strung on over five miles of electrical wire to decorate the tree," reads a study by CUNY. "Each branch is individually wrapped to achieve the full lighting effect and there were no other ornaments on the tree except for the star on top. The tree is recycled and the three tons of mulch are donated to the Boy Scouts. The largest portion of the trunk is donated to the U.S. Equestrian team in New Jersey to use as an obstacle jump."
