By MARK KENNEDY, AP Entertainment Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Ryan Seacrest will usher in 2023 on “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” from Times Square, with iconic bands from the 1980s and 1990s as well as a member of BTS and a TikTok sensation.
Duran Duran, fresh off an induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, will play from a catalogue that includes hits like “Hungry Like the Wolf,” “The Reflex” and “Rio.” R&B and pop group New Edition will celebrate their 40th anniversary by performing a medley of chart-toppers and solo hits like “Rub You The Right Way,” “My Prerogative,” “Poison,” “If It Isn’t Love,” and “Cool It Now.”
J-hope, South Korean songwriter and member of BTS, will play a medley of his “= (Equal Sign),” “Chicken Noodle Soup” and the band’s “Butter.” And Tik-Tok star Jax will sing pop hits “Victoria’s Secret” and “90s Kids.” Singer and rapper Farruko will perform from Puerto Rico.
Actress and producer Liza Koshy will return as co-host alongside Seacrest, actor-singer Roselyn Sanchez will co-host from Puerto Rico and Billy Porter will be back in New Orleans for the Central Time Zone countdown.
There will be pre-taped performances in Disneyland from Aly & AJ, Bailey Zimmerman, Ben Platt, Ciara, Fitz & The Tantrums, Halle Bailey, Lauren Spencer Smith, Maddie & Tae, Shaggy and TXT. And from Los Angeles, there will be performances by Armani White, Betty Who, Dove Cameron, Finneas, Nicky Youre and Wiz Khalifa.
Seacrest, inheritor of ABC’s legendary “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” from Dick Clark, reached 19.6 million viewers between 11:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m., last New Year’s Eve, according to Nielsen. During the 15-minute interval where the ball dropped in New York’s Times Square, his audience jumped to 24.2 million people.
“New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” will air Dec. 31 on ABC.
