There is nothing that symbolizes the commencement of the holiday season more than the lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. The Ceremony is always a fun event, full of pomp and celebrities.
On Wednesday, December 2nd, the 83rd Annual Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree was lit. The 85-foot tall Norway Spruce was decorated with 45,000 LED colored lights weaved for fives miles in the tree and a 9 foot wide Swarovski star on the top.
It was raining Wednesday night in New York City, but the rain didn’t seem to matter. Thousands of people crowded the sidewalks for the event and hundreds of millions watched the event live on TV and the internet. The Norway spruce from northern New York State will be on display through January 7th, 2016.
The TV coverage of the evening was co-hosted by “Today Show” personalities Willie Geist, Al Roker, and Natalie Morales. This was the 18th year the Lighting Of The Christmas Tree has been telecast on NBC. There were many musical performances at the event. The list included Sting, Mary J. Blige, Andrea Bocelli, and James Taylor .
On November 30, 2004, Clay Aiken was part of the star-studded hour-long special on NBC celebrating the lighting the world’s most famous tree.
Co-hosts for the evening were Al Roker and Nancy O’Dell. Olympic Gold Medalist Sarah Hughes skated to Vanessa Williams who sang “Silver and Gold.”
Besides Clay, the musical lineup for the special included performances by Hilary Duff, Kenny Chesney, Tony Bennett, Jessica Simpson, Nick Lachey, Chris Isaak, Michael Buble, Vanessa Williams, and The Radio City Rockettes. Chicago was the special house band for national telecasts.
Clay was dressed for cold weather in an overcoat, striped scarf and a black hat. Clay sang “Winter Wonderland” during the National broadcast, and “Hark the Herald Angels Sing/O Come All Ye Faithful” during the earlier hour broadcast that was only shown in New York.
At the beginning of Clay’s live segment during the National Broadcast, the audience sang “Happy Birthday” to Clay, as it was his 26th birthday. Towards the end of the show, Clay joined the line of guests, as they closed the show by singing the song, “Let It Snow.”
Clay Aiken fans were excited to see Clay as a part of this exciting evening. It was an excellent opportunity to be seen and for people to be introduced to Clay’s Christmas album. “Merry Christmas With Love.”
Have you ever seen the lighting of the Rockefeller Christmas Tree in person?
