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 night, Mayor Michael Bloomberg lit the 81st Annual Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. The 76-foot Spruce was decorated with 45,000 colored lights and a 9 foot wide Swarovski star on the top.
Tens of thousands will crowd the sidewalks for the event and hundreds of millions will watch it live across the globe. The Tree will remain lit and can be viewed until 11pm on January 7th, 2014.
The TV coverage of the evening was co-hosted by “Today Show” personalities Matt Lauer, Al Roker, Savannah Guthrie and Natalie Morales. There was lots of musical performances which included Mary J. Blige, the Goo Goo Dolls, Jewel, Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton, Kelly Clarkson, Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds and Ariana Grande
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.”