Posted in: NBC, Preview, streaming, TV | Tagged: christmas, nbc, preview, Rockefeller Center

NBC's Christmas in Rockefeller Center: Our Tree-Lighting Viewing Guide

Hosted by Kelly Clarkson, here's our viewing guide to tonight's Christmas in Rockefeller Center tree-lighting event on NBC.

With NBC's Christmas in Rockefeller Center kicking off tonight, we have a look at what you need to know about the event – kicking off on Wednesday, November 29th, at 8 pm ET/PT on NBC, Peacock, and a number of other options. In fact, that's what the purpose of this preview is – to let you know the "who, what, when, where, why & how" you need to know about the holiday tradition. So what follows is just that – a rundown of who's hosting, who's performing, the best way to watch it, and a whole lot of cool previews & surprises to fill three stockings. Here's a look…

So Who's Hosting This Year?

NBC has a pretty impressive lineup covering this year's Christmas in Rockefeller Center special – with Emmy & Grammy Award winner Kelly Clarkson hosting & performing a number of holiday hints. In addition, TODAY anchors Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Al Roker, and Craig Melvin will be on hand to cover what goes down.

So Who's Performing This Year?

Chloe Bailey, Adam Blackstone, Cher, David Foster, Liz Gillies, Darlene Love, Seth MacFarlane, Barry Manilow, Katharine McPhee, Keke Palmer, Carly Pearce, Manuel Turizo, and more. Blackstone & Palmer, Foster & McPhee, and Gillies & MacFarlane are all set for holiday duets – while Cher will perform solo as well as join Love for a special song. And let's not forget the Radio City Rockettes, who are taking a break from Radio City Music Hall's annual Christmas Spectacular for a festive performance. Here's a look at the lyric video for MacFarlane & Gillies' "Sleigh Ride" to help set the festive mood:

So How Can I Check It Out?

If you don't have cable, then you might want to consider a streaming alternative – including Peacock, DirecTV, Fubo, Hulu + Live TV, and Sling. If you have cable, then you can check it out on NBC, on NBC.com, or on NBC mobile apps via your cable television log-in. If you're living outside of the U.S., you can still check out the ceremony on any of the streaming services listed above with ExpressVPN, a virtual private network that lets international viewers legally access U.S. web servers.

Here's a look at when Clarkson first announced on The Kelly Clarkson Show that she would be hosting & performing at this year's Christmas tree-lighting ceremony:

In the following clip, Clarkson's musical director, Jason Halbert, announces that High Tech High School in Secaucus, New Jersey, is this year's winning local school choir and will be joining the live event. Here's a look at Clarkson, Halbert, and NBC 4 New York's Natalie Pasquarella sharing the news with the students:

And here's a look back to earlier this month when NBC's TODAY revealed the lineup of performers:

In case you were wondering how the local news is covering the build-up, check out the following updates from earlier today:

So what about the biggest star of the show – the Christmas tree? This year's special event will celebrate the lighting of an 80-foot tall, 43-foot wide Norway Spruce from Vestal, N.Y. Weighing approximately 12 tons, the tree will be adorned with 50,000+ multi-colored LED lights. Resting atop the tree is a three-dimensional Swarovski star covered in 3 million crystals – meaning it's pretty pricey (and that we would definitely not want to be one of the folks handling it). Unfortunately, there will be no strings of popcorn again this year – but there's always next year. Here's a look at the backstory on this year's tree:

NBC's Christmas in Rockefeller Center is produced by the Emmy Award-winning Brad Lachman Productions. Brad Lachman and Bill Bracken serve as executive producers – with Matt Lachman producing and Glenn Weiss directing.

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