Television
NBC and Carson Daly Ready to Ring in the New Year
Dec 23, 2014
Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga will perform together from Cheek to Cheek, their critically acclaimed album of jazz standards. Cheek to Cheek debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 upon its release this September as well as landed on the top spot of the Billboard Jazz Charts and was just nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal category.
The multi-talented Seth MacFarlane was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category for his album Music Is Better Than Words, as well as an Academy Award for co-writing Everybody Needs a Best Friend from his 2012 film Ted. He has won an Emmy for the music and lyrics on his long-running animated Fox sitcom Family Guy, and also won for his voice-over work on the show. His new 13-song album, Holiday for Swing, features both timeless holiday songs and lesser-known gems. The album was recorded at the iconic Abbey Road Studios in London. MacFarlane is backed by an impressive 52-piece orchestra.
Blake Shelton is the reigning and five-time CMA male vocalist of the year. He has 18 No. 1 singles and is a coach on NBC’s Emmy Award-winning musical competition series The Voice. His most recent and ninth studio album, Bringing Back the Sunshine, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard top 200 and top country albums charts.
Current Voice coaches Gwen Stefani and Pharrell Williams will perform together. Stefani recently released her new song, Spark the Fire, which she co-wrote with producer Williams, reuniting the two hitmakers. They first collaborated on the 2005 hit Hollaback Girl, which was featured on Stefani’s debut solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. A three-time Grammy winner, Stefani, who is currently putting the finishing touches on her new album, has achieved worldwide success as a performer, songwriter and recording artist, selling more than 30 million albums worldwide with No Doubt and as a multi-platinum solo artist.
Williams, who has sold more than 100 million albums, has won seven Grammy Awards and ASCAP’s prestigious Golden Note Award in 2012. He also received a 2014 Academy Award nomination for his original song Happy, featured in the animated film Despicable Me 2. Happy remained atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 10 consecutive weeks, peaked at No. 1 on iTunes in 103 markets worldwide. Williams’ latest album G I R L was released on March 3, 2014 to rave reviews.
The special is produced by Irwin Entertainment and Universal Television. The executive producers are John Irwin and Carson Daly.
