“I don’t advocate drinking when one is on the air,” he tells EW.
Duran Duran, New Edition, J-hope, and Jax will be giving performances from the Big Apple.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY:What are you most excited for viewers to see on this years broadcast?
RYAN SEACREST:Every year, the show gets broader and bigger.
For example, we have three ball drops where we only had one for a long time.
We’re in different places this year.
It’s very exciting.
Ciara will host in Disneyland with some of the biggest artists of the year.
And it’s the longest show that I’ve hosted, it’s five hours plus, live.
But that makes it exciting.
How do you prepare for your hosting duties the week leading up to the broadcast?
But it’s all pretty fluid, it changes as the day goes on.
But for me, that’s fun.
The artists normally show up on time.
Which artists have arrived late before performing live?
She didn’t want to go out there and do her choreography on stage in the rain.
Fortunately, we talked her into it, but it was a pretty big panic.
You’ve also seenMariah Careyon the show twice.
Whereshe had a performanceand thencame back to have another performance.
I think those moments are what make the show so great.
You’ve been hostingDick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin' Evesince 2006.
We would order pizza and watch the show.
We can bring the excitement, the energy and the new year to them.
That’s what Dick told me all along.
What do you think about their decision to cut back?
I don’t advocate drinking when one is on the air.
There’s some pretty respectable people or at least one, right?
Although the viewers probably wish they would drink more.
Have any co-hosts or artists shown up to the show tipsy?
Yeah, probably quite a few.
I thinkPost Malonewas definitely enjoying himself before he went out.
For me, it’s a little more intense.
What does your after-party look like once the show ends?
So, 1:05 a.m.
I think I’ve finished.
I attempt to find a restaurant that will serve dinner.
What was it like hosting the show during the pandemic?
How has it changed since?
In 2020 going into 2021, we were out there alone which was very difficult.
There was no one to talk to, you had to fill up a lot of time.
But it was tough to do during the pandemic, very tough.
Any favorite performances from past years?
For me it’s when my friends perform.Taylor Swiftis amazing.J.Loof course, incredible.
I’m always blown away at how great they are on that stage.
So I give everybody a lot of credit for doing it.
So I pitched him for a New Year to do it, so we’ll see.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
WatchDick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin' Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2023Dec.
31 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.
