Ryan Seacrest: Will Snow Stop 'New Year's Rockin' Eve'?
ETonline.com |
New York, along with a good part of the country, was buried in snow this past week. Does this mean there may not be a "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2011" Friday night on ABC?
"Believe me, I was thinking about [it last] Friday night, wondering, 'Is New Year's Eve going to be like this -- whiteout conditions?'" Ryan tells ET. "I actually moved my trip up. I came in earlier by a day and made it ten minutes before they shut down the runway, so we almost didn't make it here early in the week."
Fortunately, the brutal weather has subsided and Ryan says the forecast for "New Year's Rockin' Eve" should call for "a fantastic night for those who are going to come out [to Times Square], and obviously for those who watch at home; that's why we do it."
"The weather has only put a glitch thus far in the arrivals," reports Ryan. "I don't have all the boy bands here yet, so we don't know if all the [New Kids On the Block] are here or all the [Backstreet Boys] are here, so they're trickling in. They're getting here however they can get here – by train, by bus, [with] air travel [on Wednesday] back on schedule."
Before the ball drops, the New Kids and Backstreet Boys will perform together live from Times Square on "Rockin' Eve," joining Ke$ha and Taio Cruz in New York along with L.A.-based performers Jennifer Hudson, Willow Smith, Ne-Yo, Avril Lavigne, Drake, Jason Derulo, La Roux, Mike Posner, Natasha Bedingfield, Far East Movement and Train. The show is co-hosted by Fergie with correspondent Jenny McCarthy, and, of course, the legendary Dick Clark.
"He looks forward to this night every year; I'm excited to see him and hang out with him," says Ryan, who jokes that the former "American Bandstand" host may dump some extra snow on him just to keep him on his toes. "[Dick has] been through all the elements over the years, and he's seen it all."
So, will there be a pretty blonde by Ryan's side for the final countdown to 2011? Ryan deflects the Julianne Hough question, joking, "I think there is a pretty blonde on 'New Year's Rockin' Eve' -- she's co-hosting," referring to McCarthy. But after a little more prompting, the "American Idol" host says, "I hope [Julianne's] here. If she's not, she's in trouble."
