Justin Bieber, Michael Buble, Cee Lo Green Set for Christmas in Rockefeller Center

NBC’s Christmas in Rockefeller Center will help ring in the holiday season with performances by Tony Bennett, Justin Bieber, Michael Bublé, Cee Lo Green, Faith Hill, Carole King, Katharine McPhee, Javier Colon and The Radio City Rockettes. The holiday show, which will be co-hosted by TODAY Show‘s Al Roker and Savannah Guthrie, will be broadcast on November 30, 2011 at 8pm.
 
The live broadcast will include a lighting of the 74′ high, 46’ wide, 10 ton Christmas tree. The tree’s been a tradition at that New York location since 1933, and in 1951 NBC began televising the tree lighting ceremony.
 
More on Tony Bennett [Courtesy of NBC]:
 
An American icon, Tony Bennett has had one of the most distinguished and sustained recording careers in the history of the music industry. He served his country with honor in World War II, is a Kennedy Center Honoree, was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, marched with Dr. Martin Luther King during the Civil Rights struggle in the 1960s, and has been recognized for his worldwide humanitarian efforts and received the United Nations Humanitarian Award. In 2006, the year of his 80th birthday, his “Duets: An American Classic” was released. The album — which included performances with Paul McCartney, Elton John, Barbra Streisand, Bono and others — won three Grammy Awards, becoming one off the best selling CDs of the year and Tony’s career. On the occasion of Bennett’s 85th birthday this year, “DUETS II,” which was released this September, made history when it debuted at the #1 spot on the Billboard Album charts making Tony the oldest recording artist to ever secure the top chart position. DUIETS II features a celebrated roster of artists as diverse as Lady Gaga, Amy Winehouse, Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey and Andrea Bocelli. Tony Bennett is one of a handful of artists to have new albums charting in the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, and now in the first two decades of the 21st century. Bennett remains a popular and critically acclaimed recording artist and concert performer. He has won fifteen Grammy Awards, two Emmy Awards and millions of records worldwide.
 
Bennett is also a serious and accomplished painter, creating works under the name Benedetto that are on permanent public display in several institutions. With his wife Susan, he established Exploring the Arts, which supports and funds arts education in NYC public high schools and with the Department of Education, founded the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in his hometown of Astoria, Queens.
 
More on Justin Bieber [Courtesy of NBC]:
 
Justin’s latest album, “Under the Mistletoe” is his third #1 album debut all before his 18th birthday! It follows “My World 2.0” (April, 2010) and “Never Say Never: The Remixes” (February, 2011). “Never Say Never: The Remixes” was the accompaniment to Justin’s concert documentary film “Never Say Never” which went on to become the highest grossing concert film in US history. “Under the Mistletoe,” Justin’s first Christmas album, features duets with Mariah Carey (on her # 1 holiday classic, “All I Want for Christmas is You”); Usher on “The Christmas Song” (“Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire”); Boyz II Men on “Fa La La”; Busta Rhymes on “Drummer Boy”; and The Band Perry on “Home This Christmas.” Justin has sold over 11 million albums worldwide to date, and has amassed over 2.2 billion video views on YouTube, over 36 million Facebook fans and has more than 13 million Twitter followers.
 
More on Michael Bublé [Courtesy of NBC]:
 
Michael Bublé’s lifelong dream of creating an album to honor his favorite holiday was realized with the recently released CD “Christmas” which entered the Billboard Top 200 charts at No. 3. His upcoming NBC Christmas Special is scheduled to air on December 6th with several other TV performances including “The TODAY Show” on November 28th, along with a profile on “60 Minutes” in early December and a return to “Saturday Night Live” on December l7th as their musical guest. He is also scheduled to co-host “Regis & Kelly” on December 15 and l6. The multi-Grammy winning artist’s previous CD “Crazy Love” sold seven million copies worldwide and won two Grammy Awards in 2011 for Best Traditional Pop Vocal album and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for his No. 1 self-penned single, “Haven’t Met You Yet”. Bublé also wrote two previous Number One singles, “Everything” and “Home”. The Vancouver native’s recent “Crazy Love” Tour sold out 80 cities and was seen by over a million people in the US alone. A superstar in his native Canada as well, Bublé is the recipient of 10 Juno Awards including a Juno Album of The Year for “It’s Time.” In less than a decade, Michael Bublé’s international record sales have topped 30 million. Bublé arrived on the music scene nine years ago with the release of his self titled debut CD which was followed up by the multi-platinum “It’s Time”. He also performed at the 2010 Olympics Ceremony which was seen by an audience of over one billion people.
 
More on Cee Lo Green [Courtesy of NBC]:
 
Cee Lo Green is a singer-songwriter, rapper, producer and actor, who received five 2011 Grammy nominations for his worldwide hit “Forget You” (aka “F—k You”), winning the category for “Best Urban/Alternative Performance.” He made his famous debut appearance on “Saturday Night Live,” with Gwyneth Paltrow, in January 2011 before their over-the top performance at the Grammys in February. In 2010 he released the album, “The Lady Killer,” which featured “Forget You.” Green first came onto the music scene as a member of the hip-hop group Goodie Mob. After his success with Goodie Mob, he successfully reinvented himself and formed Gnarls Barkley with deejay-producer Danger Mouse, and released the 2006 worldwide hit “Crazy”, which reached #1 in various singles charts worldwide. Green is also a celebrity judge and mentor on “The Voice.” His talk-show “Talking to Strangers” premiered in June 2011 and in September, Green did a guest voice spot on “American Dad,” as well as a guest starring role on “Parenthood.” Additionally, Green will appear in the upcoming film “Sparkle,” and is currently the face for the new 7UP campaign.
 
More on Faith Hill [Courtesy of NBC]:
 
Faith Hill has established herself as one of the music industry’s top vocalists, with a voice that is as powerful as it is recognizable. Her career has been highlighted by the sale of over 30 million records worldwide, during which time she has celebrated thirteen #1 singles and twenty #1 videos. In fact, 1999’s BREATHE, 2002’s CRY and 2005’s FIREFLIES all debuted consecutively at #1 on Billboard’s Top Pop Album Chart and Country Chart, making her the only female artist ever to accomplish this feat. Raised in Star, Mississippi, Faith moved to Nashville at the age of 19. In 1993, her debut single, “Wild One”, spent four weeks at #1 and from there she never looked back. Faith Hill has based her career on dedication, passion and commitment. Combined with her unparalleled vocal talents and style she has become a sought after entertainer and has firmly planted herself at the top of the music scene, where it’s easy to see (and hear) that she might just stay for a while.
 
More on Carole King [Courtesy of NBC]:
 
Carole King is arguably the most successful and revered female songwriter in pop music history. To date, more than 400 Carole King compositions have been recorded by more than 1000 artists, resulting in 100 hit singles – many reaching #1. She was the first woman to win four GRAMMY® Awards in one year, and her landmark 1971 album “Tapestry” received a Diamond Award from the RIAA for sales of more than 10 million units in the U.S., with more than 25 million units sold worldwide. King’s first ever holiday album, “A Holiday Carole,” was released by Hear Music/Concord Music Group on November 1st, 2011. In a career with innumerable highlights, King has reached new pinnacles in recent years including 2010’s bestselling “Troubadour Reunion” album and tour with James Taylor, “American Idol” devoting an entire episode to her music this past season, and a forthcoming memoir due out in 2012.
 
More on Katharine McPhee [Courtesy of NBC]:
 
Actress and Columbia recording artist Katharine McPhee is currently shooting the highly anticipated Steven Spielberg/NBC TV series “SMASH” in New York City premiering February 2012. It was a year ago that Katharine was promoting her solo Christmas Album “It’s Not Christmas Without You” with the top holiday radio hit “I’ll Be Home For Christmas.” Her self-titled debut album exploded on the Billboard 200 and landed at #2. It was also the best chart debut for a female artist in two years. McPhee has garnered a Young Hollywood Award for “Best Female Vocalist.” In addition to her acting and singing career, Katharine is a passionate philanthropist; supporting causes such as St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, Malaria No More and Feeding America.
 
More on Javier Colon [Courtesy of NBC]:
 
Javier Colon captivated America as winner of the inaugural season of NBC’s hit television show, “The Voice.” After touring with The Derek Trucks Band for two years, he released two major label albums via Capital Records—“Javier” in 2003 and “Left of Center” in 2006. Both releases illustrated a daring creativity that expanded beyond the confines of pop music, while still retaining an undeniable sense of melody. Colon eventually split with Capitol and released “The Truth – Acoustic EP” on his own label, Javier Colon Music, in 2010. Original song and debut single “Stitch By Stitch” not only clenched the top prize on “The Voice” for Colon, but it also became something of a phenomenon. During the first week of its digital release, the song exceeded sales of 145,000 and peaked at #17 on the “Billboard Hot 100” chart. Colon even performed “Stitch By Stitch” on the “Tonight Show With Jay Leno.” His Universal Republic debut album, “Come Through For You” will be released on November 21 and his single, “As Long As We Got Love” features Natasha Bedingfield. Colon writes his own music, constantly keeping himself open to inspiration.
 
Source: NBC