The McGinley family, which donated the 80-foot Norway spruce that's the star of tonight's show, share more about its journey from Vestal, New York, to the plaza.

Manuel Turizo joined the tree lighting ceremony for the first time with his rendition of "Feliz Navidad" dressed for the season in a festive red and pink polka dot coat.

“When I was made aware of the opportunity, it was a no-brainer to get to be part of the iconic Rockefeller Tree Lighting alongside some great acts!” the Colombian singer told American Songwriter.

Barry Manilow is stepping into Mariah Carey's holiday spotlight at tonight's tree lighting, performing her Christmas classic, "All I Want for Christmas Is You."

Manilow's spin: a jazzier and slower rendition more in line with his typical sound.

Kelly Clarkson kicked off tonight's Rockefeller Center tree lighting ceremony with a performance of "Underneath the Tree," clad in a fuzzy white coat fit for the holiday season.

Clarkson, a self-proclaimed Christmas lover, said she "loves" the holiday "and celebrates it most of the year."

"Nothing gets bigger than this!" she said.

Clarkson has put out two Christmas albums in her decadeslong career: 2013’s “Wrapped in Red” and 2021’s “When Christmas Comes Around...”

The Rockefeller tree may be getting all of the attention tonight, but yesterday it was a tree in the nation's capital making headlines. Strong winds in the Washington, D.C., area caused the National Christmas tree to topple over yesterday, the National Park Service said.

The 40-foot tree from Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia, which sits near the White House, was quickly turned upright. The snapped cable securing the tree has been replaced.

The lighting ceremony for the Norway spruce will take place tomorrow.

A large crowd of people waving Palestinian flags gathered in Manhattan not far from where the Rockefeller Christmas tree lighting ceremony was to take place.

Video showed a large police presence on 6th Avenue at 48th Street, as well as barricades.

The demonstrators were about a block away the Rockefeller Christmas tree, where a tree lighting ceremony was to start at 7 p.m.

In addition to the main event — the lighting of the 80-foot Norway spruce that will adorn the Rockefeller Center plaza until January — hit artists will offer Christmas performances throughout the two-hour event.

Musical performances are planned by Cher, Barry Manilow, Chloe Bailey, Adam Blackstone, David Foster, Liz Gillies, Darlene Love, Seth MacFarlane, Katharine McPhee, Keke Palmer, Carly Pearce and Manuel Turizo.

The Rockettes will also perform a number from their "Christmas Spectacular."

Rockefeller Center's first Christmas tree lighting officially took place in 1933, but two years previously, a group of Rockefeller Center workers all chipped in to buy a 20-foot tree for the area, decorated with homemade garlands, marking the first-ever tree.

The famed ice rink was introduced in 1936, along with two trees. But as World War II rolled in a few years later, tree decorations became more modest, and in 1942, three smaller trees were lit in lieu of one huge tree.

The 1950s saw the introduction of using scaffolding to decorate the tree — a process that required 20 men and nine days before the decade was out.

In 1997, the tree, which was from Stony Point, New York, traveled by barge down the Hudson River to 30 Rock. The next year's tree, from Richfield, Ohio, was flown to New York City on the world’s largest transport plane.

Rockefeller Center's largest-ever tree, 100 feet tall, stood on the plaza in 1999. And in 2001, people from around the world visited the tree, decorated in patriotic red, white and blue.

The first Swarovski crystal star topped Rockefeller Center's tree in 2004. The one used today was created in 2018.

The weather for the tree lighting tonight will be clear but cool, with just enough bite in the air to add a festive chill to the ceremony.

From 7 to 10 p.m. ET, temperatures will be in the mid- to upper 30s. Those temps, combined with southwesterly winds at 8 to 10 mph, will make it feel more like the upper 20s at the time of the lighting.

As tree lightning weather goes, tonight’s cold but clear forecast will be “sparkling,” just like the 30 Rock tree when it gets lit just before 10 p.m. ET.