Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting recap: Photos, performances and celebrity appearances

Don't change the channel. "Jimmy Fallon's Holiday Seasoning Spectacular" is on now.

The Rockefeller Christmas tree is lit, with 5 miles of multicolored string lights shining bright against the New York City skyline declaring it is officially Christmas time.

New York Mayor Eric Adams and Chuck Scarborough, an NBC New York anchor who recently announced his retirement after more than 50 years, were there to help light the tree.

Once it was illuminated, a choir sang "Joy to the World."

Earl Albert, the man who donated this year's Christmas tree, isn't at tonight's tree lighting.

Albert recently had a stroke, and he and his family were hoping he would be well enough to visit New York City for tonight's spectacle.

Albert is still recovering but planned to watch the tree lighting on TV, his family told NBC News’ Joe Fryer ahead of the ceremony.

Like Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson also got her start on "American Idol."

In addition to their musical careers, both have found new ways to use their voices — as talk show hosts.

Hudson, an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony winner, hosts “The Jennifer Hudson Show.” She was on season three of "American Idol" in 2004.

After hosting two hours of Christmas fun, Clarkson gave us what we really wanted — one last performance. This time, she sang her original song "Underneath the Tree."

Her rosy cheeks led us to believe she'll be glad to get inside and warm up once the tree is lit!

Adding to the festive spirit, light snow was falling tonight during the performances at the ceremony.

The Backstreet Boys are back — again! — to perform a harmony-filled version of "Last Christmas" by Wham!

Andrew Ridgeley joined Clarkson to announce the performance and to present her with an early Christmas gift: a vinyl of the Wham! Christmas hit.

He was then seen jamming out and singing along with the Backstreet Boys.

After the holidays, the famed Rockefeller Center Christmas tree will be milled into lumber that is used by Habitat for Humanity for home building, NBC said in a statement.

Who will it be? There are only 45 minutes left of this special, so we'll find out soon!

It's noticeably snowing in midtown Manhattan, with large flakes falling faster as Coco Jones returns to the stage for her second performance of the show.

This time, it's "Do You Hear What I Hear?"

The Radio City Rockettes are glittering across the stage in sparkly silver mini dresses as they high-kick us into the holiday season.

Performing to a Christmas medley, the famous New York City dancers offered a glimpse of what their holiday special might look like.

The National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony will take place tomorrow on the Ellipse at the White House and President's Park in Washington.

The event, which will be broadcast on CBS on Dec. 20, will feature performances by James Taylor, Mickey Guyton and Stephen Sanchez, among others.

Tony award nominee Megan Hilty took the stage to sing "Hard Candy Christmas" after she was introduced by fellow "Death Becomes Her" stars Christopher Sieber and Jennifer Simard.

Apt for this Broadway star, the song comes from another musical, "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas."

Hilty must have paid attention to the forecast — her earrings featured sparkling snowflakes.

Jennifer Hudson is offering her take on "Winter Wonderland" in a lively jazz performance from the rooftop of Radio City Music Hall.

Dressed in head-to-toe silver sparkles, Hudson looks more like the Times Square ball than the Christmas tree on the street level below her.

The EGOT winner — and her voice — was shining as brightly as all those trophies she’s taken home over the years.

The Christmas magic is real at Rockefeller Center as snowflakes fall on the plaza to ring in the holiday season.

Little Big Town wants you to "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." They showed off their harmonies in this soft version of the Christmas classic.

The band will host "Christmas at the Opry" on NBC on Dec. 16. Their first Christmas album came out earlier this year.

Watch as fourth grader Rose Burke lights the Capitol Christmas Tree in Washington. Rose received the honor to light the tree by winning an essay contest. The tree is an 80-foot Alaskan Sitka spruce from Tongass National Forest.

Grammy-winner Coco Jones, in a fuzzy chocolate brown coat, sang "String of Lights," an original song from her Christmas EP, "Coco by the Fireplace."

It's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" with a little country twang brought to you by Dan + Shay.

The duo kept it simple with monochromatic suits as they bopped around with the band.

Erik Pauze, Rockefeller Center’s head gardener since 1995, is tasked every year with picking out the perfect tree for the plaza.

He scopes out the entire Northeast, which he has told NBC's “TODAY” show is like “a massive tree lot.”

Pauze has high criteria for the perfect tree: It has to be a Norway spruce that is at least 70 feet tall and 40 to 42 feet wide, he told TODAY.com in 2022. It also has to be big and stable enough to support the weight of the wires, cables and lights and, of course, the star atop it.

“I look for that big, beautiful shape, nice and green, nice and full, a tree that you would want in your living room for Christmas,” he said at the time.

"TODAY" show hosts Savannah Guthrie, Craig Melvin, Hoda Kotb and Al Roker joined the broadcast from outside 30 Rock — a little later than they're used to — to introduce the next performance: "O Holy Night" from Raye.

Raye belted through the Christmas classic in a gorgeous fuzzy, floor-length white coat that has us dreaming of a snowy Christmas.

"She is one of my favorite voices on planet Earth right now," Clarkson said after Raye's performance.

Thalia took the stage wearing what could be the biggest bow of the holiday season paired with a glittery bodysuit and knee-high boots.

She bounced and danced across the stage as she sang an upbeat version of "Feliz Navidad."

The Backstreet Boys joined Clarkson with their rendition of "A Christmas Song."

The members of the iconic boyband were adorned with cute Christmas accessories as smooth as their take on a Christmas classic: a snowflake pin for Kevin Richardson and a wreath brooch for AJ McLean, as well as red and green scarves and wool coats.

Clarkson is ushering in this Christmas special with a bang and an upbeat performance of her holiday classic "You For Christmas."

Despite the low temps, Clarkson looked plenty warm in a fuzzy coat. Her backup singers were similarly bundled.

Grab your hot cocoa and get cozy on the couch, because the "Christmas in Rockefeller Center” special is about to begin.

Tune in to NBC or Peacock to join the fun.

The White House is ready for the holidays now that its famed Christmas decorations have gone up. This year, the White House is decorated in a theme of peace and light.

Eighty-three Christmas trees, 9,810 feet of ribbon, over 28,125 ornaments and over 2,200 doves line the hallways and adorn the rooms of the White House, signaling those in the nation's capital that it is time to spread holiday cheer.

The White House could rival Rockfeller's famed tree when it comes to Christmas decorations. Over 165,075 holiday lights are used to decorate the White House trees, garlands, wreaths and displays.

The ceremony will feature performances by the Backstreet Boys, Jennifer Hudson, the country duo Dan + Shay, Broadway star Megan Hilty, Thalia, known as the Queen of Latin Pop, and more, NBC said in a statement.

The high-kicking Radio City Rockettes, star of the annual “Christmas Spectacular” at adjacent Radio City Music Hall, will also perform, the network said.

Clarkson, who is hosting tonight's special, made her tree lighting debut 21 years ago as a performer at the event.

Since then, she has been a performer/musical guest at the tree lighting a number of times.

Clarkson noted the milestone when she announced on the "Kelly Clarkson Show” last year that she would be hosting the 2024 tree lighting.

“I am stoked to reveal that I am getting the chance to do it again and this time at my new home at 30 Rock,” she said at the time. Filming for the show moved from Los Angeles to New York last year.

In addition to her hosting duties, Clarkson is expected to perform throughout tonight’s two-hour special.

Clarkson won the first season of "American Idol" in 2002, a year before her tree lighting debut.

The weather for the tree lighting ceremony tonight is forecast to be cold, cloudy and windy.

The temperature will be right around 40 degrees at the start, then fall into the upper 30s during the night. Wind gusts up to 25 mph will make it feel more like the low 30s. A few showers may develop by the end of the ceremony.

The Massachusetts family donating this year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree shared the story behind its special connection to the giant spruce.

Earl Albert honored his late wife, Leslie, by donating a huge Norway spruce tree from the couple’s West Stockbridge yard to be the 2024 Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.

Albert said he and his wife planted the Norway spruce in 1967, when they were newlyweds.

The majestic tree, which was only waist-high when the couple put it into the ground, grew to be 74 feet tall over the next 57 years — making it the ideal height to stand adorned with Christmas lights in Rockefeller Plaza.

Read the full story here.

This year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree hails from West Stockbridge, Massachusetts, in the Southern Berkshires region — the first tree from the state since 1959.

It stands 74 feet tall and weighs roughly 11 tons, according to Rockefeller Center. NBC said it is 43 feet wide.

The tree, which was cut down on Nov. 7 and arrived at 30 Rock on Nov. 9, is 70 years old.

Once lit, the tree will boast more than 50,000 multicolor lights on about 5 miles of wire.

On top will be the same Swarovski crystal star that was designed in 2018, which weighs about 900 pounds, thanks to the 3 million crystals covering its 70 spikes.

Illuminating the plaza at Rockefeller Center is no small task, but luckily New York City has Kelly Clarkson on the job.

Clarkson posted video today showcasing her rehearsals counting down from three and flipping switches around the building ahead of the night's events.

"Pfft, I'mma crush it," Clarkson said at the end.

The tree lighting is set to go on as scheduled after the fatal shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson this morning, police officials said.

Thompson, 50, was killed in what police described as a targeted, premeditated attack outside the Hilton hotel a few blocks from Rockefeller Center.

Police officials assured the public the tree lighting ceremony would go on as scheduled with a large police presence to ensure everyone's safety.

Plainclothes officers will be in the area, as well as members of the department's intelligence division, "to make sure people come out and have a good time," NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said.

"And we’re going to have additional police officers in the subway, as well, so people can take mass transit to make it easier to travel into the city and enjoy the tree," Maddrey said.

Rockefeller Center’s first Christmas tree lighting officially took place in 1933, but two years earlier, 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 brought 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.

Before the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is lit for the season, New Yorkers are sharing their excitement for the holiday tradition. NBC New York's Marc Santia has some advice on the best spots to view the tree for the lighting ceremony and the days after.