海角大神

'Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve': How the show stays a success

Singers including Demi Lovato and Luke Bryan will perform on the ABC program. How has 'Rockin'' remained such a popular program over the decades?

|
Paul A. Hebert/Invision/AP
Demi Lovato performs at the Vevo Certified SuperFanFest Live Concert in Santa Monica, Caif. in 2014.

More musicians have been added to the roster for ABC鈥檚 end-of-the-year program 鈥淒ick Clark鈥檚 New Year鈥檚 Rockin鈥 Eve.鈥澛

Country singer Luke Bryan, 鈥淐ool for the Summer鈥 singer Demi Lovato, 鈥淢arvin Gaye鈥 singer Charlie Puth, and Wiz Khalifa will perform on the broadcast, joining singer Carrie Underwood, whose appearance was previously announced. The band One Direction will reportedly be performing for the Los Angeles part of the broadcast.

Last year, Taylor Swift, One Direction, Meghan Trainor (who performed on 鈥淢arvin鈥 with Mr. Puth), Iggy Azalea, and others performed as part of the popular ABC broadcast.聽

鈥淩ockin鈥欌 first aired in 1972. While the special still bears his name, Mr. Clark died in 2012. 聽鈥淎merican Idol鈥 host Ryan Seacrest has hosted the show since 2006.

The program is not only still on the air but is still enormously popular. Last year, 鈥淩ockin鈥欌 didn鈥檛 just beat competition such as 鈥淧itbull鈥檚 New Year鈥檚 Revolution鈥 on Fox and NBC鈥檚 鈥淣ew Year鈥檚 Eve with Carson Daly鈥 鈥 it beat the combined ratings of those other programs.

How does 鈥淩ockin鈥欌 continue to be such a hit? One reason is no doubt tradition. While TV audiences are more fragmented than ever, watching diverse cable networks and streaming services, broadcast networks remain the home of high-profile yearly events like the Super Bowl, the Oscars, and seasonal offerings like 鈥淩ockin鈥.鈥 Viewers have gotten in the habit of turning the TV to ABC on New Year鈥檚 for more than 40 years.

The special is airing during a time of year when viewers no doubt want tradition, too. Look no further than programs like "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" regularly dominating in the ratings before Christmas.

There was also enormous affection for Clark himself, and the program still bears his name. At the time of Clark's death, "among the most recognizable faces in the world" and "the first and last voice many Americans heard each year with his New Year's Eve countdowns."

Another draw for viewers is most likely the popularity of the talent involved. There are few acts bigger than Swift, who performed last year. This year, the singers that were recently announced have all had songs that performed well recently. Lovato鈥檚 鈥淐ool for the Summer鈥 was a big hit of, well, the summer, while Khalifa and Puth both had a major hit earlier this year with the song 鈥淪ee You Again.鈥 Bryan is a frequent presence on the Billboard country chart, which represents a genre that has exploded in popularity over the past several years. These choices represent an awareness of who the current popular acts are.

This merging of the past and the present may contribute to viewers tuning in year after year to ABC鈥檚 program.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
海角大神 was founded in 1908 to lift the standard of journalism and uplift humanity. We aim to 鈥渟peak the truth in love.鈥 Our goal is not to tell you what to think, but to give you the essential knowledge and understanding to come to your own intelligent conclusions. Join us in this mission by subscribing.
QR Code to 'Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve': How the show stays a success
Read this article in
/The-Culture/Culture-Cafe/2015/1202/Dick-Clark-s-New-Year-s-Rockin-Eve-How-the-show-stays-a-success
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
/subscribe