Melissa Etheridge to Perform at Times Square New Year's Eve Celebration

Times Square Alliance and Countdown Entertainment, co-organizers of Times Square New Year's Eve, today announced that Melissa Etheridge will perform her new song, Uprising of Love, and a rendition of John Lennon's Imagine during the 2014 Times Square New Year's Eve celebration. She joins the official event lineup featuring live performances by Miley Cyrus, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Blondie, Icona Pop, Jencarlos Canela, El Dasa and Rodney Atkins. A spectacular Chinese cultural performance featuring Kung Fu and a colorful fan dance will kick off the festivities at 6 p.m. EST.

Etheridge's new song was an inspiration for Uprising of Love, a movement she co-founded to support Russian organizations working for long-term change in the status and treatment of the LGBT community.

Melissa Etheridge said, "It's an honor to have the chance to sing one of the most iconic songs during such a magical, annual event in Time Square on New Year's Eve. What an amazing and uplifting way to start 2014!"

The celebration will also feature an exclusive trailer of The Amazing Spider-Man 2™, featuring Times Square footage, at 10:50 p.m. Special New Year's Eve video greetings from cast members, including Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, and the legendary Stan Lee, co-creator of Spider-Man will be shown at the top of each hour.

On New Year's Eve, approximately one million revelers will fill New York City's Times Square and more than one billion worldwide are expected to tune in on television for the historic Times Square New Year's Eve Ball Drop.

"We are ringing in the new year with some of the biggest talent from 2013," said Tim Tompkins, President of the Times Square Alliance. "These performances at the Crossroads of the World will be a celebration of some of the best of pop culture."

"We are excited to have such amazing performers share the spotlight with the New Year's Eve Ball as we ring in 2014," said Jeffrey Straus, President of Countdown Entertainment.

Times Square 2014 LIVE performances on Nivea Countdown and Kiss stages:

• Miley Cyrus performs on ABC's "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest"
• Macklemore & Ryan Lewis perform on ABC's "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest"
• Blondie performs on ABC's "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest"
• Icona Pop performs on ABC's "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest"
• Melissa Etheridge performs classic hits I'm the Only One and Bring Me Some Water during the 9 p.m. hour. She will also perform her new song, Uprising of Love and John Lennon's Imagine before the Ball drops at midnight
• Jencarlos Canela performs on Univision's, "¡Feliz 2014!"
• El Dasa performs on Univision's, "¡Feliz 2014!"
• Rodney Atkins performs on Fox News Channel's "All American New Year"
• The USO Show Troupe performs their popular A Military Salute to honor our Armed Forces on the Nivea Kiss Stage
• The Sino-American Friendship Association ("SAFA") presents a Chinese cultural performance

Times Square 2014 LIVE Hourly Countdowns Presented by:

• Anderson Cooper
• Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Bill Hemmer
• Spider-Man and Marc Webb, Director of The Amazing Spider-Man 2TM
• Raúl de Molina
• And then the final 60-second countdown with an appearance by a special guest

In addition to the live performances and hourly countdowns, the Associated Press, the world's oldest and largest news gathering organization, will present a news reel highlighting some of the most important and memorable events of 2013 at 11:15 p.m.

The public can take part in shaping this year's dazzling celebration by downloading the official 2014 Times Square Ball App or Times Square Crossroads App, both available worldwide for free through Apple's App Store and via Google Play for mobile phones and tablets. The public is also invited to write their wishes for 2014 on pieces of confetti at the Times Square Museum and Visitor Center, located on the ground floor of 1560 Broadway between 46th and 47th Streets. The wishes will be mixed in with the one ton of confetti that floats down on New Year's Eve revelers in Times Square at midnight. Wishes can also be entered online at TimesSquareNYC.org.

In addition, viewers across the globe will get to experience the Times Square New Year's Eve festivities, including the famous Ball Drop and select performances via a six-hour, live commercial-free webcast of the iconic global party. The webcast runs from 5:55 p.m. EST on December 31st to 12:15 a.m. EST on January 1st and will be available at www.TimesSquareNYC.org, www.Livestream.com andwww.TimesSquareBall.net.

National television and radio star Allison Hagendorf, the official host of Times Square 2014 and the webcast, will get the party started at the Crossroads of the World at 6 p.m. by welcoming The Revelers and introducing the star of the show, the Times Square Ball. Throughout the night, Hagendorf will keep both revelers and webcast viewers informed about the musical performances and other exciting entertainment in Times Square, including exclusive interviews and backstage access. This year Hagendorf is joined by new webcast correspondents Maggie Rulli, Andrea Boehlke and Jeremy Hassell.

For more information about Times Square New Year's Eve, visit www.TimesSquareNYC.org.

To join the Times Square New Year's Eve conversation on Twitter, follow #BallDrop.

About Times Square New Year's Eve

The Times Square Alliance and Countdown Entertainment are the organizers of Times Square New Year's Eve. The Times Square Alliance works to improve and promote Times Square so that it retains the energy, edge and distinctiveness that have made it an icon of entertainment, culture and urban life. Countdown Entertainment represents the owners of One Times Square and the New Year's Eve Ball.

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