Ke$ha and Taio Cruz Set for 'Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve,' 12/31

Ke$ha and Taio Cruz will perform live from Times Square on "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2011," on Friday, December 31 on the ABC Television Network. Both will make their debut performances as Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest host the show live in New York with Times Square Correspondent Jenny McCarthy. In 2010 alone, Ke$ha has dominated the charts with five Billboard Hot 100 Top 10s. Her debut album Animal has been certified platinum, having sold over 1 million units in the U.S. and 2 million worldwide. Multi-platinum UK singer/songwriter/pop star Taio Cruz's debut album, Rokstarr, spawned not one but two triple-platinum singles with "Break Your Heart," featuring Ludacris, and "Dynamite." "Break Your Heart," climbed to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March and made history as the biggest ever jump to No. 1 by a newcomer to the chart.

Fergie of The Black Eyed Peas will return to host the Los Angeles-based portions of the specials, with recently announced performances including, Jennifer Hudson, Willow Smith, Ne-Yo, Avril Lavigne, Drake, Jason Derulo, La Roux, Mike Posner, Natasha Bedingfield, Far East Movement and Train.

Orly Adelson, executive producer of the specials and president of Dick Clark productions said: "Ke$ha and Taio have had some of the year's most popular hits, and we are excited to welcome them to our New Year's Rockin' Eve' stage." Larry Klein, producer of the specials, added, "Taio and Ke$ha's energy in Times Square is going to be awesome. Their performances will be a great way to enter into the new year."

The bi-coastal celebration will include three and one-half hours of special performances and reports on New Year's celebrations from around the globe, as well as the American tradition of Dick Clark counting down to midnight from Times Square in New York City.

The festivities will kick off with "Dick Clark's Primetime New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2011" from 10:00-11:00 p.m., ET, featuring the only live performances from New York's Times Square as well as multiple performances from the Los Angeles celebration.

During "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2011, Part 1" (11:30 p.m. - 1:08 a.m., ET), in addition to reporting on the final minutes of 2010 and the traditional Times Square countdown to midnight, the show will feature music performances from both Los Angeles and Times Square in New York.

Wrapping the night's activities will be "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2011, Part 2" (1:08-2:11 a.m., ET), when musical acts will continue the party into the early hours of the New Year with additional performances from Los Angeles.

The specials are presentations of Dick Clark productions, inc. with Dick Clark, Ryan Seacrest and Orly Adelson serving as executive producers. Larry Klein produces.

ABOUT KE$HA
2010 has been an incredible year for Ke$ha. Less than 10 months after the No.1 debut of Animal in January 2010, it has been certified platinum and sold over 2 million units worldwide. Ke$ha was nominated for two American Music Awards, Artist of The Year and Pop/Rock - Favorite Female Artist. Her new single, "We R Who We R," debuted at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Ke$ha is the first female artist to debut at that spot since Britney Spears did with "3" in 2009, and the first artist since Eminem's debut with "Not Afraid" in May. Also this year Ke$ha became the 11th solo female artist to collect at least four Billboard Hot 100 Top 10s from a debut album when her current single, "Take It Off," catapulted up the chart. She has sold 14 million combined tracks and ringtones in the U.S. alone to date and 17 million worldwide, including her smash breakthrough single, "TiK ToK," which has sold over 8.5 million combined units. Animal has been certified gold or platinum in six markets and is the biggest selling debut album from an international female in 2010 in the UK. Ke$ha, who was just nominated for two EMAs, has sold nearly 4 million tracks outside of the U.S. and nearly 1 million albums.

ABOUT TAIO CRUZ
Born in London to a Nigerian lawyer father and a Brazilian mother, Taio (pronounced "tie-o") Cruz is one of the biggest stars to emerge from the U.K. in years. When "Break Your Heart," the first single from his Mercury/IDJMG debut, Rokstarr, climbed to No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March, with more than 300,000 copies downloaded in one week, it made history with the biggest ever jump to No.1 by a newcomer to the chart. Three million singles later, Taio repeated the same feat with his second single, "Dynamite," which is triple platinum, and he shows no sign of slowing down. The London-born singer/songwriter is also a go-to producer and recently concluded writing sessions with producers J.R. Rotem, Stargate, Kevin Rudolf and Dr. Luke, while also collaborating with "X Factor" champ Leona Lewis, Britney Spears, Brandy, Flo Rida, Usher, Keri Hilson, Ludacris, Ke$ha and hit British acts like Sugababes and JLS & Cheryl. Next up, Taio is releasing his third single off Rokstarr, "Higher," featuring Travie McCoy, and he continues to expand his Rokstarr brand with a line of sunglasses and fashion accessories.

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