Zara Larsson is one of more than a dozen artists who’ll be performing on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest, airing on ABC Dec. 31. Unlike most of the artists who’ll be appearing, Zara didn’t grow up watching the show, but she has an excuse — she’s not American.
“I am Swedish, so we have different [New Year’s] shows,” Zara told ABC’s On the Red Carpet during New Year’s Rockin’ Eve rehearsals. However, she was aware of the iconic show.
“I feel like the existence of the show and all the clips and the moments and all of that have just always been around,” she said. “I mean, I’ve watched it on YouTube, I’ve watched it online. So I feel like, no matter if you watch it live or later, the fact that I’m a part of it is really big.“
As for what we can expect from her performance, which will come as part of the West Coast party segment of the show, Zara promised “a lot of glitter,” dancers and “full energy.”
“It’s like I’m bringing summer back, basically, in the middle of the winter,” she added. “But it’s the only right thing to do. I’m a summer girl. And we can just close our eyes and pretend that the light is the sun.”
But most of all, said Zara, “It’s all about the glitter and the sparkles and the fun.”
Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest will also feature a set from Diana Ross in New York’s Times Square, as well as performances from Mariah Carey, Chappell Roan, Charlie Puth, Demi Lovato, KPop Demon Hunters’ HUNTR/X and more. It airs from 8 p.m. ET to 4 a.m. ET on ABC and streams the next day on Hulu.
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
