NBC RINGS IN 2017 WITH FESTIVE HOURLONG SPECIAL "NBC'S NEW YEAR'S EVE WITH CARSON DALY"

Hosted by Daly With Mel B From the Heart of Times Square, the Annual Dec. 31 Special Will Feature Performances From Alicia Keys, Pentatonix and Blake Shelton

NEW YORK - Dec. 7, 2016 - NBC will celebrate the new year with "NBC's New Year's Eve with Carson Daly," set for Saturday, Dec. 31 and live from Times Square in New York (11:30 p.m. ET/PT.) The broadcast will feature special performances from musical superstars Alicia Keys, Pentatonix and Blake Shelton. Mel B will host with Daly.

"New Year's Eve is always a thrilling night to broadcast live from Times Square. The excitement of the ball dropping, great music and millions of friends and families coming together to celebrate is incomparable," Daly said. "This will be my 14th year on NBC ringing in the new year in Times Square, and there's no place I'd rather be."

Daly is a pioneer of pop culture across a multitude of media, including network television, radio, the recording industry and digital.

He is currently hosting and producing the 11th season of the NBC hit series "The Voice." The show has been renewed for a 12th season and has received five consecutive Emmy nominations for Outstanding Reality Competition Program and won in 2013, 2015, and 2016. Daly has also been nominated for a 2016 Critics' Choice Award in the category for Best Reality Show Host and Best Reality Competition Series for "The Voice." Daly's long-running late-night NBC series, "Last Call With Carson Daly," is currently in its 16th season, and he continues to host his top-rated morning-drive radio program on 97.1 AMP-FM Los Angeles.

In 2013, Daly began as co-host of the "Today" show, providing communication between viewers and the show in the Orange Room, as well as delivering original content and reporting.

Melanie Brown, best known to audiences as the iconic Mel B of the Spice Girls, is a chart-topping music artist, actress, author, television personality and groundbreaking entrepreneur. Brown has found a home on television across the globe. She will return next summer as a judge on NBC's hit summer series "America's Got Talent," has also appeared as a judge on "The X Factor" in the U.K., as co-host of "Lip Sync Battle U.K." and as a coach on Australian spinoff "The Voice Kids."

Mel B's brash persona was at the core of the Spice Girl's global success, racking up worldwide record sales of $55 million, a Guinness Book of World Records status for most #1 entries on the U.K. charts and most consecutive #1's for a new act. In 2012, the Spice Girls reunited in London for a performance at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony and for the premiere of "Viva Forever," the musical based on the songs of the Spice Girls.

On the stage Brown will join the Broadway production of "Chicago" for an eight week run beginning Dec. 28. She previously headlined as Mimi in the Broadway production of "Rent."

"I am thrilled to be working again with Carson and the entire NBC team to celebrate the biggest night of the year with today's top performers," said executive producer John Irwin.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

ALICIA KEYS

Alicia Keys is a 15-time Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter/producer, accomplished actress, New York Times bestselling author, entrepreneur and powerful force in the world of activism. On Nov. 4 Keys released her powerful and critically acclaimed new sixth studio album, "HERE," on RCA Records. Offering an honest glimpse into what matters most to Keys, the artist shines a light on the sonic soulfulness and stories from New York, the city that raised her. As an accompanying visual story to "HERE," Keys also released a short-film entitled "The Gospel," inspired by the genesis of songs she has written. Keys serves as a coach on NBC's "The Voice" for its 11th season alongside Miley Cyrus, Adam Levine, and Blake Shelton and will return as a coach for season 12 in 2017. In 2014, Keys launched We Are Here, a movement that empowers the global community around a host of issues and initiatives building a better world where all people are heard, respected, equal, and treated with dignity. Keys also co-founded Keep a Child Alive (KCA) and serves as Global Ambassador for the organization.

PENTATONIX

In just five years Pentatonix has sold nearly 5 million albums in the U.S. alone. They have won two Grammy Awards and performed for hundreds of thousands of fans at their sold-out shows across the globe. Their YouTube channel boasts more than 12 million subscribers, yielding nearly 2 billion video views, and their 2015 self-titled album has been certified gold after debuting #1 on Billboard's Top 200. All seven Pentatonix album releases have debuted in the chart's Top 10. In 2015 the group released its first tour documentary, "On My Way Home," and appeared in the feature film "Pitch Perfect 2." In October Pentatonix released their third holiday album, "A Pentatonix Christmas," which debuted at #3 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. The album includes the group's arrangement of the Leonard Cohen classic, "Hallelujah," which debuted at #6 on Billboard's Top Digital Songs Chart. The music video received more than 20 million views in its first week. "A Pentatonix Christmas" follows 2014's "That's Christmas to Me," which has been certified 2x platinum and includes the quintet's Grammy-winning arrangement for "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy." Pentatonix is set to host their first holiday network special, "A Pentatonix Christmas Special," Dec. 14 (8:00 p.m. ET/PT) on NBC. Just yesterday, Pentatonix received a Grammy nomination for Best Country Duo/Group for their collaboration of "Jolene" with Dolly Parton.

BLAKE SHELTON

Country Music Association's 2012 "Entertainer of the Year," five-time Male Vocalist of the Year winner and Grammy nominee Blake Shelton continues to add to his superstar status. With 17 consecutive #1 singles, Shelton owns the record of successive #1 singles in the modern era, and has a total of 22 #1 singles. His most recent album, "If I'm Honest," debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top Album Sales chart and the Billboard Country Album chart and is the best-selling country album released this year. "If I'm Honest" has already yielded the #1 smash single, "Came Here to Forget," and his new single, "A Guy With a Girl," is Top 10 and climbing. The album features three songs written by Shelton that include the gospel-tinged "Savior's Shadow," "Friends," which is also featured in the popular film "The Angry Birds Movie," and "Go Ahead and Break My Heart," a song he wrote and performs with Gwen Stefani. A member of the Grand Ole Opry, he has earned a host of awards throughout his career, including the recent People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Country Artist. Shelton is in production on season 11 of NBC's "The Voice" and recently announced his 2017 "Doing It To Country Songs" Tour which kicks off in February and features opening artist RaeLynn.

"NBC's New Year's Eve with Carson Daly" is produced by Irwin Entertainment and Universal Television. The executive producers are John Irwin and Carson Daly.

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