ABC’s Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest delivered the highest ratings of any program on the final night of 2025.

The network’s 54th annual New Year’s Eve special averaged 18.8 million viewers during the 11:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. ET hour on Dec. 31/Jan. 1, according to Nielsen ratings.

That total is up from 17.9 million viewers last year, marking the night’s top entertainment broadcast and the special’s largest audience in four years.

ABC estimates the telecast peaked at midnight, with 30 million viewers tuning in to New Year’s Rockin’ Eve to watch the ball drop in New York City’s Times Square. That figure is up from 29 million viewers last year.

By comparison, CBS’ New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash drew 5.3 million viewers during the same hour, while specials on CNN and NBC trailed behind, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Beyond television, New Year’s Rockin’ Eve aired across iHeartMedia, reaching two million listeners across 150 stations — a 9% increase year over year.

The annual year-end event was hosted by Ryan Seacrest, with Rita Ora joining him as co-host in Times Square. Airing live beginning Wednesday (Dec. 31) at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, the telecast featured musical performances leading up to the iconic ball drop from Ciara, LE SSERAFIM, Little Big Town, Maren Morris and headliner Diana Ross.

Additional appearances throughout the evening included Chance the Rapper, who co-hosted and performed from Chicago alongside Jamila Woods, as well as a West Coast lineup featuring Mariah Carey, Zara Larsson, New Kids on the Block and DJ Cassidy’s Pass the Mic Live! with artists including Busta Rhymes and Wyclef Jean.

Other notable performances came from Post Malone in Nashville and Chappell Roan in Kansas City, along with Pitbull, 4 Non Blondes and others.

Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest is produced by Dick Clark Productions, which is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Eldridge Industries and Billboard parent company Penske Media.

BTS has officially confirmed the release date of its upcoming album.

On Sunday (Jan. 4), the K-pop superstars announced that their fifth full-length album will arrive on March 20. The title of the project has not yet been revealed.

The release marks the group’s reunion following a nearly four-year hiatus, during which members RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook completed South Korea’s mandatory military service.

The 14-track album is “driven by each member’s honest introspection as they collectively shaped its direction by weaving their individual perspectives into the music,” according to a press release.

BTS will also embark on a world tour in support of the album, with dates and venues set to be announced on Jan. 14. The trek will be the group’s first large-scale tour in nearly four years, following BTS Permission to Dance on Stage, which concluded in April 2022. That tour grossed $75.4 million from 11 shows, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore.

As part of the comeback rollout, BTS has launched a new official website, where additional details about the album and tour will be revealed in the coming weeks. The act has also reset its official Instagram account in anticipation of the project.

The group has teased new music in recent months, culminating in confirmation of the March 20 comeback in a New Year’s Day message posted by BigHit on its Korean-language X account.

One of K-pop’s most globally successful acts, BTS boasts six No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200, including 2022’s Proof and 2020’s Be, along with six No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Morrissey has canceled the first concerts of his 2026 touring schedule, calling off two California shows scheduled for early January.

The singer was set to perform Friday night (Jan. 3) at Agua Caliente Casinos in Rancho Mirage, California, but the venue’s website now lists the show as postponed indefinitely, with the change reflected on the day of the scheduled performance.

According to the venue listing, the decision was made due to “an adverse reaction to a prescription medication,” though no further medical details were provided.

A second performance, scheduled for Tuesday (Jan. 6) at the San Diego Civic Theatre, has also been canceled. The venue similarly confirmed the cancellation on its website, with no rescheduled date announced as of publication.

Ticket holders for both California shows have been advised by the venues to consult their original points of purchase for refund or exchange information.

The developments mark Morrissey’s first confirmed concert cancellations of 2026 and extend a long-running pattern of disrupted live dates in recent years, with multiple tours affected by postponements or cancellations tied to health, scheduling conflicts, or venue-related issues.

In September, the singer canceled a concert in Ottawa after citing safety concerns tied to a threat posted on Bluesky. The following month, a scheduled performance in Turkey was called off amid public backlash related to Morrissey’s statements in support of Israel.

In November, he canceled his South American tour, attributing the decision to “extreme exhaustion,” and in December, he abruptly canceled what was set to be his first-ever concert in the Dominican Republic.

As a result, upcoming dates on his calendar have often remained subject to change until shortly before showtime.

As of now, Morrissey’s next scheduled appearance remains set for Jan. 10 at the Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, Texas. That show was previously rescheduled from a May 8 date. Morrissey has not performed in San Antonio in more than 15 years; planned appearances there in 2016 and 2017 were rescheduled before ultimately being canceled.

No additional details have been provided in connection with the January 2026 cancellations beyond the venue statements. Morrissey has not publicly commented on the Rancho Mirage or San Diego cancellations.

Carlos Baute, Danny Ocean, Ricardo Montaner, Erika Ender and more Latin music artists reacted on Saturday (Jan. 3) to the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in a surprising U.S. military operation carried out overnight in Caracas. The news was confirmed by U.S. president Donald Trump early in the morning.

“The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolás Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the country,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. He later reported that Maduro and his wife were being transported on a U.S. warship to New York, where they would face criminal charges related to narco-terrorism, according to the Associated Press, and stated that the military operation in Venezuela was necessary to curb the flow of drugs into the United States.

The news was largely received with a mix of joy and cautious optimism.

“All profound changes are painful. We know that difficult days are coming, but after the storm, calm always comes,” Carlos Baute wrote in an Instagram post. “To everyone inside — family, friends, our people — we are praying for you and supporting you from afar in every way possible. God does not abandon good people, and Venezuela is a country of good people,” added the singer-songwriter of the mid-’90s hit “Yo Me Quedo en Venezuela,” which became an anthem for many compatriots.

“We haven’t slept. With rum since 3 a.m. The moment we’ve been waiting for has arrived. Is this reallll???? Venezuelaaaaaaaa,” posted Mau y Ricky.

With tears in her eyes, singer Karina celebrated that “Venezuela will be free” in a video posted to her Instagram Stories. “It has begun,” she said. “This cannot be stopped. Please take care of yourselves… Miracles do happen.”

Some opted to share messages of peace and prayer. “Lord, take care of and bless the Venezuelan people, remove the bad ones and let peace reign, and may your love and mercy guide the future of all who love you. Amen amen,” posted Ricardo Montaner in his Instagram Stories, alongside the hashtags #venezuela and #venezuelalibre (#freevenezuela). Similarly, Elena Rose, known for her spirituality, shared a prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel for protection in her Instagram Stories, as well as Psalm 21 about divine protection, refuge and safety.

Others simply reposted a statement from opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate of 2025, María Corina Machado, titled “The Hour of Freedom Has Come”: “Today we are prepared to enforce our mandate and take power,” she wrote. “Let us remain vigilant, active, and organized until the democratic transition is achieved. A transition that needs all of us.”

This was the case with popular Venezuelan artist Danny Ocean, who has been vocal about the situation in his country and recently performed in Oslo at the Nobel ceremony in honor of Machado. In his Instagram Stories, the musician shared an image of the Venezuelan flag accompanied by Mathias Fritsche’s musical piece “Honor Him” from the movie Gladiator, followed by Machado’s statement.

Machado also wrote that opposition figure Edmundo González should assume power after Maduro’s departure, claiming he legitimately won the 2024 presidential elections. However, by midday, in a press conference at Mar-a-Lago, Trump declared that the U.S. government would administer the South American country, at least temporarily, and would take advantage of its vast oil reserves until a “proper transition” could take place.

Panamanian singer-songwriter Erika Ender, whose country experienced a U.S. invasion in the late 1980s, shared a heartfelt message on social media. “Venezuela, Panama went through what you are going through today. And even so, from that pain, it rose again stronger than ever. That’s why I know it’s possible. And that’s exactly what I wish for you too,” she wrote. “I deeply understand what you have had to endure — the silent wounds, the paths so many had to take far from home to survive, grow, and reinvent themselves. An entire generation that started over in other lands and, with hard work and dignity, also helped other countries grow. Venezuela has sown much beyond its borders… Today, I wish, from the bottom of my heart, that your rebirth is the one you deserve.”