FOX announced today that American Idol alumni Blake Lewis, Jordin Sparks and the band Lifehouse will all perform on the network's New Year's Eve Live special.  New Year's Eve Live will air on FOX December 31, from 11pm to 12:30am ET live, and tape-delayed in every other time zone.  The show is to be hosted by So You Think You Can Dance host Cat Deeley along with Spike Feresten from Talk Show with Spike Feresten. FOX will also air the world premiere of Mariah Carey's performance of “Shake it Off” from her upcoming Adventures with Mimi concert DVD.  If you're into that sort of thing. 

I don't know why FOX thinks that the debut of a concert DVD performance by Mariah Carey is newsworthy (though if I'm still writing about it, I suppose it is), but it seems like a bizarre thing to air during a New Year's Eve special.  Does anyone really care about Mariah Carey anymore?  I thought we had all agreed that she was crazy.  We have her episode of Cribs as definitive proof.  FOX says that there will be more performers on New Year's Ever Live and that they will be announced shortly.
 
I'm not all that familiar with Lifehouse's work, but I'll assume I wouldn't like them.  Blake Lewis and Jordin Sparks are fulfilling their indentured servitude to FOX and 19 Entertainment by performing on the special, but some publicity couldn't hurt.  Jordin Sparks debut album has already fallen to number 24 on the Billboard charts in only its third week on the market.  Blake Lewis's debut (ADD: Audio Daydream) debuted this week at number ten on the charts, the same place Sparks debuted. 

Cat Deeley and Spike Feresten should prove an entertaining and funny duo for the special.  In fact, those two might be the best New Year's Eve special hosts in all of television this year.  The MTV people mostly annoy me, and Carson Daly is a tool.  At least with New Year's Eve Live I know Deeley is going to have a nice English accent and Spike Feresten will be mildly funny.


-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer 
(Image Courtesy FOX)