Josh Groban and Natalie Morales on Christmas in Rockefeller Center: "Whatever Oprah Wants, She Gets — My Gift Was a Duet with Johnny Mathis"
For the first time in the history of NBC's annual Christmas in Rockefeller Center special, Natalie Morales joined Al Roker as co-host for the 13th edition, airing November 30, 2010. International singing superstar Josh Groban — who had just moved to New York City — also performed. Premier Guide Miami's Daedrian McNaughton spoke with Groban and Morales about the magic of Christmas in New York, Groban's gift to Oprah Winfrey on her final season (a live duet with the legendary Johnny Mathis), and what it means to perform on a New York stage. Performers included Susan Boyle, Mariah Carey, Sheryl Crow, Annie Lennox, Kylie Minogue, Jessica Simpson, and the Radio City Rockettes.
From the Vault · 2010
This is an archival piece from the Premier Guide Miami collection. The coverage, context, and details reflect the time it was originally published.
For the first time in the history of NBC's annual Christmas in Rockefeller Center special, Natalie Morales joined Al Roker as co-host for the 13th edition, airing November 30, 2010. Premier Guide Miami sat down to find out what that means — and what comes next.
For the very first time since the inception of the annual holiday extravaganza, Natalie Morales joined Al Roker as co-host of NBC's Christmas in Rockefeller Center. The 13th annual special aired November 30, 2010 (8-9 p.m. ET/PT) and featured Susan Boyle, Mariah Carey, Sheryl Crow, Jackie Evancho, Josh Groban, Katherine Jenkins, Annie Lennox, Kylie Minogue, Jessica Simpson, Charice, and the Radio City Rockettes.
Natalie Morales on the occasion: "Josh's Christmas album is my favorite. Every year we've already broken through a couple of his CDs. When you have Annie Lennox and Susan Boyle in the same mix, it's going to be interesting. For me, just the honor of being asked to do it. When the minute the tree is brought into Rockefeller Center, it always marks the beginning of what is a real special occasion. There's nothing like Christmas in New York. The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree really is the epitome of that."
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Josh Groban on his gift to Oprah: "My gift to Oprah was fulfilling one of her dream Christmas duets — to have Johnny Mathis and myself sing a couple of holiday songs together. It was a great honor to sing with the legendary Johnny Mathis. He's been a huge hero of mine forever and ever. Just to meet him and to see what a sweet and nice guy he is. Of course this is her final season. Whatever Oprah wants, she gets. We were very, very happy to fulfill that for her."
Josh Groban on performing in New York: "I actually just moved to New York just a couple months ago. To perform on the New York stage is really unlike any other stage in the world. You really have to bring it. The New York audiences really require you to win them over. It just makes you want to work that much harder and really be the best that you can be. The city really commands greatness out of everybody that lives and performs there."
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