Cher arrives at the premiere of "Chevalier" in Los Angeles on April 16, 2023. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, Filer)
By Mark Kennedy
Cher is obviously a superstar but even a superstar can be the opening act when it comes to Santa.
Organizers of this year's Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade have nabbed the Oscar-, Emmy- and Grammy Award-winner for their 97th annual event. Cher will make her appearance just before the parade's end, signaled by the arrival of Santa’s sleigh, parade organizers said.
This year’s parade will feature 16 giant character balloons, 26 floats, 32 novelty and heritage inflatables, 12 marching bands, 700 clowns and eight performance groups.
It's a busy time for Cher, who is preparing to release a 25th-anniversary edition of her Grammy-winning album “Believe” and just dropped her first new album in five years, “Christmas.”
For the first time in its long history, the holiday tradition will begin at 8:30 a.m. ET, half an hour earlier than previous years, kicked off by multi-instrumentalist and Grammy-winner Jon Batiste.
There will be appearances by Bell Biv DeVoe, Brandy, Chicago, En Vogue, ENHYPEN, David Foster and Katharine McPhee, Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors, Jessie James Decker, Ashley Park with some Muppets from “Sesame Street,” Pentatonix, Paul Russell, Amanda Shaw and Alex Smith, and Manuel Turizo.
U.S. Olympic gymnastics silver medalist Jordan Chiles, U.S. track and field Paralympian Ezra Frech and U.S. Paralympic swimming gold medalist Jessica Long and Miss America 2023 Grace Stanke will also join the festivities.
Seven new balloon giants will join the lineup: “Beagle Scout Snoopy,” “Blue Cat & Chugs,” “Kung Fu Panda’s Po,” “Leo,” “Monkey D. Luffy,” “Pillsbury Doughboy” and “Uncle Dan.”
Broadway will be represented by performances from “& Juliet,” “Back to the Future: The Musical,” “How To Dance In Ohio,” “Shucked” and “Spamalot,” with an appearance by Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells of “Gutenberg! The Musical!"
Returning giant balloons include “Bluey,” “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” “Paw Patrol,” “Ryan's World,” “Pikachu,” “Ronald McDonald,” "Stuart the Minion" and “SpongeBob SquarePants.”
The Macy’s parade has been a traditional holiday season kickoff and spectators often line up a half-dozen deep along the route to cheer the marchers, floats, entertainers and marching bands. The parade has lately asked icons to be the last guest before Santa, with last year Mariah Carey fitting the bill.
A marching band from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, the scene of one of the nation's worst school shootings, will represent Florida. Other marching bands this year will represent Alabama, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Washington, New York, Illinois, New Jersey and Texas.
Floats include ones from brands like Lego, “Peanuts,” “Baby Shark,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and “Sesame Street.”
The parade airs on NBC and streams on Peacock. Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Al Roker from “Today” will host and a Spanish language simulcast on Telemundo will be hosted by Carlos Adyan and Andrea Meza.
In an effort to fight climate change several corporations have vowed to work to fight climate change by 2030. They say the goal is to reduce carbon emissions by 40% or even close to 100%. However, according to a new study, many of these companies are not actually practicing what they preach. Tom Egger, senior lecturer at Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin, joins Cheddar News to discuss more.
'Jeen-Yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy' dives into over 20 years of the icon himself, Kanye West. The trilogy is described as 'an intimate and revealing portrait of Kanye West's experience, showcasing both his formative days trying to break through and his life today as a global brand and artist.' Cheddar news sat down with directors of the documentary and long-time friends of Kanye, Chike Ozah and Clarence "Coodie" Simmons, to discuss the project.
The Super Bowl is only a few days away, and the game is currently tracking to be the most expensive one ever.
Gametime, a website and app for last-minute tickets, says the average ticket price for the NFL's championship game is $9,502.50, with the most expensive seats costing nearly $38,000. That's a far cry away from the average ticket price of the first-ever Super Bowl in 1967, which was only $12. The average ticket price increased by more than $8,000 in just the past decade. Matt Rados, Senior Operations Manager at Gametime, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
At-home medical labs company Getlabs raised $20 million in a Series A round, led by Emerson Collective and the Minderoo Foundation. Getlabs aims to be the boots-on-the-ground partner to telehealth. The company says more than 70% of medical decisions still require collecting diagnostic tests in person, and that it fills that void by delivering health care directly to their patients' homes. Founder & CEO of Getlabs Kyle Michelson joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Sting has sold his catalog of more than 600 songs for $300 million to Universal Music. The deal gives the label the rights to all of his work, including “Every Breath You Take," as well as all future royalties.
Miller Lite is opening the first branded bar in the metaverse, by way of Decentraland, as a way to advertise during the Super Bowl this year without buying an expensive TV commercial slot. Sofia Colucci, global vice president of Miller Family of Brands, joined Cheddar to talk about the new marketing concept. "We have a lot of great partnerships with NFL teams throughout the year but were shut out of advertising during the Super Bowl game, so this pushes us to think creatively and also think of what feels really relevant right now," Colucci said. "There's no question that there's a lot of excitement with the metaverse, and we wanted to participate but in a way that felt right for Miller Lite."
Kalle Marsal, Chief Operating Officer at PetDx, joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss how next-generation sequencing technology is being used to detect cancer in pets early.
Ashleigh Hinde, Founder and CEO of WALDO, joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss why now is a good time to make eyecare a priority, and how they are democratizing access to eyecare for all.
