Daddy Yankee photographed on Sept. 22, 2021 at the Faena Forum in Miami.

Mary Beth Koeth
The Spanish-language countdown -- which will be co-hosted by Roselyn Sanchez -- coincides with the celebration of San Juan's 500th anniversary of its founding.

Two months after announcing that Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2022 will host its first-ever Spanish-language countdown live from Puerto Rico, Billboard can unveil the first confirmed guests.

ABC and MRC Live & Alternative announced Tuesday (Dec. 7) that the 50th annual televised celebration will feature global Reggaeton star Daddy Yankee with a hometown performance in his native San Juan, as well as actress and singer Roselyn Sanchez as one of the co-hosts to oversee the end of year festivities on the island.

The inaugural Spanish-language countdown, which coincides with the celebration of San Juan’s 500th anniversary of its founding, is set to take place on the grounds of the Puerto Rico Convention Center and DISTRITO T-Mobile with host Seacrest overseeing New Year’s festivities in Times Square.

“We are very excited to host Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2022 on our island and to count on this high-caliber event to project the greatness of Puerto Rico and our people,” said Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi in a statement. “This celebration not only allows Puerto Ricans to enjoy this great historic event; it also speaks to diverse communities around the world that our Island is ready to receive tourism and foster economic development. We have so much to offer as a destination, and New Year’s Rockin’ Eve will be a testament to all that Puerto Rico has to offer.”

Additionally, Grammy-winning superstar Ciara will celebrate her fifth year taking over the Los Angeles party with music by DJ D-Nice. Emmy-, Grammy- and Tony-winning actor Billy Porter will co-host the Central Time Zone countdown from New Orleans. Liza Koshy, who was the show’s correspondent in 2019, will make her return alongside Seacrest in New York. And, for the third consecutive year, Jessie James Decker will return as the Powerball correspondent.

Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2022 will air live on Friday, Dec. 31, starting at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. Puerto Rico’s countdown is set for 11 p.m. ET.

Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest is produced by MRC Live & Alternative, which is owned by MRC. MRC and Penske Media are co-parent companies of Billboard.

Sharon Osbourne has revealed that Ozzfest is set to return in 2027, shortly before the festival makes its way back to the United States.

The very first Ozzfest was held in October 1996 as a two day event before growing into a full touring festival the following year. It continued as a yearly run until 2018, with that final edition featuring performances from Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, DevilDriver and Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy himself.

Only a few days after confirming that Ozzfest would “absolutely” make a comeback, Sharon, the music manager and widow of Ozzy, shared that the festival is scheduled for 2027. “We wanna do two days in Aston Villa and then come to America,” Sharon said while speaking to her son Jack on The Osbournes podcast. “Then we wanna hear from everyone where we should go in America”.

“We’ve got to find a lot of young, new talent, because that’s what’s your dad would want”, Sharon added.

They also explained that Ozzfest 2027 will not operate as a travelling festival. Sharon mentioned that the idea of turning it into a tour could be explored in 2028. “See how it does, and if people want it, we’ll be there”, she said.

Sharon and Jack also spoke about the possibility of expanding the festival to India. “They just did Lollapalooza and it smashed,” Jack said. “I saw Yungblud after he got back and he said it was the craziest thing.” “He saw so many Ozzy and Sabbath T-shirts,” Sharon replied, adding that it is exciting to see the music reaching new places. “It’s great, the way that countries that didn’t recognise the music before now are all being turned on – it’s this young generation. It’s amazing, it’s incredible”.

Watch the exchange down below:

In January, Sharon shared that she had been thinking about reviving Ozzfest, noting: “It was something Ozzy was very passionate about: giving young talent a stage in front of a lot of people.”

“We really started metal festivals in this country,” she continued. “It was [replicated but] never done with the spirit of what ours was, because ours was a place for new talent. It was like summer camp for kids.”

The festival continued until 2018, when Sharon explained that the financial demands from some artists involved had become too excessive.

“We made a profit. But it was not like – we couldn’t retire on it,” she said. “And managers and agents wanted more and more and more, and it just wasn’t cost-effective anymore. We stopped because it just wasn’t cost-effective.”

She also described some of the requests she encountered from certain managers, recalling that one artist even refused to perform unless they were paid an additional $10,000.

Elsewhere, watch Robbie Williams lead an Ozzy Osbourne tribute at BRITs 2026 with ‘No More Tears’.

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