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CNN Live Event/Special
New Year's Eve Events from Abu Dhabi; CNN goes to Harbin for Celebrations; Marc Tuan is Interviewed about His Music. Aired 8:30-9a ET
Aired December 31, 2025 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:30:00]
TAYME THAPTHIMTHONG, ACTOR, "THE WHITE LOTUS": Always been a language that I, you know, like it -- especially when I -- if I have to do a script in Thai (ph), it's something that's quite challenging for me.
So, she definitely helped rearrange some words, change some words around and say, you know, like, try this, try that, it might sound more natural to you.
So, yes, she really helped me out a lot with the script, yes.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN ANCHOR: Amazing. It's brilliant. Bravo to you.
THAPTHIMTHONG: Yes.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: Tayme, bravo to you. You've had an incredible 2025.
THAPTHIMTHONG: Thank you.
STOUT: You're going to have an awesome 2026. I know you've got that big project with Amazon lined up. Congratulations.
THAPTHIMTHONG: Thank you very much.
STOUT: We're going to have to leave it there.
THAPTHIMTHONG: Yes.
STOUT: But Happy New Year. Tayme Thapthimthong, thank you so much for joining us here on CNN.
THAPTHIMTHONG: Thank you.
STOUT: And take care.
RIPLEY: Amazing. I'm starstruck.
THAPTHIMTHONG: Thank you, guys.
STOUT: I know. He's fantastic.
RIPLEY: I mean, I loved him on "White Lotus."
Happy New Year.
STOUT: Yes, I'm definitely going to be following his career very, very, very closely.
We're going to take a quick break now, but we've got quite the show. More to come when we come back.
RIPLEY: That's right. We're going to head to the UAE. Becky and John are standing by. They've been ramping up the adrenaline. They were on the world's fastest roller coaster. Now they're going to take us to the dunes. Is that right, guys?
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: That's right, we're going to take you out to the Empty Quarter area of the UAE.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, empty, except for those giant dunes you were just talking about. And what are we going to do to them?
ANDERSON: We're going to bash them.
BERMAN: We're going to bash them. Come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:35:16]
STOUT: Welcome back. You're watching CNN NEW YEAR'S EVE LIVE.
We are ringing in the new year across Asia, but the party is starting here with a pop star. We got Marc Tuan joining us of Got7 and a solo star in his own right.
MARC TUAN, MEMBER, GOT7: Thank you. Thank you.
STOUT: Marc, so nice to meet you.
TUAN: Nice to meet you guys.
RIPLEY: We're going to talk about "Sunsets and Cigarettes" soon, which is a great, great song, by the way.
TUAN: Thank you so much.
RIPLEY: And all the other things.
STOUT: Can we talk -- can we also talk about the cheers and the screams?
RIPLEY: Oh, yes.
STOUT: Turn around. Wave to your fans.
RIPLEY: Yes.
STOUT: See. He is adored. This man is adored.
RIPLEY: We initially -- we wanted to -- we wanted to talk with him closer to the -- we were afraid people might grab him, you know, so we have to keep him safely on stage.
STOUT: Let's remember -- do it one more time. Give them some sugar. Give them some sugar.
TUAN: Hi, guys.
STOUT: Marc Tuan, ladies and gentlemen.
RIPLEY: So --
STOUT: We're going to be talking to him soon. We're going to have a more in-depth conversation about your solo career --
RIPLEY: Yes.
TUAN: Yes.
STOUT: About your K-pop career. About gaming. About your design and everything else.
TUAN: OK. Let's do it.
RIPLEY: But first, let's go back to John and Becky. They are bashing sand dunes, whatever that means.
STOUT: Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: You need a coffee?
BERMAN: I could use a coffee.
ANDERSON: It's an art form, isn't it?
BERMAN: This is better than instant.
ANDERSON: Yes.
Nobody wants Nescafe when you come to Liwa Festival. And see, if you're going to grind now, huh? Go on, John, have a go.
BERMAN: Got to save every bean.
ANDERSON: It's done. Goes into the pot and that water is --
BERMAN: Hot.
ANDERSON: So, this is the filter made from palm. Wow.
BERMAN: Ooh.
ANDERSON: Wow, look at that. Look at the color of that.
BERMAN: Thank you
ANDERSON: Thank you.
BERMAN: Delicious.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Will you join us back at the Yas Marina racetrack, the circuit here, which is home, of course, to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. And more from here later.
But 24 hours ago, we were at the Liwa International Festival, of course.
BERMAN: It's about three hours from here in the middle of the desert.
ANDERSON: Yes.
BERMAN: A beautiful place. You may all know it from the film "Dune." It's where they filmed a lot of the "Dune" movies there. It's really something to see.
ANDERSON: And the Liwa International Festival is an annual event where they celebrate Emirati culture and heritage. It's wonderful. We got to enjoy the preparation of that Arabic coffee, gahwa in Emirati Arabic dialect. And that's a symbol of generosity. Really, really important to the Arabic culture.
BERMAN: And what you taught me was that it's about the process. I mean the coffee was delicious. Don't get me wrong. It was delicious.
ANDERSON: Yes.
BERMAN: I had many, many cups. But you enjoy it that much more when you see what goes into it and you have to slow down to take the moment to be part of it.
ANDERSON: And that's a Bedouin tradition. You get an awful lot of tradition out at the Liwa International Festival, out in the majesty and vastness of the open quarter, which is part of the UAE desert, right out, as you say, three hours or so from here.
Not only do you get a bit of culture and heritage, you also get --
BERMAN: Adrenaline. And a whole lot of it because there, in the middle of that desert is a feature, let's call it, called Tel Moreeb, which is a giant dune, like giant dune.
ANDERSON: We're talking about 1,000 feet or 300 meters.
BERMAN: And what does Tel Moreeb mean in Arabic?
ANDERSON: It means terrifying. And let me tell you --
BERMAN: And just look at what we did to it.
ANDERSON: It was.
BERMAN: Look at what we did to it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to the highest dunes in the world, 300 meters.
ANDERSON: You're going to give us a security briefing. What could possibly go wrong?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put your helmets. Don't put your hands out. And be brave. That's it.
ANDERSON: In it to win it. You there?
BERMAN: Makes me feel young.
ANDERSON: One more time.
I love it.
John, welcome to Abu Dhabi.
BERMAN: I feel very welcome. I feel very welcome. Oh, my God.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[08:40:00]
BERMAN: So, I mean genuinely, like a top two or three thrilling things I've ever done in my entire life. And I've gotten to do a few of them with you here over the last few days.
ANDERSON: Adrenaline-filled motorsports. When we talk about the sort of juxtaposition of this sort of traditional Emirati culture and heritage. Also, of course, they love a bit of adrenaline out here. And what you get on those dunes, that's a 50 degree incline, let me tell you. And what you get is not just what John and I did, which is a bit of bashing, but these guys in sort of SUVs drifting. There's a race and they drift at night up those dunes. And when I say drift, it's not like, you know, regular sort of drifting around. This is up this dune for 1,000 feet. And it's a race to the top. It is amazing. Drone shows, fireworks. The place is unbelievable.
BERMAN: It is incredible to see. Thank you so much for being there and sharing it with me, because every time I look over, your eyes are getting wider and wider and wider.
Much more to come on CNN's special New Year's Eve coverage.
ANDERSON: See you shortly.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [08:45:06]
RIPLEY: He's here. Are you guys excited? Are you excited to see Marc?
STOUT: Yes, you are. Woo!
RIPLEY: Marc Twain. Just minutes away we're going to be interviewing him. We're standing here at a place we hope people will join us at our special selfie spot.
STOUT: This is indeed the CNN photo frame. And I got to meet a reveler tonight.
Hey, Oat (ph), Happy New Year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, Happy New Year.
RIPLEY: You excited to see Marc?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
STOUT: Oat (ph) is excited to see Marc. The entire audience here is excited to see Marc as well. And we're going to take photos here. And the CNN New Year's Eve live photo frame throughout the evening.
But do you know someone else is standing by for us?
RIPLEY: Mike Valerio, freezing his whatever off.
STOUT: In the icy wonderland of Harbin. Let's go straight to Mike.
How you doing? You still got that red panda hat on, my dear?
MIKE VALERIO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, no, no, Kristie and Will, we've made a costume change to capybara with an apple on its head and a little tear, because we are now -- it's a little hard to see this bear thermometer, but, oh, my God, we're closing in on negative 30 Celsius, which is negative teens in the Fahrenheit.
But we're all stoked, right? Woo! Woo!. We are in one of the ice tunnels of the Harbin Winter Festival. Oh my gosh, I'm being consumed by the capybara. This is the biggest winter festival in the world right here. So, you see this beautiful ice tunnel right here. Chinese and Russian architecture melding together. All of this made of giant ice blocks that are about a yard or a meter wide that are harvested from the nearby river just a couple of kilometers away from where we're standing.
So, millions of people expected to descend upon the Harbin Ice Festival in the next couple days. Guys, we are closer to Vladivostok in Russia than we are to my home in Beijing. So, the Siberian air hitting us in the face. But we're OK. Just incredible, incredible feats of ice engineering right here. The stunning displays of everybody taking selfies and having a good time, even though, oh, my God, this is the coldest I've ever been in my life. I mean, Jesus Christ, it's so -- we'll check back in with you later.
But we're having fun. We're going to have like a drone show. It is amazing here in Harbin, China.
Will and Kristie, back to you.
STOUT: Mike, we are feeling the bracing Siberian air along with you. We love your headgear. We love the energy there in Harbin. Mike Valerio joining us live from Harbin ice snow world in China. Thank you so much.
RIPLEY: Godspeed, Mike Valerio. Get some hot cocoa or something. As long as you don't spike it.
So, we're coming to you live from Iconsiam here in Bangkok. There are thousands of people here, and they're here to see who? Who do you guys want to see?
STOUT: Marc Tuan. They are here to see this guy.
RIPLEY: Marc, Marc, turn around so they -- so they cheer for a second.
STOUT: Give a wave. There we go.
RIPLEY: There we go. Yes. OK,
STOUT: Hey, guys, say hello to Marc.
RIPLEY: See, they don't do anything when I turn to them. But when Marc turns, they go crazy.
STOUT: Our next guest is Marc Tuan. He's a singer, rapper, member of the K-pop group Got7.
Happy New Year, Marc. And thank you so much for joining us.
TUAN: Happy New Year's. Happy New Year's. Thank you for having me here.
RIPLEY: And the headliner here.
STOUT: Yes.
TUAN: Yes.
RIPLEY: Amazing.
TUAN: I'm excited.
STOUT: You have thousands of fans here that are here to see you and listen to you. You got a new album out.
TUAN: That's crazy. Yes.
STOUT: This is your solo album.
TUAN: Yes.
STOUT: It's called "Silhouette."
TUAN: Yes.
STOUT: Are you singing from 'Silhouette" tonight?
TUAN: Yes. I have a few songs off "Silhouette."
I think I'm actually performing all of the songs off "Silhouette."
STOUT: Fantastic.
RIPLEY: It's an EP, right?
TUAN: It's an EP.
RIPLEY: Yes. Yes. And you've had like 10 million views in a month for "Sunsets and Cigarettes."
TUAN: "Sunsets," yes.
RIPLEY: Which I love the comparison to an old flame. You know, you think about it all the time. You think about a sunset, you think about -- I know I think about cigarettes. I used to smoke.
STOUT: But also the wordplay too.
RIPLEY: Yes, it's great.
STOUT: Silhouette, cigarette, sunsets. It's really nice. You're wordsmith.
TUAN: Yes.
RIPLEY: Yes.
TUAN: There's a lot -- there's a lot of "s's" going on there.
RIPLEY: Yes.
STOUT: And you're also a member of the K-pop superman Got7.
TUAN: Yes, Got7.
STOUT: There was a mini album that released, what, earlier this year in 2025.
TUAN: Yes.
STOUT: And you guys went on tour, right?
TUAN: Yes. Yes. Well, it was like a few shows. We had a few shows in Korea. And then we also did a few shows in Thailand.
STOUT: Yes. TUAN: So --
STOUT: No, that's fantastic.
RIPLEY: When you're writing your songs, do you think of the lyrics first? Do you hear a melody that inspires you? Like, kind of, how do you come up with the idea?
TUAN: For me, it's easier to have the melody there and then we write to it. I think once I hear the melody, if I hear the instruments, I can think of like concepts easier.
STOUT: Yes.
TUAN: And then that's when the lyrics start coming.
RIPLEY: The sound of your new stuff is really -- it's really good.
TUAN: Thank you so much.
STOUT: This is the thing, Marc. Like, you're a singer. You're a rapper. You're a pop star. You're an executive producer. And you're also a designer. You have your own streetwear label, right?
TUAN: Yes. Well, I try to design some like of my merch when I can. I really just like being creative.
STOUT: Yes.
TUAN: And so being able to do that and giving the fans that, I think it's just really cool.
RIPLEY: Do you think you might get into acting at some point?
TUAN: I've been telling them I really want to.
RIPLEY: Yes.
TUAN: But I've just been really trying to focus on my music right now.
STOUT: Yes. Yes. OK, what are your goals for next year, 2026?
TUAN: I mean, it's definitely to just put out more music for the fans and continue to just grow my career and grow as an artist.
STOUT: Yes.
RIPLEY: I know that you were discovered as a sophomore in high school standing on the lunch table.
[08:50:00]
TUAN: You know everything.
RIPLEY: I know, I did my homework. But I'm wondering, OK, like if this was a different timeline and that hadn't happened, what do you think you'd be doing if you weren't doing this?
TUAN: That's -- I've always thought about it, you know, but I think I would definitely be doing something handy. I love to figure things out and, like, create things with my hand. So, maybe, I don't know what I would do but something with my hands.
RIPLEY: Yes. You found --
STOUT: Marc, keep creating. Keep creating with your words, with your thoughts, with your hands. And also, can you give your fans some love? Give them some love.
TUAN: Yes.
RIPLEY: Guys.
STOUT: There we go. Say hello to Marc, guys. See, you got some like finger hearts out there.
RIPLEY: I wish we could have like a whole half hour with you or an hour, like, to talk but I know you're really busy and you got to get going. So, we thank you for being so gracious.
TUAN: Crazy, crazy schedule.
STOUT: Good luck with the show tonight.
TUAN: Thank you. Thank you.
STOUT: Thank you so much and Happy New Year.
TUAN: Happy New Year's. Happy New Year's, everybody.
STOUT: We have so many special performances tonight. Marc's going to be in the kingdom tonight performing here.
RIPLEY: Yes.
STOUT: But also we have --
RIPLEY: A special performance.
STOUT: That's right.
RIPLEY: From Radio City Music Hall. Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, together.
STOUT: They are the stars of "Song Sung Blue." And here they are performing Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" from the performance at Radio City Music Hall.
(Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson singing "Sweet Caroline")
RIPLEY: That's how you do it.
STOUT: I love my self from Neil Diamond. That was fantastic. RIPLEY: Absolutely.
STOUT: I love that rendition.
Look, 2026 is well and truly underway in Australia. But for the rest of the world, the party is yet to come.
RIPLEY: And we are kicking up the energy here on CNN as we take you around the world for the best, the brightest, the fireworks, plus John Berman and Becky Anderson racing around Abu Dhabi's Formula One course.
Stick around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:59:01]
STOUT: The party is happening right here. Welcome back to our viewers from all around the world as we welcome in a new year. I'm Kristie Lu Stout coming to you from Iconsiam in Bangkok, Thailand.
RIPLEY: And I'm Will Ripley. Welcome. We're gearing up to ring in the new year in just a few hours here in Bangkok. And we have teams helping us to bring in 2026, and they are standing by all across the globe.
Becky Anderson, John Berman are in Abu Dhabi. Hanako Montgomery is in Tokyo. They are just an hour out from the new year there.
STOUT: And Bijan Hosseini is in Hong Kong for us tonight. This is the show of force. We got our pals, we got our friends all around the world to bring on the party.
And we're about to head back to the UAE for the next exciting chapter of the great New Year's Eve challenge, Abu Dhabi edition.
RIPLEY: Yes.
STOUT: And it's going to be hard for Becky Anderson. It's going to be hard for John Berman to top this thrill-seeking moment that we witnessed just a couple of hours ago.
[08:59:59]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Woo!
ANDERSON: Oh, my God!
BERMAN: Happy New Year!
ANDERSON: Can we get off!
