Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Event/Special
New Year's Eve Live. Counting down to the Central time zone celebration with Sara Sidner and Cari Champion. New Year's Eve 2026. Aired 1-2:05a ET
Aired January 01, 2026 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:00]
CARI CHAMPION, CNN ANCHOR: Give the Champagne through our 2026 glasses.
SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: No, the glasses won't allow that.
CHAMPION: Okay, but we are going to have.
SIDNER: But We can still clean.
CHAMPION: We're going to have a clean. We're going to count down with the crowd here. We are so grateful to go into this new year. I'm done with 2025. Aren't you ready for --
SIDNER: I mean 2025 has been a little rough.
CHAMPION: It kicked my foot. It kicked my foot. We got -- we got less than 15 seconds to get ready. We're going to let the crowd get ready with us. Quickly, I want to say I love you, friend.
SIDNER: I love you, girl.
CHAMPION: Happy New Year.
SIDNER: Here we go.
CHAMPION: Here we go.
SIDNER: The countdown.
CHAMPION: Five, four, three, two.
SIDNER: Here we go. Happy New Year. Oh, look at that. Oh, it's beautiful.
CHAMPION: I don't care what you say. It never gets old to celebrate New Year's with a crowd full of people who are happy to bring in a new year. New resolutions, new life, new beginnings.
SIDNER: New year.
CHAMPION: It's always good to start over. SIDNER: New you.
CHAMPION: New you.
SIDNER: Look at how beautiful it is. By the way, we could not have dialed up and ordered better weather. It is like, 45 degrees. You can see people are not, like, bundled up. It's beautiful. It is clear. There is not a cloud in the sky.
Austin is showing up and showing out, and that is what they're doing here. Happy New Year to all of you. Listen --
CHAMPION: Happy New Year, Sara. I want to know a quick resolution, dear friend.
SIDNER: Okay, so I do not do resolutions. However, I do have themes every year. And this year's theme last year was joy. Finding joy.
CHAMPION: Amen.
SIDNER: And I found me some.
CHAMPION: Amen.
SIDNER: It was hard, but I found it.
CHAMPION: You got it.
SIDNER: This year's theme is --
CHAMPION: Talk to me.
SIDNER: Getting strong.
CHAMPION: Get strong.
SIDNER: Get strong.
CHAMPION: To fight.
SIDNER: Whatever.
CHAMPION: To do it.
SIDNER: Whatever, just get strong.
CHAMPION: Let me hype you up. You better hype you up.
SIDNER: Mentally and physically.
CHAMPION: Let's go.
SIDNER: I'm ready to go. Okay. What's yours?
CHAMPION: Okay.
SIDNER: What are you doing? What's your resolution.
CHAMPION: Okay. My New Year's resolution is really simple. I want to be more healthy in a lot of ways. I want to be more healthy in a way where I sleep more. I enjoy my friends and family more. I tell people I love them more. I love you more. I love you more.
My thing fell off. I love you all more. We'll throw that out the way. That's what I want to do.
SIDNER: Listen, you know I'm all here for the health.
CHAMPION: I'm here for the health and the wealth.
SIDNER: Because the last two years that's been --
CHAMPION: Honey, you did it. Cheers to you.
SIDNER: -- a lot. So here we go.
CHAMPION: Happy New Year's to you.
SIDNER: Goodbye to cancer. Hello to getting strong.
CHAMPION: Amen.
SIDNER: Okay.
CHAMPION: Okay.
SIDNER: Okay.
CHAMPION: I'll do it.
SIDNER: Speaking to someone who's got a strong constitution.
CHAMPION: Oh, oh. Is it -- is it Harry?
SIDNER: Randi Kaye --
CHAMPION: What is not. Okay.
SIDNER: -- is in New Orleans. She's Been hanging out and kiss and snakes. I don't know what is going on there, but they just celebrated New Year's too, because, you know, the time zones.
CHAMPION: The time zones. Happy New Year, Randi.
SIDNER: Happy New Year, Randi. Randi, what are you doing now? Because you've been up to some crazy stuff.
CHAMPION: I think our cameraman might have been celebrating too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're live.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are live. We are celebrating New Year's here in New Orleans at the Blue Nile. This is (inaudible). You guys take it away.
CHAMPION: Okay.
SIDNER: She's up there, part of the band.
CHAMPION: Okay. Randi said, I don't care what you say about the live hit. I'm going to do my thing. I'm dancing, I'm celebrating, I'm sequencing, I'm fur.
Look at her. She doesn't even know what's happening. Go ahead with your sequence in your fur, Randi. Do it.
SIDNER: Randi's got all the things going on. She's been enjoying New Orleans.
CHAMPION: I can't see, so I have to take my glasses off. I cannot see. Okay. Okay. So that's wonderful. Happy New Year's from New Orleans. We appreciate it all.
SIDNER: I mean, if anybody knows how to celebrate --
CHAMPION: Is it not Randi?
SIDNER: New Orleans knows how to celebrate.
CHAMPION: Randi in New Orleans.
SIDNER: And Randi can celebrate anywhere she pleases. Okay, and she does it every year.
CHAMPION: You know what I -- another New Year's resolution. People don't talk about this enough. Can you fix my hair? It's in my -- it's right here in my face. Can you get it from me right here?
SIDNER: Okay.
CHAMPION: Thank you. That's what -- that's what I (inaudible). That's what we want for New Year's. We want more girl love. Thank you for that. Thank you for that. I appreciate it.
One of my resolutions is this. And this is something we should really start taking seriously.
SIDNER: All right. Let's go.
CHAMPION: We should prioritize, and I'm not kidding you, for the type of people that we are. We should prioritize making sure that we always tell the truth. And the truth is we talked over this briefly, but your last two years have been a battle.
And I am telling you, I've watched you with grace and elegance.
SIDNER: Thank you.
CHAMPION: Get over this cancer battle and show the world that you are strong, that you do have joy, that you have been able to let us be a part of that. I mean, if you watch CNN, if you follow Sara, you can enjoy that. And I'm just grateful that you allowed us to know that healing and healthy looks like this.
SIDNER: It's real. Well, here's the thing. The first year I did this here in Austin was the first time that my hair started coming out in handfuls on my pillow. The second year I was going through getting radiation. I had gone through chemo with radiation. This year I'll have nothing left --
[01:05:02]
CHAMPION: But fineness. Because you look good. Your hair is good. You slim. What you got left is being fine is what you got.
SIDNER: It is truly, I'm truly blessed and I'm truly thankful that we can sit here and have fun together.
CHAMPION: Yes.
SIDNER: That we can enjoy together.
CHAMPION: Happy new year.
SIDNER: It's good you all.
CHAMPION: It's been a lot. And I know that a lot of people have talked about what they have won and what they have lost. We talked about this privately. You know, I lost my grandmother this year a couple of months ago. And she had been my why for most of my life. And I was really sad.
But the fact of the matter is, as I go into this new year, I feel that angel in heaven sitting on my shoulders and saying, have fun, enjoy your time with Sara. I got your back. Life is great.
So another thing that I'm taking into the new year outside of just health and wellness is making sure that I tell everybody I love them. As I just said, I love you, friend.
SIDNER: I love you. Listen.
CHAMPION: We love each other.
SIDNER: Grandma raised a beautiful, smart, wonderful person.
CHAMPION: There she is.
SIDNER: There she is in all her glory.
CHAMPION: And still manning.
SIDNER: It is hard to lose somebody like that. It is hard because they hold the history of the family.
CHAMPION: They do.
SIDNER: They hold the wisdom of the family.
CHAMPION: They do.
SIDNER: Our elders hold so much for us and they held space for us and they fought for us. So I know this is hard. But look at you here, grandma, make sure of that.
CHAMPION: Yes, that's right. And anybody who's lost anyone that they love, family, friends, grandmother, good friend, they're always watching out for us. And in years like this, right now, we look ahead and we thank them for what they've done. We thank you.
SIDNER: I last wanted to hank you. I lastly want to say to the family of Ananda Lewis, we lost you this year to cancer. I love you and we are here for you and we are so proud to have known that wonderful, beautiful light of a human being.
I know her MTV family has been just praying for them. But I just losing her was really hard. And I' so thankful that I got to spend a little time with her. So I wanted to put that out there. We love you Lewis family. You know, we also love.
CHAMPION: We love Ananda. We love you, Ananda. I was always a huge fan. So thank you for bringing that story to us.
SIDNER: We love --
CHAMPION: Who else?
SIDNER: She loved to find joy. She was a joyful person and she loved to dance and she loved to sing.
CHAMPION: Okay. So we're going to -- we're going to -- are you dancing?
SIDNER: We got to do a little dance. Now, we're going to go to Shakira. Shakira.
CHAMPION: Shakira. Shakira. Shakira. Shakira. Shakira. Shakira.
SIDNER: We're ready. We're ready.
CHAMPION: We're ready. Shakira.
SIDNER: She was named Billboard's greatest female Latin artist.
CHAMPION: Greatest billboard greatest female --
SIDNER: Of all-time.
CHAMPION: -- Latin artist of all time.
SIDNER: Of all-time.
CHAMPION: Before me, from the hard rock live at Seminole hard rock hotel in casino. Excuse me, and casino. Let me get my words together. In Hollywood, Florida. Shakira, take it away.
SIDNER: Yes.
CHAMPION: Shakira. Shakira.
(SINGING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:17:03]
CHAMPION: Okay, coming up next, we got more special guests and performances. Sara said she's going to sing for us, but we will be right back with a check in with Harry (inaudible). Was counting down the mountain time zone. Happy New Year from Austin.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:21:32]
SIDNER: All right, we're back live from Austin. We are here with this great crowd. By the way, these folks here have been here all night long, and even when the fireworks ended, they were still here to hang out with us.
All right, I just met these two gentlemen. This is Dantrell and Eric. So I said that my resolution was to get straight stronger, both mentally and physically. What do you want for 2026?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For 2026, I want to find true happiness and for my music to get noticed.
SIDNER: Yes.
CHAMPION: Oh, I love it.
SIDNER: Can you sing us a little something. Should I ask? All right, give -- give us a line.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of my favorite songs to sing is Chicken Fry.
SIDNER: All right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know I love my chicken fry. Cold beer on a Friday night. Pair of jeans will fit just right, and radio.
SIDNER: Come on, give it up. I love it. Look at that. A star is born.
CHAMPION: I mean. I mean. I mean.
SIDNER: Eric, what's yours?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My goal is to create stronger bonds with my family and friends and possibly meet my biggest icon, DJ Tiesto. He's somebody I've been following for a long time. He's inspired me to do music and push forward through challenges in life. Like to say in Texas, it's not my first rodeo, it's my second. And it
feels damn good.
CHAMPION: We love it.
SIDNER: Come on. Yes.
CHAMPION: Get it out, Eric.
SIDNER: I love all the musicians.
CHAMPION: Okay, I'm working -- I'm working my way down here. On this side of the section is Jeff. He's with his girlfriend, who did not want to do it. Jeff, why'd you guys come out here tonight? We appreciate you being here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, we wanted to see the drone show and catch some live music and enjoy Austin. Hey, we love Texas.
CHAMPION: How big is Texas? Laurie, you said something. Is it Sara? Like, you watch her all the time? You came out here tonight for this particular reason. Why? What's your New Year's resolution?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just to spread more kindness and joy. And our boys, Lucas and Julian, to just be good citizens of the world. We just want to raise great children.
CHAMPION: Let's go back to the basics, you all. You're here with your husband. Mark, talk to me. I know you feel the same way. What is your New Year's resolution, friend?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to make more people laugh, even if it's myself. I just want to make sure that everybody, you have one laugh, you owe another person another laugh. So 2026 is one more laugh for everybody.
CHAMPION: Samira, I see you in the background. Come and tell us what you're feeling. Happy New Year, friend. Tell me where you're from and why'd you come out today.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm from Mexico, and we are here to celebrate.
CHAMPION: We are here to celebrate. Give it up for the new Year, everyone. We are here to -- I gave you two laughs. Give me two back. That's what Mark just said. I gave you two laughs today.
SIDNER: I got to figure out. I got to figure out how to give you a laugh. I mean, I could do crazy things, but we don't want to get two laughs.
CHAMPION: Well, you're not the only person who can sing because he was like. And I don't know if I felt like that was going to -- I don't know.
SIDNER: He was doing it.
CHAMPION: I think you might do better than Dan.
SIDNER: We tried.
CHAMPION: Okay. He -- you go. You're better than Dan.
SIDNER: Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene. Listen, me and Dantrell, we're going to go out on the road together. Eric's going to come, too.
CHAMPION: How about it, friend? How about it? I think we got something coming in. What's new? What's next?
SIDNER: What's -- what's happening? Are we -- are we going to --
CHAMPION: We're going to Harry?
SIDNER: Are we going to Harry Enten. Who's wearing the --
CHAMPION: I don't like it. I don't like it, Harry.
[01:25:00]
SIDNER: I think his outfit is pretty cute.
HARRY ENTEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What?
CHAMPION: Okay --
SIDNER: But, yes, I said it. I said it. I don't know if your mother's going to like it --
CHAMPION: Well, I hope your mom is going to --
SIDNER: But I think it's -- I think it's pretty cute.
ENTEN: My mother loves me no matter what.
SIDNER: That is true. That is true.
ENTEN: My mother loves me no matter what.
SIDNER: I bet your mother, and that is true.
ENTEN: And you know what? I've -- that is true. I've subbed out the bill set for America. It's the 250th year. I love the Buffalo Bills. I love America. The other thing that I love is we're in Prescott, Arizona, where, of course, you got Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp, and they settled a lot of things with playing cards, right? And Sara, of course, when it comes to playing cards, I had to get the dog pack right here. Okay? And so I'm going to play a game of cards against myself. And the game is pretty simple, all right?
We got the deck of cards right here. I'm going to spread them out across the table. And the deal is pretty simple. If it is black, I will drink some sarsaparilla, all right? If, on the other hand, it is red, I will go ahead and have some whiskey. All right, I'll have some whiskey. And let's pour a little bit here. There we go. A little bit less than
last time around. And so we're going to play a game to three. And let's take a look at what the first card is. The first card is. It is red. It is red. That means I'm going to have more whiskey. More than I've ever had in my entire life. Let's take a look. Cheers to you, my friends.
CHAMPION: Oh, no. Oh boy.
SIDNER: Cheers to us. I'm concerned.
CHAMPION: I'm concerned.
SIDNER: I'm concerned, Harry.
ENTEN: That's one down.
SIDNER: I've never seen you have one drink. Oh, my word.
ENTEN: That's one drink.
CHAMPION: Harry doesn't need anything.
ENTEN: All right, all right. Black. Black. Sarsaparilla. I think this will go down easier. Here we go. Cheers to 2026.
CHAMPION: Sarsaparilla.
ENTEN: Tastes like root beer, baby.
SIDNER: Harry, are you all right?
CHAMPION: Okay.
ENTEN: I am doing.
CHAMPION: We should check right back in.
SIDNER: Oh yes, you are.
ENTEN: Hold on. And the last one here, that's red.
CHAMPION: Last but not least.
ENTEN: Here we go. Whiskey for the win. There we go.
CHAMPION: Whiskey for the win or not.
ENTEN: 2026. And let me just say --
SIDNER: Happy New Year, Harry.
CHAMPION: Happy New Year, Harry.
ENTEN: -- as I go out, my dear friends, a little bit of this. Here we go. SIDNER: Harry, I don't.
CHAMPION: We love you Harry.
SIDNER: You know what? He does not need alcohol to act the way he does.
CHAMPION: I know. I know.
SIDNER: But with alcohol, I'm actually thinking to a new level.
ENTEN: A new level, baby.
CHAMPION: Is there such a thing.
SIDNER: We love you.
CHAMPION: Is there such a thing for Harry to be on a new level? All right, we got to move on with the show. We want to say Happy New Year to you, folks. Thank you so much.
SIDNER: Happy New Year, Austin.
CHAMPION: We love you dearly. And as we say Happy New Year again here in Austin, I have a question. Trivia for Sara. Who's your favorite English indie rock band?
SIDNER: Florence and the Machine. Hello.
CHAMPION: And why is that?
SIDNER: Partly because we about to see them.
CHAMPION: That's correct. Florence in the Machine kicking it off right now with one of our favorite songs, Sympathy Magic. Take it away. Or do you want to?
(MUSIC)
[01:32:22]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SIDNER: We are back here in Austin, Texas where we have just --
CHAMPION: Welcome back.
SIDNER: -- finished celebrating with everybody here.
CHAMPION: Yes.
SIDNER: Because 2026 is here.
CHAMPION: Yes. We've got a few people who are standing by waiting for us.
SIDNER: We do. We do.
CHAMPION: But before we get to you all -- we'll get to you guys soon.
SIDNER: We're going to Elex Michaelson. We're so happy to see you and have you part of the CNN family. You're in Pasadena, where oddly, it's been raining, which is just -- hasn't happened in, what, 20 years. But you're there for the most wonderful purpose --
(CROSSTALKING)
CHAMPION: The Rose Parade, our favorite.
I was telling -- I literally told Sara, two seconds, I grew up in Pasadena. I used to do this every year when I was a kid. It was such a routine and a tradition.
So tell me all about what you're seeing.
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, well, you mentioned the rain. It rained 20 years ago, but in the last 70 years, it hasn't. It only rained once 20 years ago. So this will be the second time that it's rained.
But that's not stopping the excitement. Who's excited? Who's ready? Who's feeling good to say Happy New Year.
We got a nice crowd that's out here despite the rain. Checking out the floats. The floats are just arriving. This one here is from south Pasadena, which is a self-built float. They've been building floats since 1893 in south Pasadena.
You've got this bear, and these ants are stealing the bear's food. It takes 70 hours per ant just to put the beads on there. A lot of work, a lot of love is going into this.
And this is so cool. You mentioned, Cari, that you got to see this as a kid. Other kids from Pasadena, Ella here is eight years old. First time you've seen these floats, what do you think?
ELLA, 8-YEAR-OLD: I think these floats are amazing and I've never seen anything this well, cool. I mean --
MICHAELSON: I love it.
Well, very nice. You've been coming out many years. How about this rain this time?
CHAMPION: Oh, I love the rain in Los Angeles. Oh, this is the place to be on New Year's Eve.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
CHAMPION: To see -- to get up close, to see the floats. Because it's once in a lifetime.
MICHAELSON: Yes. It's not stopping your excitement. And speaking of once in a lifetime, our friends over here from Indiana who traveled because the Hoosiers are playing in the Rose, the Rose Bowl game.
What's it like for you to be a part of all this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very exciting. It's very exciting.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All the work that the volunteers put in, it's just amazing. So this is a bonus.
MICHAELSON: Yes. Your L.A. experience is in the rain. But that's ok.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got to enjoy it. Yes.
MICHAELSON: And you're having a great time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I rode on the Wells Fargo stagecoach in 2006.
MICHAELSON: How about that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 20 years ago.
MICHAELSON: In the rain.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In the rain.
MICHAELSON: The last time it rained.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And my husband said it was 20 years ago, I said, no, it's 20 years ago.
MICHAELSON: Ok, well it's -- so its ok. Still goes forward, right.
And the -- so the cool thing Sara and Cari is for the first time ever in the 137 years of the Rose Parade, CNN is broadcasting it live.
So we're going to be doing that tomorrow from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. here on the West; 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on the East.
I'm going to be doing it as the co-host, along with Coy Wire. And we're so excited to bring this programming to CNN for the very first time --
SIDNER: That's good.
MICHAELSON: -- as we highlight all the good stuff on the West Coast.
SIDNER: And as a gift to you, there's some rain in southern California.
CHAMPION: There's some rain.
SIDNER: Tony, Tony, Tony was not correct.
It rains in southern California.
CHAMPION: I can't sing, she can. So great.
Elex, it's such a pleasure to have you here, especially in my hometown.
SIDNER: We love you.
CHAMPION: You did a great job. And tell everyone the rain is good, ok? It's good for us.
SIDNER: It is. It is. It's hard to take, though, when you're trying to do a parade.
MICHAELSON: The rain is good for us, right.
SIDNER: Yes, it is.
Elex, thank you so much to you and the crowd that hung out with you. I know you got an hour and a half until you guys celebrate New Year's.
CHAMPION: They're never even bringing it in.
SIDNER: There is a special celebration happening right here in all of this.
CHAMPION: I want to point this out. People forget that the new year means so much in so many people. We sometimes maybe take it for granted because we're working and we don't appreciate it, but we bump into the crowd and were talking to everyone here and we find -- we find a couple all the way from Bolivia that just got engaged moments ago.
This is the sister who set it up for her sister. Tell me your name and where you're from.
[01:39:47]
ANDREA, AUSTIN RESIDENT: I'm Andrea. I'm actually. I'm originally from Bolivia, but I've been living in Austin for about 15 years now.
CHAMPION: So when did you get the call and when did you -- when did you -- let's bring this couple forward. When did you get the call and know that you had to help out? This is the happy family.
ANDREA: Yes, I got the call over Thanksgiving break. He called me. They live in Bolivia. He's actually from Argentina, but he moved to Bolivia about a year ago.
So they met and they've been dating for about a year. So he called me over the Thanksgiving break and he said he wanted to pop the question because they had a trip planned over here to spend the holidays. And he said, I want to do it.
So he said, when is the best time to do it? How do I do it? And I said, hey, I think I have a plan. So we decided to come here. I planned the outing out here and then, yes, we just did it during the fireworks and it was just beautiful. CHAMPION: Oh, and you said yes. Congratulations
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you very much.
SIDNER: Can you -- can you show everyone the ring?
Oh. Were you surprised?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm really surprised. I'm grateful. I'm surprised.
SIDNER: Great job on your part. Contacting sis here. You made it a beautiful day for -- no you'll never forget. Oh, she's crying. Oh, my God.
CHAMPION: Love is in the air. See, this is what it's about. Congratulations. It is so wonderful to feel loved and be loved. You're going into the New Year. Do you have any resolutions you want to make with your fiance?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, make my family happy. My daughter, my future husband. Make us -- make them happy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love you so much. It's my next wife.
My next --
CHAMPION: Your only wife.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's the translation?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I need translation.
CHAMPION: Congratulations. Happy New Year. Give it up for them, you guys. It's so wonderful. Congratulations. You're a good sister.
CHAMPION: There you go, smarty pants.
SIDNER: I mean (INAUDIBLE)
CHAMPION: (INAUDIBLE) Ok. Si.
SIDNER: All right. We are going now to have a performance. I love him like it reminds me of my childhood.
Bryan Adams has got a new album out called "Roll with the Punches". Listen to a little bit of it.
BRYAN ADAMS, SINGER: Thank you.
[01:42:22]
(MUSIC)
[01:46:37]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SIDNER: She's voguing. She's going. She's doing it. Why is she doing that?
Weve got some incredible dancers. The UT Dance Team, the University of Texas Dance Team. Their number one fan is behind us there.
CHAMPION: Their number one, number one.
SIDNER: That would be Dantrell. I know who he is.
CHAMPION: Well, the challenge was for us to learn the dance, but we saw that it was far too complicated. These ladies are far more talented than we are, so.
SIDNER: We didn't want to ruin it.
CHAMPION: Right. Without further ado, shall we get out of the way?
SIDNER: Yes, ma'am.
CHAMPION: Take it away, ladies.
SIDNER: Ladies.
(MUSIC)
SIDNER: There it is.
CHAMPION: Congratulations, ladies. You guys looked amazing.
Sara, we weren't able to really do the dance, but we like -- ok, so give us a little something before we go that that we can do.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Then swing behind.
CHAMPION: One more time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ok.
SIDNER: Thanks and with that, my hip just broke. But anyway --
CHAMPION: Thank you so much for being here, our second year in a row. You guys were amazing and beautiful spirits.
Good luck with everything.
SIDNER: We do appreciate you all.
CHAMPION: Thank you.
SIDNER: All right.
CHAMPION: What's next?
SIDNER: We've got a great performance. CHAMPION: Ok.
SIDNER: I love me some Vince Gill. He's at the Grand Ole Opry, its 100th year. Long time Opry member Vince Gill's joining us from the Opry stage in Nashville.
He's singing "I Gave You Everything". I gave you everything I had, ok.
That's all I've got.
CHAMPION: I don't have nothing else.
SIDNER: Here's Vince Gill.
(MUSIC)
[01:54:50]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SIDNER: We are back here live in Austin, Texas. This crowd is not playing. They're planning to party until the very last --
CHAMPION: Forever. Look at our ladies. They've transitioned.
SIDNER: We've got our UT dancers and we've got all of our fans and friends back here. They're just having a good old time. You know who we have to go back to?
(CROSSTALKING)
CHAMPION: Because he's having the best time.
SIDNER: The craziest outfit --
CHAMPION: That too.
SIDNER: -- of all of 2026?
Harry Enten is in Prescott, Arizona. Are you still drinking, Harry? Because I will come rescue you if you are.
CHAMPION: If you want one --
SIDNER: Yes, please.
[01:59:45]
HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: I am not drinking anymore.
But I am feeling the effects and I'm here at my dear friend Marco. And we got tens of thousands of people here. And I want to give you an idea of how big this crowd is.
Marco, can we tell you -- can you tell me how big this crowd is right now? Marco, my dear friend, we're going to go here right now. This is how big this crowd is. It is tens of thousands of people, my
goodness gracious. We are all out of control. Alright, we're ready -
SIDNER: We can tell.
ENTEN: 8 - 7- 6- 5- 4 -3- 2- 1
CROWD: HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
ENTEN: We did it baby. Yeah. Yeah.
SIDNER: Harry.
ENTEN: I love ya baby. Mom I love ya. I love ya'll. God Bless America.
SIDNER: OK, so Harry has officially lost his mind.
ENTEN: I love you Prescott Arizona. Here we go.
CHAMPION: He loves Prescott, Arizona. He is a hoot. He is a -
SIDNER: That alcohol has hit all the blood streams. It's in every blood stream you got my friend.
ENTEN: Yes, it's in the blood stream baby!
SIDNER: I love it.
ENTEN: I feel it! I love you Sara, I love you Cari. I'll see you back in New York.
CHAMPION: We love you Harry, we love you.
ENTEN: Love ya baby!
SIDNER: You know what, I kind of like this Harry too though.
CHAMPION: We love you Harry. (CHEERING)
SIDNER: There goes the fireworks. Harry, you wind him up, and he keeps going like the energizer bunny.
CHAMPION: He is an energizer bunny. This is normal, that is normal.
SIDNER: That is normal but this is extra. He's got a little extra with a little alcohol kick.
CHAMPION: It made it, it made it.
SIDNER: Yeah, yeah.
CHAMPION: They want to party with you here Harry, you hear em'?
SIDNER: The crowd in Austin wants to party with you Harry, because they can see - go Harry, go Harry.
(CHEERING)
SIDNER: It is incredible, it's incredible -
CHAMPION: He's going to love us for ever. I want to tell you this is our third year in a row, I want to do this every year with you. I have nothing but fun. Austin we love you so very much.
SIDNER: You guys are great.
CHAMPION: Thank you for staying with us. We found a few singers in the crowed.
SIDNER: (Inaudible)
CHAMPION: I don't know.
SIDNER: He's back there.
CHAMPION: He's still there? OK!
SIDNER: He wants to party with Harry.
CHAMPION: He wants to party with Harry.
SIDNER: He wants to go and have drinks and do the thing. But I don't want to say, look, this has been an incredibly trying year, but incredibly beautiful year.
CHAMPION: That's right.
SIDNER: 2026 is here. It's here.
CHAMPION: It's here. We're done with 2025.
SIDNER: We're done with 2025. It's out the door.
CHAMPION: I know you all feel that way, we are done with 2025, we're bringing in 2026, we are celebrating nothing but strength, joy, love, happiness, friends, family.
SIDNER: All of it, all of it.
CHAMPION: Fortune.
SIDNER: And you know what, we're going to leave you with Robyn, Calling Your Girlfriend, excuse you.
CHAMPION: Happy New Year.
(CROWD CHEERING)
(MUSIC - ROBYN)
[02:05:03
(MUSIC - ROBYN)
