rockettes

Joy to Beliebers and their grandparents: The original pop star, Tony Bennett, will be showing Justin Bieber how it's done when they both perform at NBC's annual live Christmas tree-lighting ceremony, 'Christmas in Rockefeller Center' later this month.

The roster of big name performers announced by the network spans not only generations, but also genres, with singers Michael Bublé, Cee Lo Green, Faith Hill, Carole King, Katharine McPhee and 'The Voice' winner Javier Colon performing a mix of current hits and holiday classics.

NBC announced that the hour-long special on November 30 will be hosted by the 'Today Show's Al Roker and Savannah Guthrie and will -- natch -- also feature seasonal high-kickers, The Radio City Rockettes. Prior to the primetime telecast, WNBC and other NBC affiliates (check your local listings) will also air an additional live hour of the special.

Despite less-than-perfect weather and a threatened labor strike, last night's 'Christmas in Rockefeller Center' went off without a hitch and featured the 77th annual lighting of New York's iconic Rockefeller Christmas tree, as well as performances by Aretha Franklin, Barry Manilow, Shakira, Michael Buble and the Rockettes, among others.

Co-hosted by Jane Krakowski of '30 Rock' and Zachary Levi of 'Chuck,' the special culminated in the lighting of this year's tree, which stands at a towering 76 feet high and is adorned with more than 25,000 multicolored bulbs. Watch our clip for a sample of the performance by the Rockettes, a peek at Shakira's rendition of 'Santa Baby' and a look at the tree lighting itself.

Watch the video after the jump.

Who knew that after retiring from 60 Minutes that Don Hewitt, the show's legendary executive producer, would focus his passions on the Rockettes? Apparently he's had fond memories of the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall, and he and NBC have decided to bring it to TV this holiday season, according to Jacques Steinberg of The New York Times.

Steinberg tells the story of how Hewitt contacted Charles Dolan, chairman of Radio City Productions' parent company, Cablevision. He then called up NBC Universal president Jeff Zucker when his old network CBS, passed on the idea.