Carey to Play Times Square on New Year's Eve

NEW YORK – Mariah Carey will perform live from Times Square on ABC's Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve.

It will mark the first time in the 34-year history of the year-end special that a singer has performed from Times Square, the network said.

Carey will join co-hosts Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest as the final minutes of 2005 are counted down and the famed ball drop begins.

The 76-year-old Clark, long a New Year's Eve tradition, will be making his first television appearance since suffering a stroke last December.

Hilary Duff will host the West Coast portions of the show, introducing artists including The Bangles, Chris Brown, Sean Paul, The Pussycat Dolls, Sugarland, 3 Doors Down and 311. Duff will also perform.