Cruz To Perform 'Imagine' During New Year's Celebration

NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- The always entertaining Times Square New Year's Eve celebration will include a very special musical treat this year.

Multi-platinum recording artist Taio Cruz will perform live. Cruz will sing his own hit, "Falling in Love," as well as one of John Lennon's – "Imagine."

Cruz said he was excited to perform, but was a little apprehensive about singing his own version of "Imagine," 1010 WINS' Kathleen Maloney reported.

1010 WINS Reporter Kathleen Maloney with the musical star on his upcoming performance.

"I'm not going to be as good as John Lennon, but I'll try," Cruz told reporters Friday, "I'm also beyond honored to be performing such an incredibly iconic song."

The performance will also be available on iTunes, with proceeds going to charity, WCBS 880's Paul Murnane reported.

WCBS 880 Reporter Paul Murnane on the party being put together for New Year's Eve in Times Square.

Jeff Straus of Countdown Entertainment has been working on the show all year and said revelers were in for a treat.

"I'm ready to party and we're going to have a great time," Straus said.

Tim Tompkins of the Times Square Alliance said the performance is just another step in the evolving New Year's celebration story.

"I know in the old days the Times Square New Year's Eve celebration was so raucous that we actually weren't allowed to play any music even on the sound system because there was concerns about the crowd getting out of control," Tompkins told Murnane.

The six and a half hour show will also be once again streamed live on the web for over 190 countries to see.