Diana Ross left some of her fans in shock upon finding out that she is 81 as she led the energetic performances at Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve on Wednesday night.
Many of her loyal fans were surprised after finding out the music legend is in her 80s as they praised her for her powerful and commanding stage presence and vocal prowess.
Some viewers watching the live taping of annual New Year’s event took to social media to applaud her and highlighted her decades-spanning, award-winning singing career.
For the special occasion, Ross — who first rose to fame as the lead singer of The Supremes at just age 17 in the 1960s — dazzled the crowd in a glamorous gown covered in red sequins.
She paired the sparkling, off-the-shoulder dress with a floor-length, fur coat to complete her monochromatic, crimson-colored ensemble.
Alongside her fellow members, she went on to earn the name, the Queen of Motown and took The Supremes to new heights, ultimately becoming one of the world’s best-selling girl groups of all time.
Diana Ross left some of her fans in shock upon finding out that she is 81 as she led the energetic performances at Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve on Wednesday night
For the special occasion, Ross — who first rose to fame as the lead singer of The Supremes at just age 17 in the 1960s — dazzled the crowd in a glamorous gown covered in red sequins
Ross headlined the stunning soirée packed with starry performances.
Just before the arrival of 2026, she took the main stage in Times Square with a group of tuxedo-clad backup dancers beside her.
She performed the famous hits: The Boss, Upside Down and closed out her set with Ain’t No Mountain High Enough and Take Me Higher.
At one point, she told the excited crowd while singing: ‘I’m so grateful for all the blessings in my life.’
The Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve lineup also included Mariah Carey, KPop Demon Hunters singers, Pitbull, Post Malone, Chappell Roan and many others.
Busta Rhymes, 50 Cent, Maren Morris and Rick Springfield also delivered exciting performances prior to the countdown.
Ryan Seacrest co-hosted the ABC live taping alongside Rita Ora from New York City.
Chance the Rapper hosted the inaugural Central time zone countdown in Chicago.
Dancing with the Stars’ Julianne Hough and Rob Gronkowski co-hosted from Las Vegas and Roselyn Sánchez hosted from Puerto Rico.
She paired the sparkling, off-the-shoulder dress with a floor-length, fur coat to complete her monochromatic, crimson-colored ensemble
She rocked her natural hair and accentuated her natural beauty with a sultry, smoky eye paired with rosy red lips
Just before the arrival of 2026, she took the main stage in Times Square with a group of tuxedo-clad backup dancers beside her
She performed the famous hits: The Boss, Upside Down and closed out her set with Ain’t No Mountain High Enough and Take Me Higher
One fan took to X, formerly Twitter, to share a screenshot of Ross performing and wrote in a tweet: ‘How the hell is Diana Ross 81 years old!?!?!?’
‘Diana Ross is looking d*** good to be 81,’ another person tweeted as a slew of other fans chimed in.
Many other fans concurred, with another social media user writing on X: ‘Diana Ross is 81?!? Looks great for 81.’
‘No way Diana Ross is 81,’ another fan tweeted. ‘She looks like she’s 50.’
One person tweeted a GIF of a kid wearing a giving his respects with his aptly designed baseball cap. ‘Diana Ross rocking in the New Year at 81 years young,’ they tweeted.
Another fan added that the singer ‘is still hot AF.’
‘Darn… Diana Ross looks and sounds great! She’s 81 years old,’ one social media user tweeted.
One fan tweeted a throwback photo of Ross and praised her for her ‘amazing’ performance.
Ross headlined the stunning soirée, which was packed with starry performances from the likes of the singing voices of HUNTR/X, Rei Ami, EJAE and Audrey Nuna
The trio performed the hit song EJAE wrote for KPop Demon Hunters — Golden
The trio coordinated in all-black, matching outfits and mixed together their edgy style with cute, sparkling details as they helped ring in the new year
Maren Morris also showed off her sparkle factor as she took the stage in a shimmering, silver minidress paired with fishnet opera gloves for her set
Pitbull was another one of the fan-favorite performers of the night. He was joined onstage by scantily-clad backup dancers, and he stood out in contrast in a white suit while performing his pop hits
‘She ain’t done yet and she is a QUEEN. She deserves her flowers, all of it,’ they wrote.
Another fan also shared the same sentiment as they gushed about Ross’s beauty and said she ‘looks AMAZING.’
One social media user wrote, ‘Diana Ross is 81 years old and giving more stage presence than half the new girls out now.’
Many more fans shared similar tweets, making the music icon’s name trend on social media during and for the hours after her New Year’s Eve performance.
The singing voices of HUNTR/X, Rei Ami, EJAE and Audrey Nuna also took the stage for a powerful performance of the hit song EJAE wrote for KPop Demon Hunters: Golden.
The trio coordinated in all-black, matching outfits and mixed together their edgy style with cute, sparkling details as they helped ring in the new year.
One fan took to X, formerly Twitter, to share a screenshot of Ross performing and wrote in a tweet: ‘How the hell is Diana Ross 81 years old!?!?!?’
‘Diana Ross is looking d*** good to be 81,’ another person tweeted as a slew of other fans chimed in
Many other fans concurred, with another social media user writing on X: ‘Diana Ross is 81?!? Looks great for 81’
‘No way Diana Ross is 81,’ another fan tweeted. ‘She looks like she’s 50’
One person tweeted a GIF of a kid wearing a giving his respects with his aptly designed baseball cap. ‘Diana Ross rocking in the New Year at 81 years young,’ they tweeted
Another fan added that the singer ‘is still hot AF’
‘Darn… Diana Ross looks and sounds great! She’s 81 years old,’ one social media user tweeted
One fan tweeted a throwback photo of Ross and praised her for her ‘amazing’ performance. ‘She ain’t done yet and she is a QUEEN. She deserves her flowers, all of it,’ they wrote
Another fan also shared the same sentiment as they gushed about Ross’s beauty and said she ‘looks AMAZING’
One social media user wrote, ‘Diana Ross is 81 years old and giving more stage presence than half the new girls out now,’ as many more fans shared similar tweets, making the music icon’s name trend on social media during and for the hours after her New Year’s Eve performance
Maren Morris also showed off her sparkle factor as she took the stage in a shimmering, silver minidress paired with fishnet opera gloves for her set.
Pitbull was another one of the fan-favorite performers of the night.
He was joined onstage by scantily-clad backup dancers, and he stood out in contrast in a white suit while performing his pop hits.
The star-studded lineup was full of exciting performances in Times Square and other cities in America airing live nationwide ahead of the iconic New Year’s Eve ball drop.
Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve aired live on ABC and will be available to stream on Hulu.
