The Most Memorable New Year's Eve Performances

Who says being a rock star is easy? Bruce Springsteen was close to wrapping up his Darkness on the Edge of Town tour on New Year's Eve in 1978. The Boss performed "Auld Lang Syne" at the Richfield Coliseum outside of Cleveland shortly after the clock struck midnight, ushering in 1979.

During his next song, a cover of Elvis Presley's "Good Rockin' Tonight," a person from the crowd threw a lit firecracker onstage that glanced off of Springsteen's face and exploded. Thankfully, Springsteen only received a minor cut. Since Springsteen is true pro who didn't want to let one idiot ruin the night for tens of thousands of people, the rocker carried on.

He did address the incident:

“Now, I asked everybody, as I’ve seen people hurt at shows with firecrackers before, you know,” he said. “I’m gonna ask you again because we’re gonna be here tomorrow night... and you guys have always been great in this town. I love coming here and we love playing here - that’s why we came on New Year’s Eve. And the only thing I ask is that people don’t do stuff to hurt other people and to hurt themselves and to hurt me and whoever else is up here, because we came here to play some rock n’ roll for you, and you guys paid your money so you... could listen without being afraid of getting hurt or blown up or whatever. So, if anybody sees anybody throwing stuff... just tell somebody so we can get ‘em out. If you want to throw something, we’ll give you your money back and you can throw it outside and do whatever you want.”

Jack Black was keeping his School of Rock dreams alive when he took the stage at MTV New Year's Eve Live in 2003. Black joined a very rocking Foo Fighters for a cover of AC/DC's "Back In Black." Both the band and Black as lead singer do justice to one of the most popular rock songs in music history.

Really, what's better than a giant sing-along party? The Plain White T's took the stage for Fox's New Year's Eve Live 2010 to sing their mega hit "Hey There Delilah." The whole crowd joined the band for a stripped down rendition of the 2006 song.

Minutes before the ball dropped to ring in 2010, Jennifer Lopez set the standard to which all New Year's Eve performances dare compare. J. Lo hit the Times Square stage to close out 2009 on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. She performed a medley of her greatest hits: "Louboutin," "Waiting For Tonight," and "Let's Get Loud." She was able to remain energetic and captivating throughout a well-choreographed performance that had the crowd going crazy for seven straight minutes. Lopez showed what it looked like to be a true pro on the world's biggest stage.

Towards the end of the 2015, rumors began to surface that Niall Horan may be leaving One Direction; the breakup of the band would not come until the following year. However, during New Year's Eve 2015, One Direction proved why they were one of the most popular bands in the entire world.

One Direction sang five different pre-taped songs that would play throughout the night for Billboard's Hollywood Party, which was part of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin Eve. They opened up the show with "What Makes You Beautiful." The band would also sing “Steal My Girl,” “Story of My Life,” “Night Changes,” and “Little Things."

Taylor Swift took the stage for Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve to help millions of freezing cold Times Square warriors kick off 2015. The pop star successfully performed two singles from her 2014 hit album 1989, "Welcome to New York" and "Shake It Off." However, even the mighty can stumble. As Swift was climbing down a flight of metal steps, she tripped and fell. However, she's young and nimble and got right back up. If you're wondering if Swift was okay after the fall, she was able to shake it off.