Rose Parade Owns up to Major Error in This Year’s TV Broadcast

Rose Parade officials have issued an apology after major issues with this year’s broadcast prompted criticism of many of its performances, including the finale featuring Capital Cities and DEK of Hearts.

Viewers were quick to notice that the audio was off during the annual New Year’s Day parade’s broadcast, with the backing tracks and instruments playing too quietly, causing many performers’ vocals to fall behind.

After fans theorized that the rainy weather that doused the parade could have been behind the flubbed technical aspects of the performance, the Tournament of Roses officials released a statement explaining the situation and apologizing to the performers in question.

“The 2026 New Year’s Day Rose Parade was a joyous celebration of creativity and community,” the officials’ statement, shared to Instagram on Jan. 3, read. “Regrettably, a number of performances — including the grand finale by Capital Cities and DEK of Hearts — experienced audio challenges during the live broadcast.”

“These issues were the result of technical failures and were not reflective of the artists or their performances,” the statement continued. “We sincerely apologize to the performers, as well as to viewers who were unable to experience the performances as intended.”

“Our wish is for the world to start the New Year feeling ‘Safe And Sound’ — a message that was best portrayed by the performance of proud Pasadena locals Capital Cities,” they went on, noting that the “proper audio” of the band’s performance had been “recovered” and that the YouTube video of the performance had been updated for fans’ “viewing pleasure.”

Despite the anticlimactic performance, DEK of Hearts, who appeared on Season 28 of The Voice, shared a positive view of their Rose Parade experience on social media.

“Rose Parade 2026 complete!” they wrote on Instagram alongside a video montage of the big day. “We feel so honored to be apart of this historic parade. Thank you to all our Voice fans for voting us to be the Mic Drop Winner back a few months ago!”