Elle King Is Happy to Be Herself for CBS 'New Year's Eve Live: Nashville's Big Bash' (Exclusive)

By John Connor Coulston

Elle King is known for her hit songs including "Ex's & Oh's" and "Drunk (And I Don't Wanna Go Home)," but fans will get to see another side of her skillset tonight as she co-hosts CBS' New Year's Eve Live: Nashville's Big Bash alongside Jimmie Allen and Rachel Smith. This is another opportunity for King to show off her hosting abilities following her work on ABC's CMA Fest broadcast this past summer. Ahead of New Year's Eve, PopCulture.com sat down with the singer backstage at rehearsals where we discussed what it's like to showcase a different part of her abilities through these hosting opportunities.

"It's different. It is very different. But with all these recent opportunities, I feel like everything that's written is very me," King said. "I'm not reaching. All the jobs that I've gotten, they're like, 'Just be you.' And I enjoy being myself. I don't really want to be anybody else. It took me a long time to like the person that I am and be OK with being silly or messing up or being OK to be goofy and funny and not just a party girl."

She added, "I can do other things (besides singing), too, and I can find a lot of joy in them. It's very different. But I like it a lot."

She also reflected on her CMA Fest experience and had nothing but positives to say about her co-host for that event, Dierks Bentley. "Dierks has always been, in a good way, a comforting crutch because he has always pushed me to be funny and always wants to pull jokes out of me and wants other people to see what he thinks is fun and likable," King said. "I don't know what it is that he sees, but he has really helped me have confidence in being myself and going for more things like this and knowing that I could do it. Because Dierks is the best person in the world, so if he believes in you, then it's OK."

As for the night ahead on CBS (or in-person at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park if you're in Nashville tonight), be ready for a good time. King previously Zoomed with my colleague Stephen Andrew (as you can watch at the top of this article), and she promised "a show you don't want to miss."

"I'm just going to try and look straight ahead," King said in that previous interview. "They let me make jokes. And I'll be around some of my friends, and I'm excited to get to introduce a lot of performances. There's some wild collaborations that I can't tell you 'cause I don't want to blow the surprise. But this is definitely a show you don't want to miss. And I feel very grateful that I get to be a part of people's New Year. That's pretty cool."

New Year's Eve Live: Nashville's Big Bash airs live on Saturday (starting at 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET/PT and continuing from 10:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. ET/PT) on CBS (and streaming live via Paramount+). At the top of this article, you can watch our previous Zoom interview with King about the New Year's Eve special.

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