Kelly Clarkson took the stage at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on Thursday, performing live in front of the park’s Chinese Theatre as Disney filmed for its ABC holiday specials.
Kelly Clarkson is performing live at Disney’s Hollywood Studios for Disney’s ABC holiday specials!
— Drew Smith (@DrewDisneyDude) November 12, 2026
Clarkson, in a red dress, sang with a full band on a stage set up at the foot of the Chinese Theatre, with its green tiled roof and red columns behind her and a guitarist at her side. A big camera crane swung over the audience, and a crowd of guests and crew members packed the street in front of the stage to watch.
Holiday Specials Taping Across Walt Disney World
Hollywood Studios is the latest stop in a busy week of filming. Cameras were on Main Street, U.S.A. at Magic Kingdom earlier this week, and singer and actor Anthony Ramos was spotted at EPCOT when Disney filmed its ABC holiday special there. Clarkson’s performance brings the cameras to a third park.
The specials air on ABC over the next six weeks. The Wonderful World of Disney: Holiday Spectacular is set for Monday, November 30, from 8 to 10 p.m. on ABC, and the Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade airs on Christmas morning. Disney has not said which of the two specials Clarkson’s performance will appear in, or which songs will make the final cut.
What To Expect If You Are At The Park
Holiday special tapings usually take over a section of a park for several hours. Stages, lighting rigs and camera cranes go up, and cast members hold guests back from parts of the walkway while performers sing for the cameras. Guests who happen to be nearby can usually stop and watch from behind the barriers, which is how a crowd built up in front of the Chinese Theatre on Thursday.
If you are visiting Hollywood Studios in the next few days, keep in mind that filming can close off paths and change how you get around the front of the park. The taping does not close the rest of the park, but it can slow foot traffic in the area around the stage.
Watching From The Crowd
The video shows how close guests could get. The stage sat right on the plaza in front of the theater, and the crowd stood only a few rows back from the cameras, close enough to hear every note. For anyone who happened to be walking down Hollywood Boulevard on Thursday afternoon, it turned into a free Kelly Clarkson concert.
We will find out exactly where her performance lands, and what she sang, when the specials air.
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