Queen Latifah will be part of the entertainment lineup for the 100th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, joining a broad slate of musicians, actors and television personalities scheduled for the November 26 event in New York.
The centennial broadcast is set to begin at 8:30 a.m. ET on NBC, Peacock and Telemundo. The announced roster also includes The Roots with Jimmy Fallon, Keke Palmer and Wyclef Jean, placing Latifah among performers from multiple eras and genres in one of U.S. television’s longest-running holiday traditions.
Other named performers include JoJo, Natalie Merchant, DEVO, Anthony Ramos, Leslie Odom Jr., the Indigo Girls, Feid, Icona Pop, EJAE and RIIZE. Megan Hilty is scheduled to lead a Dolly Parton tribute. Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Al Roker will host the telecast.
A major November for Queen Latifah
The parade appearance follows another notable November milestone for Latifah: her November 14 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Taken together, the events underline the range of a career that has moved through rap, acting, television and production-facing entertainment work rather than remaining confined to a single format.
Her path began with a demo that led to a Tommy Boy deal in 1988. She subsequently became a familiar screen presence through Living Single and the film Set It Off. In 2021, she received a BET Lifetime Achievement Award, and her debut album entered the National Recording Registry in 2023—the first album by a female rapper to receive that distinction.
The National Recording Registry designation and a Hall of Fame induction are different kinds of recognition. The former places a recording in a preservation collection, while the latter recognizes an artist’s broader contribution and influence in popular music. In Latifah’s case, both honors point to the significance of her early rap work while her current schedule illustrates a career still active across mass-audience entertainment.
Latifah has also joined season 30 of The Voice as a coach alongside Kelly Clarkson, Adam Levine and Riley Green. That role makes the parade booking particularly fitting: the holiday broadcast remains a large, cross-generational showcase, while The Voice similarly places established performers before a national TV audience in a music-centered setting.
Readers interested in another example of how behind-the-scenes champions and institutions shape long music careers can also read this look at Gerry Griffith’s role in helping bring Whitney Houston to Arista.
What has been announced for the parade
The performers are not all slated for the same type of appearance. Teddy Swims and Megan Moroney are scheduled to perform in front of Macy’s 34th Street flagship, while other entertainers will appear on floats traveling along the route. That distinction matters for viewers expecting a conventional concert-style set from every artist: the parade blends fixed-location performances with segments staged as the procession moves through Manhattan.
Organizers have said more performers and Broadway participants are still to be announced. As a result, the current list should be read as a confirmed portion of the program, not a complete running order or a full accounting of every number in the television broadcast.
The announced names give the event an intentionally wide musical spread. Natalie Merchant and the Indigo Girls represent established singer-songwriter and folk-rock traditions; DEVO brings a long-running new-wave presence; JoJo, Anthony Ramos, Leslie Odom Jr. and Keke Palmer connect pop, screen work and musical-theater audiences. Feid and Icona Pop expand the lineup’s international pop range.
K-pop representation is part of the announced roster
EJAE and RIIZE are also part of the broadcast lineup, providing the event’s stated K-pop representation. K-pop is shorthand for Korean pop music, but the term often encompasses a globally distributed entertainment system built around recorded music, performance, visual presentation and fan communities. Within a parade lineup that moves between legacy acts, contemporary pop and Broadway-oriented presentation, their inclusion signals an effort to address a wide contemporary audience without altering the event’s family-focused format.
There is no detailed performance information in the announced lineup, so viewers should not infer song choices, stage designs, float assignments or collaborations that have not been specified. The confirmed point is that both acts are included in the broadcast roster.
Why the 100th edition is a notable marker
Macy’s first staged the parade in 1924. The event was interrupted for three years during World War II, which helps explain how the 2026 edition is being presented as its 100th despite the passage of more than a century since the first parade. The anniversary language marks the count of staged editions, rather than simply the number of calendar years after the inaugural event.
For the milestone edition, organizers plan to feature 100 inflatable elements along the route. In parade terms, inflatable elements can include the large visual attractions that define the moving spectacle for in-person crowds and television viewers. The stated total fits the centennial framing, though it does not by itself describe the individual characters, designs or order of appearance.
Macy’s chief marketing officer Sharon Otterman has described the planned edition as a celebration on an unprecedented scale, emphasizing a mix of iconic entertainers, newer talent, artistry, imagination, local pride, tradition and discovery. The published lineup reflects that stated approach: it pairs artists whose names carry decades of history with performers associated with current global pop audiences.
What viewers can plan around
The most concrete viewing detail is the 8:30 a.m. ET start time across NBC, Peacock and Telemundo. NBC is the traditional broadcast destination, Peacock provides a streaming route, and Telemundo extends the telecast’s availability through a Spanish-language network. Those options are useful for households that follow the parade as an annual TV ritual but use different platforms.
What remains unconfirmed is just as important. More performers and Broadway participants are expected, and the available information does not establish the full sequence of appearances. It also does not specify which float each traveling performer will use, how long any musical segment will run, or whether every announced artist will perform a standalone number.
Still, Queen Latifah’s placement on the roster supplies a clear focal point for the anniversary broadcast. It comes days after an institutional music honor, alongside her coaching work on a major network music competition, and within a parade program that places her with artists spanning rap, R&B, rock, theater, Latin music, K-pop and contemporary pop. For a centennial edition built around a mix of tradition and new discovery, that breadth is the story.
