For years New Year's Eve for New Yorkers has been synonymous with Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve', the countdown and the ball dropping, but this year the event was a rather surreal affair. Even though the evening saw all these traditions, the absence of Dick Clark, who created as well as hosted this event could not be ignored. The radio and television presenter passed away in April 2012 after suffering a massive heart attack.

But this was an event that couldn't be forgotten by fans and hence carrying the tradition forward, Ryan Seacrest hosted the popular event at the Times Square. Though Seacrest has hosted the show before it had always been with Clark, but this time the American Idol host did it all alone.

 The show kick started with a tribute to the late Clark that lasted for two hours and the host spoke about the creator with great fondness, reports E! News.

Seacrest clearly missing the late Clark tweeted, "Tonight is dedicated to the man who started it all... Dick Clark."

"I've never hosted that show without him. No one else [on it] has ever counted down the last 15 or 20 seconds to midnight except for him, so it'll be a different show from that perspective. We haven't worked out exactly how we're going to do it, but this certainly will pay the utmost respect to what he created and the legacy he left," Seacrest told Zap2it.

The event also saw stellar performances by One Republic, Justin Beiber, Psy, Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Flo Rida and Pitbull.