GLORIA GAYNOR

This week’s new entertainment releases include documentaries about celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck and another on a landmark 1969 Harlem concert series known as “Black Woodstock” that featured Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder, Sly and the Family Stone.

If ever a year’s end seemed like cause for celebration, 2020 might be it. Yet the coronavirus scourge that dominated the year is also looming over New Year’s festivities and forcing officials worldwide to tone them down. New York’s Times Square won’t be packed with impassable crowds this New Year’s Eve as it will be closed to the public due to the pandemic but the ball drop will go on, along with a few performances. All of which can be enjoyed virtually from anywhere. [TRENDING: How to get vaccine in Florida | Could $600 checks grow into $2,000 payments?

FILE - In this Jan. 1, 2020, file photo, confetti falls at midnight on the Times Square New Year's Eve celebration in New York. If ever a year's end seemed like cause for celebration, 2020 might be it. (Photo by Ben Hider/Invision/AP, File)NEW YORK – If ever a year's end seemed like cause for celebration, 2020 might be it. From New York's Times Square to Sydney Harbor, big public blowouts are being turned into TV-only shows and digital events. The occasion stirs mixed feelings for people like Cesar Soltero, who was taking photos, and taking stock, in Times Square this week.

Gaynor will sing her anthem, "I Will Survive" during the New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square as a celebration of perseverance, honoring essential workers. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)NEW YORK – The New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square will be a celebration of perseverance, honoring essential workers and featuring Gloria Gaynor singing her anthem, “I Will Survive," organizers said Tuesday. The broadcasts that usually set up shop in Times Square will be there, including “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2021,” which will have a performance from Jennifer Lopez. Organizers said they would be honoring essential workers as the “Heroes of 2020" and designate a group of them as Special Guests, an annual tradition since the 1990s. Tim Tompkins, president of the Times Square Alliance, said in a statement, “This year, it feels most appropriate to shine a spotlight on the individuals who are tirelessly leading our nation through hard times with unshakable strength, determination and poise.”

FILE - This Oct. 16, 2018 file photo shows Zach Williams performing during the Dove Awards in Nashville, Tenn. Christian artists Zach Williams and for King & Country are the leading artist nominees at the 2020 Dove Awards, while rapper Kanye West and singer Gloria Gaynor earned their first ever nominations. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)NASHVILLE, Tenn. Christian artists Zach Williams and for King & Country are the leading artist nominees at this years Dove Awards, while rapper Kanye West and singer Gloria Gaynor earned their first ever nominations. The Gospel Music Association announced on Thursday the nominations this years show, which will be aired on Trinity Broadcasting Network on Oct. 30. Williams earned five nominations including artist of the year and song of the year. For King & Country, a brother duo made up of Luke and Joel Smallbone, also earned five nods including artist of the year and contemporary Christian artist of the year.

"I Will Survive," the legendary anthem sung by Gloria Gaynor, was recently added to the Library of Congress. Jim Axelrod made a trip to her New Jersey home to talk to her about the milestone, and got a surprise private concert.