Cheerful star going to New York (5)
I believe the answer is:
sunny
'cheerful' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'star going to new york' is the wordplay.
'star' becomes 'sun' (the Sun is a star).
'going to' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'new york' becomes 'ny'.
'sun'+'ny'='SUNNY'
(Other definitions for sunny that I've seen before include "Bright and cheerful" , "Bright and warm" , "Unclouded - cheerful" , "Cheerful; fine (weather)" , "(Of a person's disposition) always positive" .)