You gotta give it up to Sesame Street and the stellar slate of musical guests that have already appeared in the show’s 52nd season. The lineup of artists once again looks like it was picked by a team of people who clearly have their finger on the pop culture pulse. First, it was Billie Eilish and her ode to the Number 2 (the actual number, not… you know) with the Count. Then it was Kacey Musgraves‘ bouncy disco-pop tune about colors. And now in the latest episode, the multi-talented Anderson .Paak joined Elmo and Cookie Monster to sing about the many Holidays we all celebrated (in case you didn’t know, holiday starts with the letter “H.”)
.Paak began by walking down the step of the timeless Sesame Street stoop with flannel pants, a cardigan sweater, a newsboy cap, and an ear-to-ear smile that never leaves his face. He’s quickly joined by Elmo and Cookie Monster as .Paak leads the trio through a laundry list of notable holidays, paying homage to all denominations in the process. Among them they nod to M.L.K. Day, Indigenous People’s Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Hannuakah, Ramadan, Diwali, Passover, Dia de Los Muertos, and Cookie Monster’s personal favorite, Christmas. “Ooh that makes me jolly!” he says while taking a bite out of a cookie shaped like a Christmas tree.
Paak closes out the song on the drums, and the best moment in the clip comes when he and Elmo prank Cookie Monster. “The world is out of cookies!” .Paak says to a noticeably distressed Cookie Monster. “No I’m serious! Ain’t no more cookies in the world, fam!” before Paak and Elmo shout in unison: “APRIL FOOLS.”
Nice work, Sesame Street. Nice work.
Watch Anderson Paak’s appearance on Sesame Street above.
