Kelsea Balleriniis joining an illustrious list of music greats who’ve paid a visit toSesame Streetin the beloved children’s show’s 50+ year history.
The two-time Grammy Award nominee, 27, leads a singalong with Elmo and friends in a PEOPLE exclusive clip of herSesame Streetdebut. “I wanna sing a song all about families,” Ballerini tells Elmo in this week’s episode, as the gang celebrate Family Day.
“Elmo loves his family,” the fuzzy red Muppet says to Ballerini. “I love my family too,” she responds. “Actually I love all families … because every family’s different.”
Elmo and Kelsea Ballerini.Zach Hyman/Sesame Workshop
Ballerini joins a star-studded lineup of celebrity guests for season 51 ofSesame Street, including Hailee Steinfeld, Issa Rae, Billy Porter, Stephen and Ayesha Curry and Maggie Rogers. She also joins the ranks of such country stars as Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Waylon Jennings, Tanya Tucker and more, who’ve graced the show with their presence over the years.
Kelsea Ballerini.Zach Hyman/Sesame Workshop
TheBalleriniartist recentlyco-hosted the 55th CMT Music AwardswithKane Brownin Nashville. She also took home the CMT performance of the year award for her single “The Other Girl” featuring Halsey, after they performed the song together on last year’s awards show.
“After this performance last year, there was a lot of chatter on, categorically, what genre that song did or didn’t fit into,” Ballerini said in her acceptance speech, noting the criticism that the performance wasn’t country enough.
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“And the fact that you voted this as the winning performance tells me that you know where my roots are and that you know who I am. But it also tells me that you hear music as music, and it tells me that you love when people push boundaries and explore their artistry. And as I make a new record, that means the absolute world to me.”
SeeKelsea Balleriniperform with Elmo and friends on this week’sSesame Street, airing Thursday, June 17 on HBO Max.
source: people.com
