If you have a TikTok or Instagram account, you’ve likely stumbled on at least one installment of “Track Star,” Jack Coyne’s person-on-the-street-style interview shorts.
In these clips, Coyne tests the music knowledge of everyday people and musicians themselves in a quick “double-or-nothing” game. They are given a curated playlist and must identify the artist behind the song they’re listening to, and the more they get correct, the more money they earn.
Lucy Dacus, Kevin Bacon, Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, and the Haim sisters have all been guests. But Coyne’s latest interviewee has officially stolen the show.
“Before we get to the music, can you just introduce yourself?” Coyne says into a microphone, on a set that doesn’t look so different from the other streets he frequents.
“Oh yes,” his guest says. “Elmo is Elmo.”
The red Muppet dons adorable yellow headphones and participates in a bit of banter with Coyne before locking in for his own “Track Star” game.
Coyne asks if Elmo thinks it’s important for kids to learn about music.
“Well, Elmo loves music,” the Sesame star replies earnestly. “It makes Elmo happy. Sometimes music can make you sad, or happy, or make you think about things you didn’t think about before. When Elmo wakes up in the morning, Elmo likes to listen to jazz.”
With that in mind, Coyne tosses Elmo a low-ball song selection to begin, with $5 on the line. In the background, viewers hear Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition.”
Within seconds, Elmo nods his head and starts singing along.
“Stevie Wonder!” he exclaims. “That’s Elmo’s boy, Stevie! Who doesn’t love Stevie Wonder?”
What follows is a playlist, delicately balanced with Sesame Street tunes like “Elmo’s Song,” and “C is for Cookie,” along with favorites from past Sesame guests, like Feist, Norah Jones, and Billy Joel.
And Elmo gets them all right, song after song. And he’s competitive about it, too.
“How much money? How much money?” he asks in between rounds.
As the total gets higher, he is delighted. “Elmo can’t even count to 40!”
But another standout moment happens when Elmo gets swept away in the music, singing along to Billie Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever.”
He tilts his head back to croon, his vibrato audible over the pop star’s track, and then reminisces about when she visited Sesame Street herself.
“She was right here,” Elmo said, pointing to the famous stoop. “It was amazing.”
Coyne mentions he’d love for Eilish to visit “Track Star,” too, and Elmo takes it upon himself to extend an invitation.
“Aye, Billie, yo Billie, do the show,” he says direct-to-camera. “He’s a nice guy, and you can win $80.”
In the end, Elmo racks in a total of $640.
Incredulously, he says: “That can’t be right.”
But it is. And it leads Coyne to pose a question to the enthusiastic Muppet.
“What if, instead of giving you the cash, we give the cash to Sesame Workshop, and we teach more kids about music, and letters, and learning?”
“Okay, sure,” Elmo agrees. “Elmo would have no idea what to do with $640.”
On screen, a receipt for a donation shows the proof of “Track Star’s” donation, and in the video’s caption, Coyne shares a heartfelt note of gratitude.
“Having Elmo on Track Star was easily the highlight of my year. Elmo has been an idol of mine since I was a toddler, and we had so much fun talking about music and artists who have visited Sesame Street over the years,” he writes.
“It was so surreal to be on the neighborhood set and meet characters that I’ve loved for as long as I can remember. Huge thanks to the wonderful team at Sesame Workshop for making this happen.”
Although $640 is a big deal to Elmo, Sesame Workshop relies on a lot more funding from its viewers and private supporters to maintain its legacy of over 50 years of children’s media and outreach around the world.
On its website, the nonprofit shares: “With a mission to help children everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder, we reach families in more than 150 countries with playful early learning so we can empower each generation to build a better world.”
Header image courtesy of Track Star/YouTube
