Watch Thomas Rhett Pay Tribute to ‘Sesame Street’ at Kennedy Center Honors

Thomas Rhett helped honor the long-running children's series, Sesame Street, at the 2019 Kennedy Center Honors on Sunday night (December 15).

Rhett was introduced by characters from the show and actor Lucy Liu who described Sesame Street as an "unlikely marriage of academic research and creative genius."

"Elmo, I have a good idea, why don't we introduce the next guest together?" Liu said to the beloved red puppet. "Oh! Yea, Ms. Lucy! We can co-op-er-ate. Yes, just like on Sesame Street," Elmo exclaimed. "Oh, can Elmo start please? And now please welcome ACM Male Vocalist of the Year...Mr. Thomas Rhett!"

Rhett, who's pretty familiar with Sesame Street thanks to his two daughters, greeted Elmo as he took the stage. "Elmo, how are you?" he asked. "I've been on a lot of roads touring and playing music. But there is no street quite like Sesame Street. Yeah, it's pretty special. Come on, guys. Let's sing 'em a song."

The country singer then started to sing the upbeat "This Is My Street," along with a handful of Muppets, including Elmo, Big Bird, Bert and Ernie, Grover, Abby Cadabby and Cookie Monster. As the camera scanned the room, there was a mixture of smiles and tears throughout the audience.

In addition to Sesame Street, other 2019 Kennedy Center honorees included Michael Tilson Thomas, Earth, Wind & Fire and Linda Ronstadt. Fellow country star, Trisha Yearwood honored Ronstadt with a performance of "You're No Good" and a duet of "I Don't Know Much" with Aaron Neville.

Carrie Underwood also took the Kennedy Center stage to honor Ronstadt with a stunning performance of "Blue Bayou" and "When Will I Be Loved."

The 2019 Kennedy Center Honors took place at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., on December 8 and aired on Sunday (December 15) on CBS.

Photo: Getty Images