One, two, three, four, get ready to hear that song some more.Canadian singer Leslie Feist will appear on the Aug. 11 season premiere of "Sesame Street," performing a modified version of her ubiquitous hit song "1234," and joining a long list of notable artists who have lent their lyrics to the popular children's show.A video of the singer appeared on YouTube recently, showing her strolling down Sesame Street extolling her love of counting to four.In the original video for the song, Feist is joined by an array of colorfully dressed dancers. In this performance, she is accompanied by a posse of Muppets, including four monsters (walking cross the floor), penguins (that were by the door) and chickens (just back from the shore).The lyrics of the wistful song have been changed from their tribute to "old teen-age hopes ... alive at your door" into an ode to counting."Oh, you're counting, counting with me," Feist sings, "to one less than five and one more than three."The song will appear in the first episode of the beloved show's 39th season, which will focus on mathematics and literacy. She will also perform an original song accompanied by the Muppet Elmo.A Feist representative said she was unavailable. But at the Juno Awards this spring, she raved about getting the opportunity to sing alongside some furry friends."It was the Muppets and it was the best day of my life," the singer said.The Juno Awards are presented annually to honor the best in Canadian music.The song has already brought the 32-year-old no end of attention and adoration. Last year, Apple featured the video in a commercial for the iPod Nano, rocketing the tune to the heights of hipster popularity.Now, parents who are probably a little burned out on the indie darling will have to listen to little Madison and Declan humming along to her infectious melodies."We use celebs so that parents will remain engaged and we know that children learn best when watching with an adult," said "Sesame Street's" Carol Lynn Parente.Feist, a Juno winner, is just the latest celebrity performer to rework an educational message into a song for "Sesame Street."Last year, British crooner James Blunt performed an altered version of his ballad "Beautiful," singing about his love for the triangle.Norah Jones sang a song called "Don't Know 'Y' " about being stood up by the absentee letter, and Johnny Cash performed "Don't Take Your Ones to Town" with Big Bird, a kid-friendly play on his song "Don't Take Your Guns to Town."Even celebrated classical musicians have been drawn to the show.Andrea Bocelli sang Elmo to sleep with a modified version of his hit pop-opera song "Time to Say Goodbye."Yo Yo Ma has also made an appearance, performing "the Beethoven quartet for two honkers, dinger and cello," along with several Muppets who squeezed their own noses to produce his accompaniment. The song, Ma explained, was written by the famous Muppet Murray Beethoven.This season of "Sesame Street" seems determined to step up its pop-culture cred.A character named Max the Magician, played by Will Arnett of "Arrested Development," will perform amazing feats of math.Soccer stud David Beckham will drop by, presumably in more than his underwear, as will "Project Runway's" Heidi Klum and Jack Black of "Kung Fu Panda."The show will also feature parodies of grown-up television programs, including "30 Rocks" and "Are You Smarter Than an Egg Layer?"(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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