Jeff Passan singing Nickelback in the key of Elmo is as cringeworthy as you’d expect

Jeff Passan is a multi-talented person. He’s one of Major League Baseball’s premier Insiders, he has great hair and an Elmo impression. I just wish the Elmo impression never merged with Nickelback.

The Los Angeles Angels thought firing Joe Maddon might solve their problems and when that didn’t work, they hoped Nickelback might be the answer to correcting a double-digit losing streak.

It didn’t take long for Nickelback’s magic to kick in, with the Angels snapping their 14-game losing streak Thursday night, beating the Boston Red Sox 5-2. And while Chad Kroeger may have brought them good luck, the Angels won on the back of Shohei Ohtani, who was dominant on the mound and at the plate with a go-ahead home run. An amazing moment for Nickelback and Angels fans everywhere.

The win prompted Passan to write his own version of Nickelback’s Photograph, changing the lyrics to reflect the Angels’ ability to finally get a win. The lyrical creativity prompted one of Passan’s Twitter followers to request hearing him sing his newly created version of Photograph in the key of Elmo.

by request pic.twitter.com/y2ONfWvDJb

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 10, 2022

pic.twitter.com/0nhGye49kN

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 10, 2022

Knowing that Passan has showed off his Elmo voice in the past might make the request sound a little less bizarre than at first glance. And his Elmo is legitimately good. But Passan, as Elmo, as Chad Kroeger, is something my eyes and ears both keep wanting to reject.

Poor Nickelback, they went from being a dominant force on the radio and selling out stadiums across the globe to the internet’s most-mocked band. Nickelback’s past popularity had them on track to eventually receive an invite from Sesame Street. Instead, they’ve been relegated to having Passan’s Elmo voice sing a parody of Photograph.