NEWS
Americone Dream Turns 15! Sara Bareilles And Josh Groban Celebrate With A Song
Courtesy PhotoStephen Colbert celebrated the 15th anniversary of his Ben & Jerry’s Americone Dream flavor on The Late Show on Wednesday (March 2) in the only way he knows how: with a history-spanning, ripped-from-the-headlines tour of all the major milestones the vanilla with fudge-covered waffle cone pieces and caramel swirl treat has helped us celebrate.
Though he loves to belt a tune, Colbert brought in some ringers to help sing the praises of his sweet treat: Sara Bareilles and Josh Groban. And, man, did they deliver the dairy goodness, crooning a four-minute homage to all the iconic moments from the past decade-and-a-half that were just a bit tastier thanks to his fudgy concoction.
“Before you came along, life was such a rocky road,” Groban earnestly crooned while seated a white grand piano covered in rose petals. “Scoops of smiles, and scoops of tears/ Your sweet and chunky mixture made my heart explode/ A dream I’ve had for 15 years/ From when Dubya was in office, to Nicki Minaj’s cousin’s balls/ From the moment you were churned/ You’ve been there through it alls.”
From that point on, Groban and Bareilles ran through a panoply of probably not-true historical tales of life made easier with a scoop of the diary delight. “Americone Dream you were always there/ From the early days when Bezos still had hair,” sang Bareilles, seated on a couch and also surrounded by rose petals for some reason.
“From the first black president to his best friend Joe/ From Brett Farve’s penis to Aaron Rodgers’ COVID toe,” she continued, as Groban sang to a giant dancing pint of Dream while waxing rhapsodic about fidget spinners, selfie sticks, the scientific miracle of meatless burgers. Meanwhile, Sara praised Americone for, um, “inventing” 3D printing and drones and dubiously singing that the “i” in iPhone is short for “ice cream cones.”
They then joined voices on the uplifting chorus: “Americone Dream you’re frosty perfection,” before Bareilles got real, singing, “From Nancy’s first joint session to her first insurrection,” as Josh hit a high note with the definitely pants-on-fire claim, “Kanye interrupted Taylor with frozen cup of goo.” Sara doubled-scooped down by hilariously claiming that “Lady Gaga has a second dress that’s made out of you.”
With images of the giant pint dancing in the background, we learned that Dream was also allegedly responsible for LeBron James’ iconic “decision” about his career, somehow played a part in Clint Eastwood taunting an empty chair at the RNC before confusingly dropping the half-churned conspiracy theory that “Obama proved that you were born in a dairy in Vermont.” It got even sillier from there, with the pint PhotoShopped into Ellen’s famous Oscars selfie on the night John Travolta referred to Idina Menzel as “Adele Dazeem.”
“It was just because he couldn’t pronounce ‘Americone Dream,'” Groban belted with conviction. “American Dream you’ve seen us through it all,” they sang together. “Left Shark, Pokemon Go and the Fyre Festival!” It was a lot, especially the part about killing Osama Bin Laden with a “bullet made of fudge.”
All jokes aside, Colbert noted that all of his proceeds from the flavor are donated to hundreds of charities chosen by his staff every year, with $4,258,500 distributed to good causes since its debut.
Check out the video below.
PETA has called on Cage The Elephant to temporarily change their name ahead of their upcoming NFL halftime performance in Munich later this week.
The band are scheduled to perform during the New England Patriots vs. Detroit Lions game this Sunday (November 15).
Ahead of the show, PETA has asked Cage The Elephant to change their name across their social media accounts to Free The Elephant for one week.
According to a press release from the animal rights group, an elephant named Okha “has spent most of her life forced to perform in the circus under the threat of punishment”. The organisation is now seeking support to “help retire her to a reputable sanctuary”.
PETA also alleges that Okha is “currently being hauled around in a trailer with an exhibitor, Brian Franzen”, who supposedly “has a history of felony cruelty to animals charges” and “was caught on camera yanking and striking an elephant with a bullhook”.
In a letter addressed to Cage The Elephant, PETA wrote: “There ain’t no rest for Okha. We think you’d agree that she deserves the chance to spend her remaining years in peace with care, dignity, and respect.
“Lending a rendition of your iconic name for a short while could… help us come a little closer to ending animal cruelty in circuses.”
PETA added that it has already held more than “30 demonstrations on Okha’s behalf, contacted venues hosting animal acts, and rallied tens of thousands of supporters to call for her retirement”.
The group is also asking the public to “call on venues to stop hosting circuses that use animals and help retire Okha to a reputable sanctuary where she could roam expansive habitats, forage, receive expert veterinary care, and have the companionship of other elephants”.
Cage The Elephant have not yet made a public statement about the request, and NME has reached out to the band for a response. Franzen has also not issued a public response to the allegations made by PETA.
The request follows a previous approach by PETA to Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant, asking him to temporarily adopt the name ‘Robert Plant Wool’ to help promote alternatives to sheep’s wool.
PETA has also previously urged Nintendo to redesign the popular Mario Kart World character Cow, claiming that its current appearance encourages animal cruelty.
Meanwhile, Cage The Elephant recently revealed details of their upcoming album ‘Dying In Reverse’, which is set to arrive on February 5, 2027, through Big Loud Rock. Fans can pre-order the record here.
The band are also preparing for a UK and European tour in 2027. You can check out the full list of dates here and find any remaining tickets here.
