Like Will Smith , who started his career as an emcee before transitioning into a leading man onscreen in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air , music was a first love for Coco Jones before she became a Disney child star and landed the role of Hilary Banks on the Peacock reimagining of the ‘90s sitcom, Bel-Air .
Will Smith Delivers Surprise "Summertime" Performance With Coco Jones at 'Bel-Air' Event
The duo shared the stage at an Aug. 1 barbecue at the Universal Studios backlot in Los Angeles ahead of the drama’s season three premiere on Aug. 15. Smith rapped the lyrics to his Grammy Award-winning hit “Summertime,” while Jones sang the chorus.
“Will and I are similar in the regard of being actors and balancing our music careers with our TV shows, so I really respect him,” Jones tells The Hollywood Reporter , adding of the performance, “it was a fun opportunity to promote a great show and great art.”
In Bel-Air , Jones’ character Hilary is still the fashion-forward older sister of the Banks family that fans of the original comedy will recall. But rather than wanting to rely on daddy — Uncle Phil (Adrian Holmes) — for money like in the original series, her Hilary is an influencer and budding entrepreneur with a passion for cooking, who starts her own influencer house with friend Ivy ( Karrueche Tran ) as a safe space for women creators.
The pressure Hilary felt to amass enough followers and engagement to leverage endorsement deals for the house in prior seasons is a reality Jones can relate to.
“There’s always the comparison aspect of seeing what other talented people do, the output they have in their social media and feeling like you’re not doing enough, or maybe you’re doing too much and not keeping it mysterious enough,” says Jones. “There’s always that push and pull. But at the end of the day, what I constantly try to remind myself is the thing that everyone relates to and is drawn to the most is authenticity. So whatever I’m doing, as long as it’s my truth, it’ll connect with the right people.”
Connecting with the right people, romantically at least, continues to be a struggle for Hilary in season three, as lingering feelings for Jazz (Jordan L. Jones) threaten the romance she’s rekindled with her ex-boyfriend LaMarcus (Justin Cornwell). As for why the pair still can’t make things work after finally giving a relationship a try, Jones has a simple answer: “They’re just too different.”
She explains, “I think they have a lot of great ying and yang tendencies. But they clash when it comes to the most important things. When you have that one person you’re super comfortable with, that doesn’t mean that y’all are compatible, it just means y’all are super comfortable.”
And as for why her character has yet to make that revelation for herself, Jones adds, “Hilary is sort of in a bliss state [at the beginning of season three], and also kind of distracting herself from the real questions she needs to be finding answers for within herself — she looks really cute, but she’s giving avoidant personality.”
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After cameos by former The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air stars Tatyana Ali (who played Ashley Banks) and Daphne Maxwell Reid (who played Vivian Banks) in seasons one and two of Bel-Air , season three will see Joseph Marcell, former butler Geoffrey in the original, make an appearance. (Geoffrey is played by Jimmy Akingbola in Bel-Air .) It’s an aspect of working on the show that the new cast, led by Jabari Banks’ Will Smith , has come to cherish.
“I really love all of the amazing stars that we have coming along to our show,” says Jones. “It’s so cool getting that nod of approval from other talented actresses and artists, and the cross-collaboration is a really dope thing to do in shows that I have always loved from previous shows back in the day.”
And though Karyn Parsons, who originally starred as Hilary, has yet to appear on Bel-Air , she’s praised Jones’ new spin on her iconic character.
“We had this great conversation, and she told me that she’s normally very picky, but that she loves my interpretation of Hilary. She gave me her thumbs-up of approval, which was so cool,” says Jones.
Later this year, Jones is expected to release her debut studio album after winning the Grammy for best R&B performance for the track “ICU” earlier this year. Her latest single, “Sweep It Up,” will drop on Aug. 16. Though juggling a successful music and acting career at the same time is no easy feat, Jones is grateful for the distinction between her world as a musical artist and that of her foodie character.
“My authentic truth is I like the separation, because in my real life I have so much mental chaos trying to balance everything,” says Jones, who doesn’t rule out the possibility of Hilary picking up a mic one day. “I do think it would be funny to have her sing badly, or be the complete opposite of me.”
One role Jones wouldn’t mind combining her love of music and acting for is that of Princess Tiana. The singer’s pseudo-social media audition went viral last year when she threw her voice in the ring for the chance to play the lead character in a potential live-action remake of The Princess and the Frog . Asked if she’s heard from Disney, Jones says, “If I did, you would know,” before backtracking. “Actually, I’d keep it quiet because that NDA would probably be popping, right?”
The first three episodes of season three of Bel-Air premiere Aug. 15 on Peacock, with new episodes released every Thursday.
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