Coco Jones Has Been That Girl All Along

One thing Coco Jones isn’t scared of is failing. She stopped fearing that a long time ago. And it shows.

The former Disney star has had one hell of a year. In February, she won her first Grammy for Best R&B Performance with the infectiously yearnful “ICU” — not to mention that the single just went platinum. She brought Usher to his feet when she performed his hit “There Goes My Baby” at the most recent BET Awards. And her rendition of “Almost There” from Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog” has fans doubling down on their demands to see her as Princess Tiana in a live-action remake. (She’s also hit that level of stardom where TikTokers recognize and chase her during routine Target runs.)

Jones has more to look forward to this year, too. The third season of Peacock’s “Bel-Air,” in which Jones plays a reimagined Hilary Banks, premiered Thursday. And with her debut album on the horizon, she released her newest bop, “Sweep It Up,” on Friday.

This is the kind of motion a younger Jones dreamed of. Though still full of youth at 26, the former child star had an eight-year hiatus from regular TV work. The “Let It Shine” actor began to question her own skills once work started to slow down. Acting opportunities weren’t checking for her, and she got dropped from Hollywood Records. She and her family moved to Los Angeles when she was 17. During that period, Jones faced rejection after rejection. Then, she released a YouTube video titled “What Really Happened” in which she discussed the reason for the valleys in her career.

“I feel like the scariest thing I could do would be to give up,” she said during a Zoom interview, conceding that she’d once considered it. “That was always the scariest thing because on the other side of that, I couldn’t deal with the possibility of making it, the possibility of getting what I’ve worked towards and not seeing it through.”

The vulnerability she showed in the YouTube video helped it go viral. Shortly after, she auditioned for “Bel-Air” and got the part. Arguably, she’s had a standout role on the show. Though still stylish, Jones’ Hilary has redefined the ditzy, shopaholic character fans met in the original “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” Despite still having a privileged background, the Hilary of the 2020s brings a relatable wit and drive that fans have praised in the dramatized version.

The 26-year-old actor said portraying such a beloved character she grew up watching feels rewarding.

“The biggest part that makes me feel joyful is the representation of being a dark-skinned Black woman who gets to have options,” a smiling Jones said. “She gets to follow her passion and dress cute and has family that loves her, and she’s choosing between guys and career paths. It’s just an awesome way to get to be portrayed as Black women, and so I’m really honored to get to represent her and get to inspire whatever Hilary inspires in the next generation of Black girls.”

She recently even got a stamp of approval from Karyn Parsons, the original Hilary Banks in “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” More importantly, thriving in the role helped confirm something Jones knew about herself as a child that showbiz tried to make her forget: “I will never let this world make me feel like I’m not that girl. What a waste of my life. You know? If you don’t get it, I feel sad for you.”

But even that took some muscle memory and a good amount of therapy so Jones could let go of limiting beliefs and commit to her truth.

“Once I finally got this spark of validation that I was in the right direction and that I was capable of these good opportunities, it wasn’t a comfortable space to be in. I had gotten used to just hoping for things and working towards things, and then the things started to happen and I’m like, that is new to me,” she said. “I had to just find a new way of being comfortable in a new season, because it’s not like there’s no negative at all anymore. There’s new challenges. There’s new obstacles.”

Decision-making takes center stage in Hilary’s latest storyline. Love and love triangles are a theme for multiple characters in this new season of “Bel-Air.” While Hilary’s career as an influencer is taking off in new ways, she’s going through the motions of bringing her relationship with pro athlete beau Lamarcus Alton (Justin Cornwell) to the next level despite still being emotionally entangled with her ex Jazz (Jordan L. Jones). She’s avoiding some necessary conversations as she struggles to understand who she is in her new season of winning.

And though Coco Jones knows exactly who she is and what she has to offer, she relates to the high stakes her character is facing when it comes to her own music career.

Now signed to Def Jam, Jones is aiming to release her debut album this fall. It’s a big moment for the singer, who already has a Grammy, a successful EP (“What I Didn’t Tell You”) and nods of approval from SWV, Usher, Mary J. Blige and other R&B greats. Like these music icons, Jones is reaching to create inescapable songs that hit globally.

Raised in Nashville, Tennessee, and rooted in the church, Jones said her album will be authentic to her own story. She also wants to lean into Afrobeat and Amapiano more.

“I definitely want to hit the carefree, upbeat theme of ‘life is not always so serious,’” she said of the tone of her debut. “I think I also have to continue with the theme that put me on, which is love and heartbreak and vulnerability and rawness and soulful energy. And then I think the theme of international, not being one thing, one genre, one way, one audience.”

Jones has worked hard to make this more than just a moment for herself. And she knows the importance of timing — not only in promoting her new music simultaneously with the Season 3 premiere of her show, but also in alignment with her overall journey.

“I definitely feel more deserving of everything. I think I’m less fearful that it will be taken away. So, more comfortable and more able to create freely without fear,” she said. “I had all that time to just create by myself with no opinions and to really find my stories and find my voice.”

She made it clear that she’s riding this thing till the wheels fall off. And though she had childhood stardom, this second wind still feels like the beginning for her in a lot of ways. She doesn’t know what the future holds — and thanks to therapy, she isn’t getting caught up in those details — but she does know one thing.

“It had to just be this and only this. And I think that is success to me. It’s this sureness that it won’t be me giving up. It won’t be that,” she said. “I’m really not in control of much, but as long as I keep doing what I do, as long as I keep moving the right way, it’s gonna be this someway, somehow sometime. That’s good enough for me.”

The first three episodes of “Bel-Air” Season 3 are now streaming on Peacock.