
Photo Credit: FOX
Two years after appearing on American Dad!, The Weeknd is back in the animated world. On Sunday night, the singer guest-starred as Orion Hughes on a new episode of The Simpsons, "Bart The Cool Kid." Being the "cool kid" as referred to in the title, Hughes is a mini-influencer and owner of fictional streetwear brand 'Slipreme' who assists Bart with becoming cool. Homer also ends up becoming a follower of Hughes' trendsetting, convincing local dads to join in.
\u201c\ud83d\ude31 \ud83d\ude31\u201d— The Simpsons (@The Simpsons) 1647821901
\u201cKeep it real, little groms.\u201d— The Simpsons (@The Simpsons) 1647821549
The episode also comes after the Canadian vocalist teased it on his social media.
\u201cdream come true \ud83d\udc9b\ud83d\udc9b\ud83d\udc9b\u201d— The Weeknd (@The Weeknd) 1647473965
The Simpsons makes Weeknd's second animated appearance – in 2020 he starred as himself on American Dad! in "A Starboy Is Born" an episode that he also co-wrote with series scriptwriter Joel Hurwitz. It seems that Weeknd manifested his role on The Simpsons, speaking with Variety in 2020 about the possibility of appearing on the long-running series.
“American Dad” was everything I wanted. It’s going to be hard to beat this in the TV cartoon world, but an obvious bucket list would be to work on The Simpsons," he shared. "That would be a dream — and if they’re reading this, I actually have a pretty cool idea if they’re down."
While there's no word if The Weeknd gave the episode's concept, he's slated to star in and co-produce upcoming HBO series The Idol. The hour-long drama series reportedly “centers on a self-help guru and sect leader who develops a complicated relationship with a rising pop idol.”