“I was super flattered to be invited back into The Simpsons universe, and particularly with this grand message of great hope”: Michael Stipe returns to Springfield to sing a rewritten version of one of REM's biggest hits

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 08: Michael Stipe attends Netflix's "Goodbye June" New York screening at Whitby Hotel on December 08, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Stephanie Augello/Getty Images).

REM, or rather Michael Stipe specifically, has returned to world of The Simpsons.

The singer popped up as a guest on the season finale of the long-running animated series. In an episode named Homer? A Cracker Bro, in which Homer and Milhouse’s father, Kirk Van Houten become business partners, Stipe appears in animated form singing, not Everybody Hurts, but ‘Everybody Kirks.’