Role Model Talks New Album: 'I'm Not Trying to Be a Pop Star'
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- Role Model (Tucker Pillsbury) sat for a Rolling Stone Studio interview about his new album 'Chuck Timely & The Hourglass,' explicitly rejecting the 'pop star' label while saying he loves making pop music and doesn't want to compete for 'main pop boy'
- Pillsbury blends Heartland rock influences (John Mellencamp, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Jackson Browne) with country sonics his label calls 'lake pop' or 'pontoon pop music,' applying pop songwriting to an Americana sonic landscape without writing Toby Keith-style lyrics
- Pillsbury discussed girlfriend Dakota Johnson's one-take cameo on 'Love I You' and his nerve-wracking first day acting opposite Natalie Portman, while naming Madonna as a secret influence
- Role Model said he and producers Mason Stoops and Taylor Mackall do not write songs with TikTok virality in mind, despite his breakout 'Sally' going viral completely unplanned
- Pillsbury wrote the album about a two-year stretch following a bad breakup that spiraled into depression, then entered therapy after finishing it — describing a quarter-life and identity crisis running through the record
- Pillsbury called 'Joy' one of his favorite tracks and a likely pivot for his next album, noting it buries darker themes about losing childhood joy and spiritual malaise under a Stones/Mellencamp-style sound
- Role Model said he 'couldn't be locked off' as a country artist after the deluxe edition of 'Kansas Anymore' earned him acceptance from country peers, explaining why he stopped wearing the hat at every show
Why it matters: Role Model's deliberate genre-avoidance and his label's coining of 'lake pop' position him at the center of a growing lane (alongside Noah Kahan) reviving Heartland rock for a new generation — the strategy depends on pop songcraft strong enough to carry multiple sonic reference points without committing to any of them.
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