Role Model on New Album, Dakota Johnson, Name Change
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- Tucker Pillsbury released his new album "Chuck Timely and The Hourglass," a deliberate pivot toward heartland rock citing Jackson Browne, Bruce Springsteen, and John Mellencamp as touchstones.
- Role Model publicly confirmed his relationship with Dakota Johnson only after fans recognized her voice on the album track "Love I You"; he initially resisted her cameo to keep his personal life separate from his music.
- Pillsbury made his acting debut in Lena Dunham's upcoming film "Good Sex" opposite Natalie Portman, describing his first day on set as so nerve-wracking that "I didn't eat all day."
- The album traces the aftermath of Pillsbury's 2023 split from Emma Chamberlain — a two-year stretch of singledom he calls depressive and says he worked through without a therapist.
- Role Model ended his nightly "Sally" concert bit tied to his breakthrough single, saying "I don't think anyone cared" aside from parents asking if their daughters could still play Sally at Red Rocks.
- Pillsbury said he would love to retire the "Role Model" stage name but believes it's "too late," venting about Twitter comments like "What parents name their kid Role Model?"
Why it matters: Pillsbury is deliberately distancing himself from TikTok-era pop stardom — rejecting the "pop boy" race, enlisting Natalie Portman as a scene partner, and citing Springsteen and Browne over current chart peers — while a leaked Dakota Johnson cameo and an open desire to ditch the Role Model name signal a brand reassessment before his mainstream pivot completes.
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