Role Model is sticking to his guns.

Ahead of the release of his new album Chuck Timely & The Hourglass on Friday, the singer/songwriter revealed that after the breakout success of “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out,” his label encouraged him to capitalize on the viral moment by working with established producers. Instead, he trusted his gut to collaborate with Mason Stoops and Taylor Mackall, who have worked with fellow musician Lizzy McAlpine, to assist in bringing Chuck Timely to life.

Speaking with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Role Model (real name Tucker Pillsbury) recalled that after “Sally” gained traction, “My label was like, ‘You want the big dogs. This is your chance to have those huge producers in the room.’” But the singer said he “had to fight it for a little bit” before convincing them to let him work with Stoops and Mackall, who had previously contributed as session musicians on his 2024 album Kansas Anymore.

“I got to trust my gut this time,” he said, explaining that he believed the pair had an untapped talent for producing pop music. “I’m glad I did because those two boys and everyone else that helped on the record did it perfectly.”

Pillsbury also spills about the album’s songwriting process, saying that instead of having fully formed songs ready in the studio, he confessed that many sessions began with Stoops and Mackall just jamming together until ideas came about. The album’s standout track “Good Thing,” for example, came together in roughly an hour after the musicians started playing without a plan.

“I didn’t even have a prompt or anything,” he said. “They literally just started playing, and then we were like, ‘Wait, this has kind of got like a Willie [Nelson] vibe to it.’”

The musician thought back to the feeling of finishing that impromptu session. He stated that listening to that track for the first time felt like listening to a cover, not a record of his own, though he loved it.

“That [emotion] felt really good. I streamed the sh– out of that song and it’s not even out yet,” Pillsbury admits.

Chuck Timely & The Hourglass is set to release on Aug. 7 and includes the previously released single “High Hopes 3000,” which hit No. 94 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Watch the Apple Music’s interview below.

Justin Bieber may have spent the past year making headlines for his music, but over the weekend, the SWAG singer proved he can hold his own in the sports realm too.

The pop star emerged victorious at the Fanatics Games during Fanatics Fest in New York, beating a roster of elite athletes, including retired NFL star Tom Brady, tennis champ Novak Djokovic and NBA stars Victor Wembanyama and Karl-Anthony Towns, before donating his $1 million prize.

The competition — featured in Fanatics Fest: All Access, now streaming on ESPN — saw Bieber face off against an all-star lineup that also included Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles, former NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski and former LSU gymnast and influencer Livvy Dunne.

Audiences highlight the moment that Bieber challenged the Serbian professional tennis player Djokovic to a bonus game of ping-pong. Before the match, the singer confidently declared, “I am a superior ping-pong player. He knows it.”

Djokovic, however, ended up getting the last laugh.

“I must say, I underestimated Justin’s athletic abilities,” the 24-time Grand Slam winner said before defeating Bieber at the table. Taking the loss like a champion, the “Daisies” singer responded, “He got me today, so I gotta give him his flowers.”

Though he fell short at ping-pong, Bieber did ultimately claim the biggest win of the weekend, topping the overall Fanatics Games leaderboard to earn the competition’s $1 million grand prize.

Instead of taking home those winnings, Bieber decided to split the prize among fans and charity. He awarded $500,000 to the event’s 50 fan competitors, giving each participant $10,000 and donating the remaining $500,000 to charity.

“Only at Fanatics Fest do people come together in this way,” Bieber says in Fanatics Fest: All Access.

The special is now streaming on the ESPN app, and the trailer can be watched below.

A dance music artist has entered (and exited) the villa.

Love Island viewers and EDM fans now have Bryce Dettloff – known professionally as Bryce Alakai – in common. The reality TV star, who won the eighth season of Love Island USA alongside his girlfriend Trinity Tatum, is hard-launching his DJ career following his time on the Peacock dating show. Alakai is set to begin his first tour, marking his debut North American headline run.

The tour begins Aug. 22 and continues through December, with seven performances across the United States and Canada. Alakai’s stops include Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Toronto, Tampa, Seattle and Portland.

The announcement follows the release of Bryce’s remix of Ty Dolla $ign’s “Blasé,” which gained popularity while he was filming and living inside the Love Island villa, where he had no access to his phone. According to a press release, Alakai recently teamed up with Ty Dolla $ign to create the official remix of the hit song.

Alakai has spent the past several years working as a DJ, artist and producer. He began releasing music in 2022 and has since continued to build his profile in the electronic music space. His appearance on Love Island USA further solidified his social media stardom, particularly through his relationship with  Trinity.

The pair, known by fans as “Brinity,” quickly became one of the season’s favorite couples. From the first day of the reality series, Alakai and Tatum became fan favorites for their relationship and their firm support for one another throughout the competition.

Now, Alakai is bringing his music career to the forefront. According to the press release, the DJ plans to release more original music and announce additional performances throughout the second half of the year, giving fans of both Love Island and dance music more opportunities to see his next chapter unfold.

The Backstreet Boys knew exactly what a momentous occasion it was when Kevin Richardson and Snoop Dogg crossed paths at Sunday’s Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie red-carpet premiere.

On Tuesday (Aug. 4), the BSB social accounts shared two photos of the encounter — one of the pair embracing and the other of them shaking hands — with the caption “It finally happened… iykyk.”

The inside-joke caption is in reference to viral memes dating back to 2024 suggesting that Richardson — a founding member of the boy band — “looks like a white Snoop Dogg,” with three side-by-side sets of photos as evidence. Some fans said the comparisons go back even further, recalling that BSB’s Nick Carter and Brian Littrell told Richardson he resembled Snoop when the similarly lanky boy bander sported cornrow braids during the group’s Black & Blue Tour in 2001. (You can read all about Kevin’s full hair-volution here.)

The comments section under the new photos of Kevin and Calvin (Snoop’s real name is Calvin Broadus) didn’t disappoint, with *NSYNC’s Lance Bass sharing four clapping emojis on Instagram and Muni Long commenting on Threads, “So ya’ll was separated at birth or what?”

It took Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie — the upcoming sequel to 2023’s Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie — to bring these two look-alike music stars together. Snoop voices the character of Dave in the Aug. 16 movie, while the Backstreet Boys recorded the new song “Bottle Up” for the film.

Richardson and the Backstreet Boys are still in the midst of their residency at the Las Vegas Sphere, with dates set through Aug. 29, while Snoop is currently getting the biopic treatment, with a Universal Pictures film about his life set to hit U.S. theaters next year, on Aug. 6, 2027.

On Tuesday (Aug. 4), Glen Hansard was gracefully remembered through the music he spent a lifetime creating at his Dublin funeral.

Family, friends and fellow musicians gathered at St. Patrick’s Cathedral to celebrate the life of the beloved Irish singer-songwriter, who died July 29 at age 56 following a motorcycle accident. Among those paying tribute were U2‘s Bono and The Edge, Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, Hozier, Imelda May, Jake Clemons of the E Street Band and Liam Ó Maonlaí of Hothouse Flowers, all of whom joined mourners in honoring Hansard’s enduring legacy.

Bono shared a heartfelt statement during the ceremony, mulling over Hansard’s remarkable ability to make everyone feel like a close friend.

“People on the green outside, best friends. People tuning in, best friends. Even people who haven’t met him, best friends,” Bono said. “Everyone who met him, they just remember the day they met him.”

The U2 frontman shared a voicemail from Patti Smith that included a lullaby she recorded for Hansard’s loved ones. He also delivered a spoken tribute inspired by U2’s song “Beautiful Day,” accompanied by The Edge, reworking portions of the lyrics in honor of Hansard.

Vedder later took the stage to perform Hansard’s “The Song of Good Hope,” a fitting tribute from a longtime friend and collaborator. The Pearl Jam frontman was joined by Hansard’s Once collaborator Markéta Irglová during the performance, one of several musical moments that showcased the songwriter’s deep and sentimental influence across generations of artists.

Hansard’s brother, Richie Hansard, also delivered an emotional eulogy recalling the musician’s outlook on grief.

“Glen said once that when you lose someone, you don’t really lose them,” he told attendees. “If you have the strength and the will, you will gain them back and you inherit the best parts of them. And we have. We have inherited all the magical, colorful words, hugs, talks, madness, sadness, insightful, manic beauty that a brother, an uncle, a husband and a father could ever give. Thank you, Glen. Thank you, brother.”

The service concluded with a rendition of Bob Dylan‘s “Forever Young,” featuring Bono, Vedder, The Edge, Liam Ó Maonlaí and a choir of musicians assembled around the altar in a final farewell.

Hansard first rose to prominence as frontman of The Frames before earning worldwide acclaim alongside Irglová in The Swell Season. The pair won the Academy Award for best original song in 2008 for “Falling Slowly” from the film Once, which later inspired the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical of the same name. Over the course of his career, Hansard also released five solo studio albums and became known for his annual Christmas Eve busking performances in Dublin benefiting people experiencing homelessness.

Watch the moving musical tribute below.