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Taylor Swift Feat. Phoebe Bridgers’ ‘Nothing New’ Gets Twangy Cover by Role Model

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Role Model wanted to sing a version of “Nothing New,” the melancholic Taylor Swift Red (Taylor’s Version) vault track that features Phoebe Bridgers, that he could do a little two-step to while screaming out the chorus — adding a dash of drunken coziness to Swift’s ruminating after a night of imbibing in a few too many. And so “Nothing New (Tucker’s Version)” was born, with Role Model debuting his live cover of Swift’s song on Australian radio station Triple J’s “Like a Version” series.

“Standout song for me,” says Role Model, aka Tucker Harrington Pillsbury, in an accompanying interview clip with the station released on Thursday (March 13) while he’s on the road with his band, playing sold-out shows in Brooklyn and Boston this weekend and returning as opener on Gracie Abrams‘ Secret of Us Tour this summer.

He stumbled upon the Red-era song while working on his sophomore studio album, 2024’s Kansas Anymore.

As Role Model recalls, “I was constantly adding songs to my playlist, like a music inspo playlist, and this one I came across. I had no idea Taylor Swift and Phoebe Bridgers were on a song together. I’m scared to say it, but I think Phoebe brought me into the Taylor Swift world — which is great.”

Watch Role Model’s Live Cover of “Nothing New”

“She’s incredible,” he says of Swift. “She’s one of the best songwriters of our generation.”

“Nothing New,” a song that didn’t make the cut on the original Red album in 2012 but resurfaced amidst the 2021 re-recording of the set, has Swift contemplating her shelf life as a promising young pop-country star; verses are traded with Bridgers, who also lends harmony to the chorus and bridge. Swift and Bridgers brought the song to the stage for the first time on May 5, 2023 in Nashville, the first of several nights the Punisher singer-songwriter joined the lineup of the The Eras Tour.

“I love the chorus and [how] it changes slightly every time,” says Role Model of “Nothing New,” explaining why he went where he did with his interpretation of the tune. “It just feels good, like, ‘I’ve had too much to drink tonight’ — I wanna scream it and dance to it. So that’s why we added drums and a little bit of twang to it. I wanted to bump up the tempo just a little bit, add drums and bring it into the world of Kansas Anymore. Just give it a little warmth and a slight dance-y groove, and some twang. We had the peddle steel come in. I just wanted to be able to do a slow two-step to it.”

Though “Nothing New” is written from the perspective of a girl in the spotlight worrying it’s only a matter a time before a fresher face takes her place (“People love an ingénue,” Swift remarks, a sad line with dry delivery, after Bridgers sings, “Are we only biding time ’til I lose your attention?”), Role Model can empathize with the lyrics as an artist.

“I have said this many times before,” he shares. “People’s attention spans are very short, and they’re getting shorter. I try not to bathe in the attention that I’m getting now in this place of my career, which is, I guess, probably, the best place I’ve been in my career. I try not to shower myself in that because I know people are gonna forget at some point or move on, and there’s gonna be a nice, shinier little Tucker that comes along and outdoes me. I get it. I relate to Miss Taylor.”

Role Model arrives at the 15th Annual Guild of Music Supervisors Awards at The Wiltern on Feb. 23, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.

Role Model once met Bridgers at Coachella, but humbly assumes she doesn’t remember it. He hasn’t met Swift, though between this performance circulating and his tour with Abrams, he’s arguably now in the pop icon’s orbit, at least tangentially. An opener on Swift’s Eras Tour, Abrams ended up co-writing and recording the Grammy-nominated duet “us.” with her, a highlight on her The Secret of Us album.

Of his hope to meet Swift someday, Role Model, who in February released a few new songs (including “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out,” seen below) via deluxe album Kansas Anymore (The Longest Goodbye), says, “I would love to. I would love to.”

For someone who didn’t really identify as a fan of Swift until “Nothing New,” he’s got a reasonable grasp on the power of Swifties. His polite plea to those who hear his cover: “Just don’t hate me. If you don’t like it, I understand. If you liked it, thank you so much — I’m honored. I’m scared of both of you in the best way, so go easy on me.”

“Send hearts,” he says with optimism, making the signature heart hands Swift’s fandom knows.

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Jelly Roll Brings Grit & Heart to In-Ring Debut at WWE SummerSlam 2025

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Jelly Roll made his WWE in-ring debut this weekend, and teamed up with Randy Orton to battle Drew McIntyre and Logan Paul at SummerSlam 2025. Jelly didn’t disappoint, as the brute country force rattled McIntyre and Paul with a series of slams and elbow drops, before ultimately falling short in his Saturday night (Aug. 2) WWE match.

Cardi B Kicks Off Night One of WWE SummerSlam 2025: ‘We’re Making History Tonight’

Ahead of the match, Jelly introduced tag partner Orton and performed his entrance theme song, “Voices,” electrifying the MetLife Stadium crowd in East Rutherford, N.J.

Kicking off the match against Paul, Jelly impressed early. Not only did he deliver some offense, including an impressive shoulder tackle on Paul, but he absorbed a flurry of attacks. The defining moment came when Paul sent Jelly crashing through the announcer’s table with a high-flying splash. Despite the setback, a hobbled Jelly Roll delivered a clinical performance: first chokeslamming Paul before issuing a punishing bodyslam. But Paul had the last laugh, connecting with a frog splash and scoring the 1-2-3.

Jelly, a lifelong wrestling fan, trained rigorously at WWE’s Performance Center ahead of his match, which contributed to his 230-pound weight loss.

“This is about belief — believing in myself — and wanting to selfishly be a part of a beautiful moment,” Jelly said earlier this week in an interview with WWE’s Jackie Redmond. “I love this business. I just wanna bring value. I’m not here to take nothing away. I’m not here to take nobody’s spot. I want to bring value. I think this is one of the greatest ages of storytelling I’ve seen in wrestling this decade.”

See clips of Jelly’s SummerSlam in-ring debut below.

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Jerry Garcia Has Childhood Street Named for Him in San Francisco

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A few hundred people gathered Friday (Aug. 1) to name a tiny San Francisco street after legendary Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia on what would have been his 83rd birthday, and as part of a citywide celebration to mark the band’s 60th anniversary.

7 Best Moments From Dead & Company’s Kickoff Celebrating 60 Years of the Grateful Dead in SF

Harrington Street, which is one block long, will also be called “Jerry Garcia Street.” Garcia died in 1995, but the band’s popularity has only grown as younger generations discover the Dead’s improvisational music, which blended rock, blues, folk and other styles.

Garcia spent part of his childhood in a modest home in the city’s diverse Excelsior neighborhood. He lived with his grandparents after the death of his father, Jose Ramon “Joe” Garcia.

“I hope that you all get a chance to enjoy the music, dance, hug, smile,” said daughter Trixie Garcia, growing emotional during her brief remarks. “Cherish what’s valuable, what’s significant in life.”

Tens of thousands of fans are in San Francisco to commemorate the Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary with concerts and other activities throughout the city.

The latest iteration of the band, Dead & Company, with original Grateful Dead members Bob Weir and Mickey Hart, play Golden Gate Park’s Polo Field for three days this weekend (beginning with Friday’s show), with an estimated 60,000 attendees expected each day.

Formed in 1965, the Grateful Dead played often and for free in their early years while living in a cheap Victorian home in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. The band later became a significant part of 1967’s Summer of Love, and the Grateful Dead has become synonymous with San Francisco and its bohemian counterculture.

On Friday, fans in rainbow tie-dye and Grateful Dead T-shirts whooped and cheered as the sign was unveiled. Nonfans with shopping bags and some using walking canes maneuvered around the crowd on what was for them just another foggy day in the working-class neighborhood.

Afterward, devotees peeled off to pose for photos in front of Garcia’s childhood home.

Jared Yankee, 23, got the crowd to join him in singing “Happy Birthday.” Yankee said he flew in from Rhode Island for the shows. He got into the music about a decade ago.

“It’s a human thing,” he said of his impromptu singing. “I figure everyone knows the words to ‘Happy Birthday.’”

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Fans Choose Mariah The Scientist & Kali Uchis’ ‘Is It a Crime’ as This Week’s Favorite New Music

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“Is It a Crime,” the new duet from Mariah The Scientist and Kali Uchis, tops this week’s fan-voted music poll.

Friday Music Guide: New Music From Chappell Roan, Metro Boomin, Demi Lovato and More

Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (Aug. 1) on Billboard, choosing the pair’s fresh collaboration as their favorite new release of the past week.

“Is It a Crime” rose above a plethora of new releases — among them, songs from hitmakers like Demi Lovato, Chappell Roan, Reneé Rapp and more. Mariah and Kali’s collab track topped the poll by a landslide, bringing in more than 57% of the vote.

“Is It a Crime,” a slow jam that has the two artists singing about the return of a past love — and defending the relationship if anyone’s got anything to say about it — dropped on July 31, with spicy, jail-themed single art. (“very intentional, very grown woman,” Uchis commented of their shoot on Instagram.)

The chorus of the song says it all: “And so what? I fell, you fell in love a couple times/ Tell me, what’s it to ya? Tell me, is it a crime/ To fall, to fall in love, in love a couple times?/ Tell me, what’s it to ya? Tell me, is it a crime to fall?”

Among the new releases trailing behind “Is It a Crime” on this week’s poll are Demi Lovato’s “Fast,” coming in with 17% of the vote; Chappell Roan’s “The Subway,” with 16% of the vote, and Reneé Rapp’s “Bite Me,” with 2% of the vote.

See the final results of this week’s poll below.

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