Role Model Says He’s ‘Not Worried’ About Topping His Viral Success and Is ‘Writing a Lot’ of New Music (Exclusive)

NEED TO KNOW

• Role Model opens up about what’s next when it comes to music after the viral success of “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out”

• The star says he hopes to have another album out by next fall

• Role Model is PEOPLE’s first-ever Sexiest Man Alive centerfold

Role Model may have spent the last year riding the wave of his viral success, but the best is yet to come.

The singer-songwriter, who is PEOPLE’s first-ever Sexiest Man Alive centerfold, charmed millions of fans with his infectious single “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out,” which exploded into an on-stage phenomenon that recruited famous faces and fans to join him for a dance.

But for Role Model (né Tucker Pillsbury), the focus is on the future when it comes to his music career — and not on topping the success of “Sally.”

“I felt that for a little bit and decided that maybe that wasn’t the time to start writing, if I’m in that headspace,” he tells PEOPLE. “At some point, I stopped feeling pressure to top it because I just… I don’t know. I made it two years ago and I think I’ve grown now and I can write better songs than this. So I’m not worried.”

The musician, 28, released his second album Kansas Anymore in July 2024. The record marked a more mature sound for the star, as he ditched the electronic synths of his earlier releases for ‘70s-inspired guitars. In February, he breathed new life into Kansas with a deluxe edition that contained fan favorites like “Some Protector,” “Sally” and “Old Recliners.”

Role Model says he’d “love to have another album out [by] next fall,” and has been “writing a lot.” (But don’t quote him on that: “I can’t plan that far ahead. I literally don’t even know what I’m doing tomorrow,” he adds.)

“I had a lot of time this summer doing new things and shooting a movie [Lena Dunham‘s Good Sex] and having new experiences, going home, reconnecting with old friends,” says the Maine native. “It feels different this time. I’m not pulling myself out of social experiences to write an album. I’m trying to do the opposite and experience everything right now.”

Breaking through in the industry has been a long time coming for the star. As a kid in Maine, he’d plug his phone and iPod into his older brother’s laptop and download whatever he was listening to — Mumford and Sons, Bon Iver, Of Monsters and Men.

He eventually enrolled at Point Park University in Pittsburgh with the goal of becoming a filmmaker, but soon fell in love with songwriting. Before long, he was writing tunes and cold-calling local venues around the city asking if he could open for upcoming shows.

“I started putting out music on Spotify and my first song got put on a playlist to help it get discovered,” he recalls. “Things were happening and people were reaching out and I was also getting paid a very small amount of money from that since I distributed it myself and so I could show that to my parents and be like, ‘Look, I made money from this.’”

With some income under his belt, his parents let him take a leave of absence from college, essentially giving him a 12-month window to figure it out. And figure it out he did.

“I had a year to make it and I signed a deal in the year,” he says.

With a whirlwind breakthrough year now under his belt, the star is taking it all in stride.

“It’s very cool to me that we have successfully dragged this album out as long as we have,” he says. “I feel like that’s a really hard thing to do, to keep people’s attention on an album for longer than two weeks. I love that and I’m proud of that. Crowds have gotten more fun and louder. Coffee runs have gotten a little bit more hectic and I have to try and look somewhat presentable when I do go get coffee.”

For more from Role Model, and to see his centerfold in print, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE on newsstands Friday.

Read the original article on People