Niall Horan surprised fans at Role Model’s sold-out concert in London on November 4. The Irish singer joined the 28-year-old American artist — whose real name is Tucker Pillsbury — on stage at the Eventim Apollo to perform “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out,” a viral fan-favorite segment on Role Model’s ongoing film. No place like tour.
Horan, 32, embraced the show’s tradition of embodying “Sally” — a recurring character featured on the hit song — by stepping out in a light-wash denim look layered with a white tank and plaid shirt. The two artists danced and sang together in front of an audience of 5,000, prompting thunderous cheers and a flood of social media clips that quickly went viral on (formerly Twitter). A fan-posted video of the duo swapping verses and laughing racked up millions of views within hours, earning praise from fans and fellow musicians including Lewis Capaldi.
The role model’s “Sally” segment has become a signature tour moment, with surprise guests including Natalie Portman, Renée Rapp, Charli XCX, Bowen Yang, Dylan Minette and Kate Hudson. Each performance reimagines “Sally,” the title muse from Role Models’ 2024 deluxe album Kansas Anymore (The Longest Goodbye), mixing humor and storytelling in his live shows.
Talking to Saturday Night LiveJames Austin Johnson at Rolling Stones ‘Musicians on Musicians’ event earlier this year, Pillsbury revealed that the idea for the “Sally” segment came from a viral joke involving influencer Jake Shane. “He happened to be in Dallas and I thought this would be fun to play into it and he came up,” he said. “Originally I was going to have him for another song, something else and then we did it and people loved it, so we started bringing fans up.”
Since then, Role Model has turned the moment into a recurring spectacle that bridges the gap between pop culture and audience interaction—much like Sabrina Carpenter’s playful “poignant” skits or Charli XCX’s viral “Apple” fan cam. Horan’s appearance marks a particularly emotional return for the former One Direction member, whose onstage energy and self-aware humor immediately won over London audiences.
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