Model/Actriz Performs Lead Single 'Cinderella' on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

When it comes to measures of success, performing on live television is high on the list. Model/Actriz checked that milestone off in June, making their TV debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. 

During the performance, vocalist and songwriter Cole Haden BM ’19 struts a catwalk, grabs ahold of the camera, and delivers frontperson energy that, even beyond the mustache, begs comparison with Freddie Mercury. 

Haden, drummer Ruben Radlauer BM ’19, and guitarist Jack Wetmore BM ’17 got together as Berklee students in 2015. Radlauer and Wetmore knew each other from childhood and reconnected in Boston. The friends saw Haden perform—writhing on the floor in a corset and fake blood—in 2015, telling Rolling Stone that “There was an intensity that was even more intense than what we would see at punk shows.” They toured as a trio (the "cool, scary band," bassist Aaron Shapiro BM ’17 recalled), but broke up in 2017. They reformed in 2019 with Shapiro as the fourth member. 

Watch Model/Actriz's performance of "Cinderella" below:

Model/Actriz released their debut album, Dogsbody, in 2023. They were signed to True Panther Records after the label's head Dean Bein saw them play Brooklyn's Elsewhere club in 2021. "I just went because I wanted to go to a show," Bein told Rolling Stone. "But I left there being like, ‘I have to work with them.'”

The band's sophomore release, Pirouette, came out in May, and has garnered some buzz, including landing on Stereogum's list of the best albums of the year so far. 

"It’s been exciting to watch Cole grow from a student in EPD, studying music production and sound design, into the remarkable artist he is today," says Michele Darling, chair of the Electronic Production and Design Department (EPD). "Even as a student, he stood out as a true creative. I remember him always writing in a notebook, capturing thoughts and fragments of ideas, a poet at heart. Also, his curiosity for sound and exploring new musical artistry was evident early on, and it’s no surprise that he’s carried that spirit into his work now." 

"Model/Actriz's music pushes boundaries with new timbres and unexpected sonic textures, experimenting fearlessly with form and genre, all anchored by Cole's extraordinary voice," she adds. "Cole's success feels like the natural result of years of deep artistic exploration. I’m so excited for him, and honestly, not the least bit surprised. He's always been one to follow his own vision with both courage and originality."