Tyson Ritter has never been one to color inside the lines. As the frontman of The All-American Rejects, he helped soundtrack a generation of angsty youth with saccharine choruses and eyeliner-wrapped sincerity. But in 2024, the band that once defined high school heartbreak is now redefining viral marketing—with Ritter baring it all, literally and metaphorically.
Hot on the heels of their nostalgia-fueled Wet Hot All-American Summer Tour, which reimagined house shows with the band playing everywhere in the most unorthodox venues, the Rejects are back with new music—and an even bolder promotional play. Ritter has officially launched an OnlyFans account to tease their upcoming single, “Easy Come, Easy Go”, which was just released.
“This new record from the Rejects is something close to the bone for me lyrically, so why not bear it all,” Ritter said in a press release. “Get a taste of full frontal rock ‘n’ roll. Looking at you, Bert Reynolds.”
If it sounds like a joke, that’s exactly the point. For a band whose entire appeal has often hinged on the push-pull of sincerity and satire, the move feels both absurd and entirely on-brand. Subscribers to Ritter’s OF account won’t be met with porn—but they will get exclusive content, including an uncensored cut of the Easy Come, Easy Go music video. And unlike Tommy Lee’s infamous $40-a-month paywall, Ritter’s subscription is free.
Speaking with GQ, Ritter was refreshingly candid about the strategy:
“I don’t think anybody would have expected the All-American Rejects to make a ripple in the water ever again. And so the excitement behind this whole thing is like, Where else can we be disruptive?”
Disruption seems to be the name of the game for Ritter in 2024. And if the “peen bursting through a zipper” comment didn’t give it away, the singer is fully embracing the weird, memeable, terminally-online reality of today’s music landscape.
“We’ve always been a band who’s got a tongue bursting through the cheek when it comes to our music,” Ritter added. “So why not, you know, do a little peen bursting through a zipper?”
Twenty years after “Swing, Swing” broke through the pop-punk clutter, the Rejects are once again making noise—only this time, it’s NSFW. And maybe that’s exactly what rock needs right now: a little shamelessness, a lot of self-awareness, and just enough balls to make people care again.
