The Crossover Convo
Depending on when you were first introduced to DPR IAN throughout his decade-plus career in entertainment so far, it may be smart to check on how exactly to address the Australian multi-hyphenate.
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Born Christian Yu in Sydney, Australia, in 1990, and known by his Korean name Barom, the future star introduced his first moniker by uploading dance videos to YouTube as B Boy B.yu — a nickname thought up by his mother to remind him to always “be you” or, in young Barom’s case, “B yu”). After high school, he embraced an unexpected swerve to debut in the K-pop industry as Rome, the leader of the boy band C-Clown. When the group split, he reclaimed Christian and used +IAN after directing music videos for the likes of BIGBANG’s Taeyang and iKON’s Bobby, before ultimately landing on his DPR IAN stage name as part of he and his Dream Perfect Regime’s independent, creative musical movement.
But for a friendly conversation like the first episode of Billboard’s The Crossover Convo, he says Ian is “perfect.”
“There are so many eras that I’ve been through and pertaining to those eras is where a lot of those names came out,” DPR IAN explains to Billboard. “Having it all laid out like that really puts a lot of things into perspective. I’ve really just been on the run and on the fly, and I haven’t been able to process a lot of these things; it’s been quite the journey.”
With a musical journey that began with a childhood obsession with progressive-music icons like Daft Punk and Moby, embracing British-pop icons like The Beatles and Spice Girls, to diving into new genres on multifaceted projects like vocalizing over icy EDM on “Do or Die” with DPR ARCTIC, while delivering a psychedelic rock experience for “Diamonds + and Pearls” on the Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings soundtrack, that features a diverse roster of superstars like Simu Lu, Anderson .Paak, DJ Snake, Saweetie, Swae Lee, BIBI, 21 Savage, Mark Tuan of GOT7 and many more.
The Shang-Chi soundtrack peaked at No. 160 on the Billboard 200 in 2021, but IAN built upon the chart momentum with his 2022 full-length Moodswings in to Order (peaking at No. 146 on the chart), which was soon surpassed by Dear Insanity EP from 2023 (No. 138).
But IAN says the music’s personal impact on listeners is more important than how much they buy or consume it.
“I’ve never really expected any of that as I was starting this,” he says in reaction to his organic chart rise. “Even if it affects one person and if it’s enough to change one person’s world for the better, that was enough for me.”
For the premiere episode of The Crossover Convo, take a journey through DPR IAN’s music history and look out for the next star to go through their global-pop music journey next month.
DPR IAN has had various names, and with each name came a new sound. In the first episode of The Crossover Convo, DPR Ian shares his journey through music. From being a Daft Punk fan to entering K-pop as Rome in C-Clown, and now being independent as DPR IAN, the singer opens up about his journey with his Billboard 200 entry Moodswings in to Order and “Don’t Go Insane,” touring, his mental health, working on a new album and more!
Jeff Benjamin:Hello and welcome to Billboard. My name is Jeff Benjamin, and I’m here in Seoul to bring you guys a very special interview. We’re going to be talking to DPR IAN today, an artist who truly defines the crossover. Thank you for talking with us. Get comfortable. You’ve crossed from B-boying to K-pop. You’ve crossed countries, from Australia, Korea …
DPR IAN:Multitudes of countries, yes.
Yes, in the U.S. You’ve even crossed professions, you know, going from rap oriented, singing, video editing, visuals.
Wow, that is quite a lot. Having it laid out all like that, it really puts a lot of things into perspective. For me, it’s like I’ve just really been on the run, on the fly, and I haven’t really been able to process a lot of these things, and it’s been quite the journey.
You know, tell me what you’re comfortable with because I’m never sure I if I should call you, Christian or Ian or DPR?
Too many names. You could call me anything. OK so I’m called “Anything” now — just kidding. No, literally, like you just said, you pointed out there’s so many eras I’ve been through pertaining to those eras I think that’s where a lot of the names came out of. So without even me knowing, like Rome was from my C-Clown days, you know? And then it goes into Christian, which was the videography days, and now it’s Ian. So I guess, you know, I mean, Ian is perfect.
Keep watching for more!
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