Originally debuting in the United States, it wasn’t difficult for Dean to dominate the Korean music charts. He became even more famous after collaborating with other Korean singers, such as Crush, Dok2, Gaeko, Taeyeon, and so on. His single titled “Instagram” also became the most popular song of his which is proven by the 39 Million views of the MV on his YouTube Channel. Already curious about Dean? Don’t worry, because, in this article, Channel-Korea will provide you with a run-through of everything about Dean. So, stay tuned!
Full Profile of Dean
First of all, let’s go through his full profile!
Stage Name: DEAN Birth Name: Kwon Hyuk (권혁) Place and Date of Birth: Seoul, November 10th, 1992 Religion: Christian Nationality: South Korea Genre: Alternative R&B Occupation: Singer-Songwriter, Rapper, and Record Producer Label: Universal Music Zodiac Sign: Scorpio Height: 177 cm Blood Type: O Twitter: @deantheofficial Instagram: @deantrbl Soundcloud: deantrouble Youtube: DEANTRBL Facebook: DEAN
Fun Facts About Dean
Dean was born and grew up in Hongeun-dong, Seoul. He also has a younger brother named Bom Hyuk. Do you have any idea where his stage name came from? It derived from the name of an actor, James Dean. He can speak Korean and English as well, even though he is often shy to speak English. He was singing for the first time in high school. Back then, music for him was an ‘escape from studying.’ He once wrote a song in his room but kept it a secret from his parents. But unexpectedly, when his parents eventually found out, they supported his decision to be an artist. In January 2016, he released a song featuring Crush and the Filipino-American singer, Jeff Bernat, titled “What 2 Do.” In January 2016 and March 2016, he appeared in Two Yoo Project Sugar Man as the producer of songs from iKON and Winner. He also became the first Asian artist who performed at Spotify House at SXSW, alongside international artists, including Miguel and Chvrches. His EP 130 Mood: TRBL album placed on the 3rd position on the Billboard World Albums Chart. In June 2016, he collaborated with SNSD’s Taeyeon for her single titled “Starlight” and even appeared in the MV. He is named as R&B Prince of Asia. Since 2016, he is a part of a music crew called FANXY CHILD along with Millic, Crush, Penomeco, and Zico. He is also one of the founders of Club Eskimo crew, consisting of himself, Crush, OFFONOFF, Punchnello, Jusen, Chek Parren, 2xxx, and Camper. In 2017, he once appeared on Show Me The Money 6 as one of the producers, forming a team along with Zico. His favorite foods are pizza and sushi. But, he also likes chocolate and jelly. His favorite color is green. He is a good friend of Zico and Crush who are of the same age as him. He describes his music in three words: Raw, Rebel, Root. Besides being a musician, he is also a fashionista who is inspired by NY runways. If he is asked what part of his body he likes the most, he will answer lips because he thinks that his lips are his main attraction. He really admires Kanye West, Miguel, and Donald Glover. His ideal type is someone who understands him and his weird antics.
Early Career: Deanfluenza
As the first kid in the family who has talent in music, it was quite surprising knowing that his parents would support his career as a musician and it successfully made him begin his career in the music industry at a very young age. Dean began his career at the age of 16 by performing with a Korean hip-hop artist, Keith Ape (whose single titled “It G Ma” successfully caught over 10 Million YouTube views). Then, at the age of 18, he was writing songs for K-Pop artists under the name Deanfluenza. The name itself was referred to an actor named James Dean, who in his opinion had a rebellious image and the word ‘influenza’ which signifies his desire to make a “viral” impact in the music industry. Finally, at the age of 20, Dean had an opportunity to get the tutelage under Joombas Music Group CEO and producer Hyuk Shin and was employed with the songwriting team of the Los Angeles-based company who had worked for EXO’s “Growl” and Justin Bieber’s “One Less Lonely Girl.” He was also credited in EXO’s “Black Pearl” and VIXX’s “Voodoo Doll.”
Debut in the U.S and Korea
Dean successfully debuted in the United States in July 2015 with a single titled “I’m Not Sorry” which was performed by the Grammy winner, Eric Bellinger. It made him different from other Korean singers who had collaborated with any American artist that mostly began their career in Korea. Claire Lobenfeld from FACT (a British magazine) then mentioned “I’m Not Sorry” when listing Dean as an R&B artist to watch out for in 2016, including Justin Bieber and Chris Brown who also had worked with Bellinger. The same year, Dean also collaborated with Mila J for “Here & Now” and Anderson Paak for “Put My Hands on You.” Then, Dean debuted in Korea in October 2015 with his second single titled “Pour Up” featuring Zico, which was crowned as the Best R&B Song and Soul Song at the Korean Music Awards on February 29th, 2016. He also collaborated with other Korean Hip-Hop artists, such as Crush, Zion.T, Dok2, Dynamic Duo, and Junggigo.
Curious About His Tattoo?
It’s common for an artist to have tattoos on his/her body. Besides being a form of art, a tattoo may have special meanings for some people, like for many Korean artists, let’s say, G-Dragon, Jaejoong, Jay Park, WINNER’s Mino, Hyuna, Block B’s Zico, and so on. But, do you know that Dean also has tattoos on his body.
- Mustache tattoo on his index finger
- ‘William Shakespeare’ tattoo on his inner forearm that has the meaning: Beware of Imitations
- ‘Rebel’ tattoo on the back of his neck
- ‘Maehwa Flower’ tattoo on his neck (left side) that represents his mother
Dean’s Love Life
So far, Dean hasn’t been rumored of dating anyone. But, there was interesting news stated that he was thinking about his ex-girlfriend while writing his song, “Instagram.” In 2018, Dean was talking about his latest single titled “Instagram” in an interview with MelOn. During the interview session, he revealed some backstory on creating the single. He was asked, “The lyric of “Instagram” mentions a woman with short hair, isn’t it referring to your ex-girlfriend?” Hearing the question, Dean also thought that way. He explained that for making an overall theme, he had to chat with many people until a relationship between an ex-boyfriend and ex-girlfriend became the conclusion. He also stated that the key point of the song was that the person looked up his/her ex’s Instagram page, so he admitted that he visited his ex-girlfriend Instagram page for creating honest music.
Rumored for Luring a Pretty Girl Into His Studio
In 2018, Dean once had been rumored for luring a pretty girl into his studio to have a little time together. The news was first spread on Twitter when a netizen stated that Dean was a type of a man who would take any pretty girl he liked into his studio then have sex with the girl. Unable to stand the false rumor, eventually, Dean responded to the rumor by posting the screenshot from the conversation then posted it on his Instagram Story with a simple response: “When did I?” Then, other netizens begin spamming that three commenters, blaming them for spreading false rumors and tainting Dean’s image until one of the commenters apologized to Dean and squared the matter.
