Gus Dapperton

Brendan Patrick Rice (born March 11, 1997), better known by his stage name Gus Dapperton, is an American singer and songwriter from Warwick, New York.

Public image Dapperton has received particular attention for his fashion style, consisting at some points of a green bowl cut, noticeable jewelry, eyeliner, brightly colored clothing, and thick-rimmed glasses. Despite being known for his gender-bending fashion, Dapperton does not believe in "gendered clothing" and says he simply wears what he likes, avoiding concern about gender stereotypes. He also mentions that he sees his appearance and fashion as part of his creative expression and "a form of art on their own".

In 2022, he signed with IMG Models and was the face of Celine Homme spring/summer campaign.

Dapperton has mentioned that he prefers to go by his stage name rather than his birth name, explaining it as "I sort of referenced those two eras of my life. The start of a new era being me, Gus, this is my music, this is how I’m gonna express myself for the rest of my life, and Brendan being someone who is more neglected and discouraged from that." He also described "Brendan" as someone scared to embrace their own individuality, while "Gus" is closer to his true self.

Career

2016–2017: "Moodna, Once With Grace" and Yellow and Such Gus Dapperton released his debut single, "Moodna, Once With Grace", in 2016. In 2017, Dapperton released his debut EP, Yellow and Such.

2018: You Think You're A Comic! In 2018, Dapperton released his second EP, You Think You're A Comic!.

Dapperton's song "Of Lacking Spectacle" was featured on the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why and appears on the soundtrack album.

2019: Where Polly People Go to Read In 2019, Dapperton released his debut album, Where Polly People Go to Read, described as chronicling the highs and lows of falling in love. On February 9, 2019, he released a self-directed music video for song "My Favorite Fish", shot at his parents house in New Jersey.

The 10-track album received positive reviews from critics. In September 2019, he released EP In Passing 001, a 4-track collaboration with Hayes Bradley, who at the time was using the artist name B.Hayes.

Also in 2019, Dapperton featured on the track "Supalonely" by artist Benee. The song gained immense popularity on the online video-sharing platform TikTok in March 2020, gaining more than 6.9 billion plays for the month. The widespread success of the single led to Dapperton performing the song with BENEE on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

2020–2022: Orca Dapperton's second studio album, Orca, was released on September 18, 2020. He released four singles, "First Aid", "Post Humorous", "Medicine", and "Bluebird", prior to the album's release. This album features only one artist other than Dapperton, Filipino Australian artist Chela on the track "My Say So", during the bridge and background vocals. Dapperton commented on a shift in his songwriting, saying "In the past, I've written my songs from a place of love and heartbreak. This album is about internal pain and suffering". He also mentioned themes of healing and redemption as key elements to the album. He also elaborated on the album title, Orca, as a metaphor for pain and suffering stemming from their lives in captivity.

On April 7, 2021, Dapperton released a remix version of "Palms" as the album fifth single, featuring American rapper Channel Tres. The remix was included on the deluxe version of the album which was released on June 11, 2021. The deluxe version also includes three new songs: "Sober Up", "Flatline" and "Steady", in which the former was released as the sixth single of Orca era.

Throughout 2020-2022, Dapperton was featured on a series of collaborative singles with other artists, including Surf Mesa's "Somewhere", Anna of the North's "Meteorite", Spill Tab's "Velcro" and Easy Life's "Antifreeze. He also featured on the track "Pumped up Kicks" on the 10th anniversary deluxe edition of Foster The People's album Torches.

In August 2022, Dapperton signed with Warner Records, releasing a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide" in conjunction with the news. and "Horizons", the latter of which was accompanied by a self-directed music video. With "Horizons", Dapperton teased a new album, stating that the music video highlighted "a whole new world for my next project".

On April 21, 2023, Dapperton released single "Don't Let Me Down" with long time collaborator BENEE. The single was accompanied with the announcement of Dapperton's third and major label debut album, titled Henge and scheduled for release on July 7, 2023. The title is in reference to Manhattanhenge, a phenomenon in which the sun aligns with the streets of New York City, creating a glow of light. Dapperton describes it as "a love letter to my New York City," a formative location for his early songwriting. With beginning and ending tracks "Sunset" and "Sunrise", Dapperton described the album as "more of a concept album" about love and fear in contrast to his previous work, which was "more casual and honest" about depression and healing. Similarly, he described Henge as production-heavy, while Orca featured live instrumentation and the songwriting. On June 9, 2023, Dapperton released the lead single "Sunset".

Artistry Dapperton often works by himself, not enlisting help from producers or collaborators. He explained his beginnings as an artist started in computer production on GarageBand before he began creating his own vocals and instrumentation, and also stated that he simply prefers to mix and master alone due to the desire to materialize his ideas very quickly. He also frequently answered that he had no dream collaborator, finding it difficult to imagine working with someone he has never met based only on their public image. However, for his second album Orca, Dapperton enlisted the help of other musicians, which he said added depth and vulnerability to the music as well as growth and positivity to his creative process. Dapperton also admires mainstream pop music and "never denied the pleasures of pop music growing up". He also states that he cares a lot about his work and sees visuals as very important in his conception of new music, and that he likes to put 110% into his work, including full visuals. He played lacrosse and was a member of the diving team while in high school. He was inspired to pursue music seriously while recovering from an ACL tear and subsequent surgery. After two years at Drexel he chose not to return, citing a competitive environment in the music department as one contributing factor.

He previously dated actress Barbie Ferreira, who appears in his music video for the song "Prune, You Talk Funny".

Discography Studio albums +List of studio albums, with release date and label shown Title Details Where Polly People Go to Read Released: April 19, 2019 Label: AWAL Formats: Digital download, streaming Orca Released: September 18, 2020 Label: AWAL Formats: Digital download, streaming Henge Released: July 7, 2023 Label: Warner Formats: Digital download, streaming

Extended plays +List of EPs, with release date and label shown Title Details Yellow and Such Released: August 3, 2017 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download, streaming You Think You're a Comic! Released: February 9, 2018 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download, streaming Tunes For Late Spring Released: June 7, 2024 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download, streaming

Singles As lead artist +List of singles as lead artist, with year released and album shown Title Year Album "Moodna, Once with Grace" 2016 "Ditch" "I'm Just Snacking" 2017 Yellow and Such "Prune, You Talk Funny" You Think You're a Comic! "World Class Cinema" 2018 Where Polly People Go to Read "My Favorite Fish" 2019 "Fill Me Up Anthem" "Coax & Botany" "Give it to Me Straight" "First Aid" 2020 Orca "Post Humorous" "Medicine" "Bluebird" "Palms"(solo or with Channel Tres) 2021 Orca and Orca (Deluxe) "Sober Up" Orca (Deluxe) "Meteorite" (with Anna of the North) 2022 Crazy Life "Wet Cement" Henge "Horizons" 2023 "Don't Let Me Down" (with BENEE) "Sunset" "Homebody" "Fallout"(with Lyrical Lemonade featuring Lil Yachty and Joey Badass) 2024 All Is Yellow "Lil Tune"(with Electric Guest) Tunes for Late Spring "What You Won't Do For Love" "Believe"

As featured artist +List of singles as featured artist, with year released and album shown Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album US AUS BEL(FL) CAN IRE NLD NOR NZ UK "Faceless" 2016 — — — — — — — — — Closed Doors (EP) "Supalonely" 2019 39 6 3 10 11 9 6 2 18 RIAA: 2× Platinum ARIA: 4× Platinum BEA: Gold BPI: Silver MC: Platinum RMNZ: 4× Platinum Stella & Steve and Hey U X "Somewhere" 2020 — — — — — — — — — "Antifreeze" 2022 — — — — — — — — — Maybe in Another Life... "Thank You For Leaving Me" 2024 — — — — — — — — — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released.

Guest appearances +List of guest appearances, with other artist, with year released and album shown Title Year Other artist Album "Of Lacking Spectacle" 2018 13 Reasons Why: Season 2 (Music from the Original TV Series) "Pumped Up Kicks" 2021 Foster the People Torches X (Deluxe Edition) "Velcro" 2021 spill tab Bonnie "Beautiful Nothing" 2022 Cruel Santino Subaru Boys: FINAL HEAVEN "Wicked City"