Musician Rian, whose real name is Florian Gruber, would not have thought that entertaining videos and a song regarding a nasty goat would make you a TikTok star. His fame as a singer – he has already conquered the Austrian charts with his songs like “Belong to You” – has by no means been damaged. On Friday he comes to Klagenfurt with his “Hoppala Show” and on Saturday to Graz. In the interview he talks regarding his music and his viral videos.
You started making music a few years ago. What was the initial spark?
FLORIAN GRUBER: Actually, there weren’t any. I wanted to make music from a young age. Persistence and passion were important. In 2017 “Belong to You” entered the Austrian charts and “Liebesbrief” is the first song that was created through a viral TikTok video of mine.
So did TikTok give you an extra nudge in the right direction?
Here one might say that this was perhaps a kind of initial spark. TikTok is a great platform to market your own music – if you do it right.
Looking at your video views (note: up to 11 million per video), you would think that you actually got it right.
I tend to do silly things in general. And that also in the videos and sometimes quite spontaneously. At the end of summer 2021 I uploaded the first videos, but they were lost. The first successful video came at the end of November and that’s when things really took off.
It has been viewed 1.2 million times so far and begins with “Thanks, I’m not drinking today” – and lo and behold, at the end of the evening the project was thrown overboard. How do you manage to play a drunk so well?
I had no idea at the beginning, I just did it and never actively practiced. But I watched the performances of Thomas Stipsits, he does it really well too. People seem to like my “drunk” videos. And I don’t like being intoxicated that much myself.
TikTok users who do not know you because of these videos, you have at least because of the “nasty goat” met. (Note: in the song, Rian tells how he met a goat in a meadow). How did the idea for the song come regarding?
That may sound boring now, but it just came to me spontaneously on a warm followingnoon. The goat noise had already established itself in my videos and I wanted to do something funny regarding it. As a result, the song “Black Sheep – Acoustic Session” was created. It’s great that it’s good for so many and that they can identify with it. Although – don’t really identify it, following all it’s a goat.
And where do you generally get your ideas from?
I take most of them from everyday life. The search for it is also the most time-consuming, because I invest a lot of time in coming up with something good. The implementation is then faster.
Is there actually a difference between Florian and Rian?
I tend to overthink everything in my videos. However, that is improving. But the one in the videos is 100% me. I like to entertain people. With both the music and the comedy. I can also present myself best in a combination of both.
So will there be a mix in your shows as well?
Yes absolutely. There will be a lot of entertainment. But it shouldn’t just be a concert, although the music is of course in the foreground. The sense of humor shouldn’t be neglected either.
There are rumors regarding your age circulating on the internet. How old are you really?
Something between 20 and 30. Sometimes I say I’m 22 and sometimes I’m 24. I want to keep it exciting. (laughs)
