What started as a music experiment during the COVID-19 pandemic has exploded into one of the internet’s most delightfully bizarre music projects — and, now, it’s become a full-blown live production that was born right here in North Texas. There I Ruined It, the brainchild of Denton native Dustin Ballard, first made waves online by taking popular songs and mashing them up into unexpected — and often hilariously inappropriate — genres. Think Eminem’s "Lose Yourself" turned into a country waltz, or "Straight Outta Compton" reimagined as a polka. "Really, all of this began back during COVID," Ballard said. "I guess in a moment of musical boredom, I just had this random idea to take a music video and to swap all of the audio and to change the genre of it." Ballard, who grew up playing violin in school orchestras and Western swing bands, quickly amassed a large online following by taking the “sacred” parts of pop music and, well, ruining them. “I think there's an element of subversion,” he said of his craft. “This idea of taking a song and doing something you're not supposed to do with it -- taking a rap song and making it country, vice versa. There's just something unexpected that the people really liked.” The result? Viral videos that have earned the attention — and sometimes even the approval — of artists like Snoop Dogg and Ed Sheeran. “What we do is parody,” Ballard said. “Which is protected as First Amendment speech these days.” And, now, what began as a simple creative outlet for Ballard has evolved into a full-on band of DFW musicians who regularly perform live shows to sold-out crowds. “It’s not a real easy band to find musicians for,” Ballard said with a laugh at a recent rehearsal. FULL STORY: https://www.wfaa.com/article/entertainment/music/texas-band-there-i-ruined-it-viral-musical-mashups-live-comedy-gold/287-6512b3ce-85b5-4dd3-81bf-a3ada3e589b1