Twenty-six-year-old British singer-songwriter Olivia Dean returned to the music scene on Sept. 29 with the release of her sophomore album “The Art of Loving.” Blending elements of pop and R&B, Dean’s record includes dulcet tunes centered around the complexity of heartache, personal growth, and most of all, the significance of love.
Brought up in North London, Dean was immersed in her parents’ music collection, cementing her endearment with music from a young age. Amongst the records were names such as Lauryn Hill (where her middle name stems from), Carole King and The Supremes (she has even shown her appreciation by covering hits by these artists, such as The Supremes, “You Can’t Hurry Love” and Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend”). Later, many of these artists ended up as personal influences demonstrated in her own career.
At 15, Dean attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology, where accomplished artists such as Adele, Amy Winehouse and RAYE studied as well. Dean released her first professionally recorded single, “Reason to Stay,” four years later. Since then, she has released two studio albums: her 2023 album “Messy” with EMI Records and her newest project with Capitol Records.
Her debut album, “Messy,” released in 2023, found success at the top of the U.K. charts and established her as an artist with immense promise. Throughout the 12-track album, Dean embraces the unexpected parts of life, a difficult task for a self-proclaimed perfectionist.
The ballad “Dive” centers around the line between fear and acceptance of falling into love: “Maybe it’s the fact that every time I fall, I lose it all / But you got me from my head to my feet / And I’m ready to dive.” The jazzy track earned her a Mercury prize nomination and peaked at No. 17 on the UK singles chart. Throughout the record, Dean channels the soulful influences she grew up with through melodic piano notes, fixed percussion and bursts of brass that encompass the instrumentals of the album. Overall, the record found vast amounts of critical acclaim with Forbes writing that the album was “one of the best” of 2023.
This past summer, Dean released three singles off her second album, “The Art of Loving”— “Nice To Each Other,” “Lady Lady” and “Man I Need.” Instantaneously, “Man I Need” became a catchy hit in the TikTok sphere with users dancing around to the chorus, “Already gave you the time and the place / So, don’t be shy / Just come be the man I need.” The trend continued up to the release of the full album, swelling suspense as Dean toured venues across Europe and North America. Her other two singles also gained traction, widening her impact in a short amount of time.
Dean has not only taken over everyone’s “For You” page, but she’s also rapidly climbing the charts. “The Art of Loving” debuted at No. 1 on the U.K. albums chart, launched forward with “Man I Need” remaining on Billboard’s Hot 100 list for 14 weeks, where it currently sits at No. 12. Additionally, the song has over 400 million streams on Spotify alone, contributing to Dean’s remarkable 53 million monthly listeners, with the number only growing.
Earlier this year, in February, Dean’s single “It Isn’t Perfect But It Might Be” was featured in the soundtrack for “Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy.” The BRIT Awards announced that the song has since been certified silver, recognizing over 200,000 units sold. Dean also made her “Saturday Night Live” debut on Nov. 15 as the episode’s musical guest, captivating 4.1 million viewers and receiving widespread commendation for her performances.
In a musical environment congested with songs about sexuality and hookup culture, Dean provides a breath of fresh air. Her music describes romance as something complex, invoking emotions of insecurity, vulnerability and happiness to describe the sensation of falling in love, as if it’s a lost art form. Though the most important takeaway from this album is that love may come and go, but it’s important to recognize it anywhere you can.
These emotionally sincere values mirror those of legends such as Aretha Franklin. Specifically, the idea of someone not respecting your entire personality, which Franklin sings about in her song “Ain’t No Way.” Similar standards are reflected in “Loud” by Dean, with lyrics describing someone accepting her love, not her personality, “To turn me on just to turn me down,” “I’m out / the silence is so loud.”
Following the release of the album, Dean joined Sabrina Carpenter as an opener during the second leg of the “Short n’ Sweet Tour” in North America. She performed five sold-out nights at Madison Square Garden in New York City, filling her 30-minute set with nine songs consisting of a mix from her two albums, along with singles from her earlier discography. Her performance included basic staging with her band, a black backdrop with her name and Dean herself. This simple staging allowed Dean to shine — with her enthusiasm accompanying her elegant dress and Dean bopping to her music just like the audience — a sense of timelessness filled the arena for each show.
On the horizon, Dean tours “The Art of Loving Live” with many dates in Europe and North America. Overwhelming demand caused Dean to add more shows than initially planned to the tour, as her presale soldout within an hour. As a result, she will perform two shows in each city. New York, however, showed her intense love, sparking three additional shows at Madison Square Garden.
During the general sale of tickets for the tour, many fans expressed frustration through social media with the price of resale tickets, an ongoing issue for concertgoers in recent years. Bots and second-hand sellers (such as StubHub) buy tickets straight from Ticketmaster, only to sell the tickets exceptionally marked up from the face value price.
For example, in the past few years, two of pop’s biggest names have spoken out about the unfair market. In 2022, Taylor Swift posted about the issue fans were having with the presale of her “Eras Tour” tickets, giving many fans a second opportunity to buy tickets before they went on sale to the public. In addition, this fall, Ariana Grande also spoke about the inflation of ticket prices, stating that what these companies are doing is “not right.” Arguments at the federal level have been made in hopes of limiting the inflation of ticket prices, yet to no avail, as these services still get away with cheating fans.
Dean joined these artists in condemning the actions of these major companies through multiple social media posts. The prices listed for her tickets on StubHub surpassed $1,000 in some instances. However, she directly called out Ticketmaster and AXS immediately writing, “You are providing a disgusting service. The prices at which you’re allowing tickets to be re-sold is vile.” Calling these services out without sugarcoating her statements shows the pent-up irritation of artists.
This move also solidifies Dean as a confident rising musician, as she does not shy away from calling out corruption in the ticketing industry. Later, Dean posted on her Instagram that her team had agreed to cap the prices of resale tickets, with a strong statement, “STOP THE BOTS,” summing up the stance of fed-up artists. In response, Ticketmaster released its own press release supporting Dean’s assertions and emphasizing their dedication to keeping live music something that is shared and accessible to all.
Dean’s future remains an exciting feat to witness, especially with the upcoming award show season. She has secured a GRAMMY nomination for Best New Artist. If she were to win in her category, she would join legends such as Natalie Cole, The Beatles and Alicia Keys. A win would solidify her next to some of the most iconic names in history. Previously, Dean was recognized by the BRIT Awards and given her success this year, her name will likely be on the nominee list once it is released.
Beyond the success in the statistics, what gives Dean the possibility of evolving from a breakout artist to a household name is the nature of her sound. While her charisma in interviews and fan interactions gives her relatability to the masses, her perpetuity can be attributed to the classic feel of her ballads. Drawing on aspects of jazz and R&B, her music doubles the warmth of greats before her. In addition, she adds a modern twist to her songs through cheeky lyrics, making her music not feel outdated. Individuals of all generations can look to her as an extremely talented young woman with a long career ahead of her.
Shannon Burke can be reached at [email protected].