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Creating her second album, a highly anticipated follow-up to her 2023 Mercury Prize-nominated neo-soul debut “Messy,” brought a unique kind of pressure for Olivia Dean. She recently confessed feeling a strong urge to prove she could replicate her initial success.
At 26, the talented British singer and sharp lyricist initially pursued what many would consider the standard path for a rising star: a lavish studio in Los Angeles, collaborating with renowned producers. ‘Because you can, and they want to work with you now,’ she explained, acknowledging the allure.
Yet, something felt off. This wasn’t the creative space she needed.
Having recently experienced heartbreak, Dean envisioned her new album as a deeply personal ‘case study on love.’ However, in that high-pressure environment, she found herself too anxious to truly connect with her own voice.
Unwilling to compromise her artistic vision, Dean sought a more intimate and vulnerable setting. In March, she rented a spacious, sun-filled house in East London, close to her childhood home. There, surrounded by her own piano and her longtime collaborators, she spent eight weeks crafting the album.
This East London house proved to be an invaluable creative partner, according to executive producer Zach Nahome. Dean often stayed overnight, and the album’s lyrics, titled ‘The Art of Loving,’ were born from the group’s unhurried, late-night conversations fueled by red wine.
Released last month on Capitol Records, the resulting album is a polished, deeply personal 12-track journey exploring romantic, platonic, and self-love. It also draws inspiration from bell hooks’s influential work, ‘All About Love: New Visions.’
Its distinctly poppier sound compared to her previous work is no accident. Dean stated, ‘I really wanted to reach people’ with this album, aiming for broader appeal.
And reach them she has. Starting Sunday, Dean will open for Sabrina Carpenter during her five-night residency at Madison Square Garden. Next year, she’ll headline six sold-out shows at London’s prestigious O2 Arena. Her album, ‘The Art of Loving,’ immediately soared to the top of the British album charts, and its dazzling single, ‘Man I Need,’ also secured the No. 1 spot, marking the most successful opening week for a British female artist since Adele’s ’30’ in 2021.
Across the Atlantic, both the album and its lead single have steadily climbed the Billboard charts. Lately, Dean’s catchy tunes, featuring playful lyrics such as ‘I’m the perfect mix of / Saturday night and the rest / of your life,’ have become the unofficial anthem across TikTok and Instagram. Her rising profile also landed her a major campaign as the new face of Burberry’s Her fragrance line.
Jo Charrington, President of Capitol Records U.K. and the executive who signed Sam Smith, has been working with Dean for years. She remarked, ‘This feels exactly like being around Sam Smith 12 years ago,’ highlighting Dean’s undeniable trajectory.
Dean, with her characteristic infectious laugh, described the sudden surge of attention: ‘All of a sudden, everybody’s looking at me!’ she exclaimed, feigning surprise and playfully shielding her face with a burgundy-manicured hand. ‘It’s amazing, but it’s also so, so funny.’ She also shared that she recently stepped away from TikTok, feeling overwhelmed by ‘always listening to a conversation that people are having about me.’
This whirlwind of attention felt particularly surreal to Dean, who admitted she had ‘felt on the outside of it all for such a long time.’
Dean has been crafting music since the age of 19, focusing on lyrics that aim to uncover ‘the most romance in little things,’ and a sound designed to evoke raw emotion rather than conform to specific genres. Her distinctive blend of R&B, pop-soul, Motown, jazz, and even steel drum influences initially presented ‘lots of hurdles,’ she explained. ‘Making the first album was really hard. Nobody really got it.’
Emily Braham, Dean’s manager since she was 17, noted that the music industry often made ‘shortsighted and lazy’ assumptions, expecting a ‘mixed-race girl with a guitar’ to emulate artists like Corinne Bailey Rae.
Braham lauded Dean’s steadfast commitment, stating that ‘despite the industry always telling you that you have to be a certain type of person,’ Dean has remained ‘really defiant about how she wants to do things.’ A testament to this spirit: in 2020, when the pandemic wiped out her initial summer festival bookings, she and her team creatively staged impromptu concerts from a yellow van at various British campsites and outdoor pools.
Dean credits her unwavering determination and extensive musical palette partly to her upbringing. Her mother, of Jamaican and Guyanese heritage, was the first Black woman to serve as deputy leader of a British political party – the Women’s Equality Party. This instilled in Dean a profound belief that anything she set her mind to was achievable.
She fondly remembers her mother filling their home with the sounds of ‘powerful women telling stories,’ including Lauryn Hill (whose name inspired Dean’s middle name), Jill Scott, and Angie Stone. Her British father, meanwhile, contributed a diverse mix of Al Green, Steely Dan, and reggae to her early musical education.
At just 8 years old, Dean set her sights on becoming a singer, enrolling in lessons and joining a gospel choir. By 15, she earned a spot at the prestigious BRIT School in London, a performing arts incubator renowned for alumni like Adele and Amy Winehouse.
Conor Doherty, Dean’s former teacher and head of the BRIT School’s music department, emphasized that the institution teaches the crucial lesson of ‘incredibly hard working’ to succeed in the music industry—a work ethic the teenage Dean already possessed.
Initially in the school’s musical theater program, Dean transitioned to the music track, bringing with her an innate ability to ‘work a stage and work an audience,’ as Doherty observed.
On stage today, Dean mesmerizes with fluid, elegant movements akin to The Supremes, accompanied by her band and often draped in a flowing gown, her long hair gracefully swaying in the breeze. She believes that ‘what you say is very powerful’ in performance, a sentiment echoed by crowds who enthusiastically sing back lyrics like ‘I don’t want a boyfriend!’ from her track ‘Nice to Each Other.’
Dean reflected that the entire creative journey—’the process of making this album, and just leaning into vulnerability’—culminating in its release and widespread connection, transformed her into ‘a different person.’
She admitted to a past period where she felt ‘quite negatively’ about ‘being a mix of things,’ referring to both her mixed-race identity and her vibrant, eclectic sound. However, with a playful laugh, she shared her current outlook: ‘I’m the best of so many different things.’