Following her Mercury Prize-nominated neo-soul debut in 2023, ‘Messy’, Olivia Dean felt the immense pressure to replicate her success with a second album. She candidly admitted to feeling the need to “do it again.”
So, the 26-year-old British singer-songwriter, known for her sharp lyrical insights, initially followed the industry’s unspoken rules. She booked a “really big, sexy studio” in Los Angeles and brought in new, sought-after producers. After all, as she noted, “you can, and they want to work with you now.”
But something wasn’t right. The glamorous setting didn’t resonate with her artistic vision.
Dean envisioned her new album as a profound exploration of love, a “case study, essentially, on love,” especially after a recent heartbreak. Yet, in the high-pressure environment, she found herself thinking, “I’m so anxious that I’m not even able to hear myself.”
Unwilling to compromise her artistic integrity, Dean made a bold move. In March, she sought a more intimate, vulnerable creative space. She rented an open-plan house with expansive windows in East London, close to her roots, and moved in her beloved piano. For eight transformative weeks, she collaborated with many of the familiar producers and musicians who had supported her journey over the past decade, crafting her new album.
This East London house quickly became an integral part of their creative process, according to Zach Nahome, the album’s executive producer. Dean sometimes even slept there. The late-night conversations, flowing freely over glasses of red wine, became the raw inspiration for the lyrics of her new record, aptly titled ‘The Art of Loving.’
The resulting album, a meticulously crafted 12-track journey into romantic, platonic, and self-love, draws additional inspiration from bell hooks’s seminal work, “All About Love: New Visions.” It was recently unveiled by Capitol Records, marking a significant moment in her career.
Dean consciously embraced a poppier sound for this record, a deliberate choice. Her goal, she explained, was to “really wanted to reach people” with her music.
And reach people she has. Starting this Sunday, Dean will open for Sabrina Carpenter’s five nights at Madison Square Garden, a testament to her rising star. Next year, she will headline six sold-out shows at London’s prestigious O2 arena. This month, ‘The Art of Loving’ soared to the top of the British album charts, and its sparkling single, “Man I Need,” claimed the No. 1 spot, marking the biggest 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. In recent weeks, Dean’s captivating tracks, with their witty and relatable lyrics – such as “I’m the perfect mix of / Saturday night and the rest / of your life” – have become an unofficial soundtrack across TikTok and Instagram. Her growing influence is further cemented by Burberry’s decision to name her the new face of their Her fragrance line.
Jo Charrington, president of Capitol Records U.K., who previously signed Sam Smith and has worked closely with Dean for years, observed, “This is what it felt like to be around Sam Smith 12 years ago.”
Dean admits the sudden spotlight feels surreal. With an infectious laugh, she recalled thinking, “all of a sudden, everybody’s looking at me.” Widening her eyes in mock disbelief, she playfully pretended to hide behind a burgundy-manicured hand, adding, “It’s amazing, but it’s also so, so funny.” She recently stepped away from TikTok, explaining she felt like she was “always listening to a conversation that people are having about me.”
This whirlwind of attention is particularly odd for Dean, she shared, because she had long felt “on the outside of it all for such a long time.”
Having released music since she was 19, Dean has consistently crafted lyrics that aim to uncover “the most romance in little things,” pairing them with a sound designed to evoke raw emotion rather than adhere to strict musical classifications. This approach has led her to masterfully weave together R&B, pop-soul, and Motown influences, occasionally spiced with hints of jazz and the distinctive shimmer of a steel drum. This rich sonic tapestry, however, also presented early challenges. “Making the first album was really hard,” Dean recalled. “Nobody really got it.”
Emily Braham, Dean’s manager since the artist was 17, highlighted the music industry’s tendency toward “shortsighted and lazy” assumptions, often pigeonholing a “mixed-race girl with a guitar” into a sound akin to Corinne Bailey Rae. Yet, Braham proudly notes, Dean has remained “really defiant about how she wants to do things.” This resolve was evident in 2020 when, despite the pandemic canceling her planned summer festivals, Dean and her team organized impromptu gigs from a yellow van at British campsites and outdoor pools.
Dean attributes her strong determination and wide-ranging musical knowledge partly to her upbringing. Her mother, of Jamaican and Guyanese heritage, made history as the first Black woman to become deputy leader of a British political party, the feminist Women’s Equality Party. This instilled in Dean a profound belief that anything she set her mind to was achievable.
At home, she fondly remembers her mother introducing her to music by “powerful women telling stories,” such as Lauryn Hill (whose name inspired Dean’s middle name), Jill Scott, and Angie Stone. Her British father, meanwhile, cultivated her appreciation for artists like Al Green, Steely Dan, and classic reggae tracks.
At the age of 8, Dean set her sights on becoming a singer. She diligently pursued vocal lessons and joined a gospel choir. By 15, she earned a coveted spot at the highly competitive BRIT School in London, a renowned performing arts institution that boasts famous alumni like Adele and Amy Winehouse.
Conor Doherty, Dean’s former teacher and current head of the BRIT School’s music department, emphasized the school’s core teaching: that “you need to be incredibly hard working” to succeed in the music industry. A lesson, he noted, that the teenage Dean already embodied.
Initially enrolled in the school’s musical theater program, Dean later transitioned to the music track, where, according to Doherty, she arrived with an innate “knowing how to work a stage and work an audience.”
Today, Dean commands the stage with a fluid, elegant grace reminiscent of the Supremes. Backed by her band and often clad in a flowing gown with her long hair gently tossed by a fan, she connects powerfully with her audience. Dean reflected on the potency of live performance: “When you’re on the stage, what you say is very powerful.” Indeed, crowds enthusiastically sing her lyrics back to her, often with roof-raising fervor, particularly the line “I don’t want a boyfriend!” from her song “Nice to Each Other.”
Dean shared that the entire journey – “the process of making this album, and just leaning into vulnerability,” followed by its release, widespread understanding, and genuine connection with listeners – has made her feel like “a different person.”
There was a time, Dean admitted, when she viewed “being a mix of things” quite negatively, referencing both her mixed-race identity and her eclectic musical style. But now, with a playful laugh, she embraces a new perspective: “I’m the best of so many different things.”