If you ever wanted to explore a singer-songwriter who teaches the art of loving yourself, how to be loved, finding joy in life, and independence, all while celebrating generational strength, Olivia Dean is your girl.
For the Love of the Craft
Olivia Lauryn Dean was born Mar. 14, 1999, in East London, England. She grew up with parents who were super supportive of her aspiring musical endeavors. With her mother being a civil servant and her dad a tech-based career. She didn’t have to come from a necessarily musical family for them to recognize the art form she chose to shine through. Her mother introduced her to the BRITS school, the “number one leading performing and creative arts school in the UK.” Alumni include musical legends such as Adele and Amy Winehouse. Here, she could learn formally about music and be around people who are like-minded. The encouragement from her mother, and seeing family members thriving with artistic careers made young Dean believe that this is a possible life to thrive from herself, she explained on the And the Writer Is… podcast.
Dean is absolutely not an overnight success, in fact, she is a decade in the making. In 2017, while still in Brits School, she had her first gig at Servant Jazz Quarters, A bar and music venue in London where she sold out the capacity of 70 tickets. From here on, she became very passionate for the love of the game, continuing to perform at any gig she could get her hands on. From performing at a prawn restaurant with three people to performing for an audience of zero, Dean did it for the love of music, no matter who was watching.
Fast forward to 2021 where she was awarded Amazon Music UK’s Breakthrough Artist of the year. She also went viral with her exceptional performance at a Camden Town Jazz Cafe in London, with the 35-minute set garnering over seven million views and introducing millions to Dean's discography. With this momentum, she released her five-song project, “Growth,” revolving around the theme of growing and outgrowing aspects of life, such as getting comfortable with her own company, with the song “Be My Own Boyfriend.” While simultaneously posting covers to the likes of Aretha Franklin and Radiohead on YouTube. Starting an on-the-road tour in a truck with her band, she titled “From Me to You,” she would play sets on beaches, bars, and parks, having missed performing while being in lockdown. She worked hard and settled her name in the music industry, letting us know she’s here to stay, and this is only the beginning.
A Messily Beautiful Debut
Throughout the next couple of years, she would go on to crafting her 2023 debut album, Messy. Following up her first EP, the singer's first official album was shortlisted for the esteemed Mercury Prize, stating on its website, “It is the music equivalent to the Booker Prize for literature and the Turner Prize for art.” At this time she is only 24 years old, and according to Ones to Watch, she described the project as “an album about learning to fall in love again, the fear that comes with it, and finding independence within that.” She states that she named the album after she completed all the songs on it, going on to say that the word messy just came to her as a perfect way to wrap up the experience, yet in a beautiful way. The single, “Dive,” was without a doubt her first song to push her more into the spotlight internationally, appearing on Genius to annotate the lyrics to the song. Paired with this single, she also teased the album release with tracks “UFO” and “Carmen” for the Messy album rollout. “Carmen” was the first time she wrote about her lineage, and is the closing track to this wonderfully authentic debut. The track is an ode to her grandmother, who immigrated to the UK at 18 years old as a part of the Windrush generation. Dean wanted to archive her life and sacrifice through this track, with what she describes as a jubilee. She describes her reasoning behind creating the song on a panel at the British Library, “I'm a product of her bravery, I'm able to live the life that I'm living now because she had the foresight of needing to change everything for the people coming after her.”
International Stamp of Approval
It's 2025, and it's time for her sophomore album rollout with The Art of Loving. In an interview with Apple Music, she says virality has had its effect on many aspiring artists, primarily in the 2020’s. Fortunately, this made its impact on her career and gave her yet another boost. After releasing singles "Man I Need" and "Nice to Each Other," they went viral on TikTok, garnering millions of views with the choruses being used as popular sounds. Experiencing official international acclaim. Crossing over oceans from her home in the UK into mainstream American streaming and radio. "Man I Need" becoming certified platinum, "Nice to Each Other" and "A Couple Minutes" earning Gold, along with the album itself, The Art of Loving, according to the RIAA. Speaking of "A Couple Minutes," its virality certified her credibility with the COLORS performance of the song, garnering over seven million views. Award season was quite nice to her, with Dean earning her very first Grammy for Best New Artist at the 2026 Grammy Awards.
A Masterclass in Achieving Your Dreams
Throughout her 10-year-long career, Dean has been active and maintained her love for music through and through. She teaches us that, “if you do a job you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.” As of now, she is preparing her Art of Loving Tour and six sold-out nights at the O2, which is a big accomplishment for UK musicians. She has taken a break from the big year she has just had in 2025 and is preparing to perform a show at the BRIT Awards. Where she has also been nominated for five awards: Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for the Art of Loving, Best Pop Act, and Song of the Year for tracks “Man I Need” and "Rein Me In" with indie/heartland rock artist Sam Fender. She is also the new face of Burberry Her where she also included an exclusive original song along with the ad.
Sources: Spotify, BRITSschool, Spotify, Spotify, YouTube, ServantJazzQuarters, NME, CamdenTownJazzCafe, YouTube, Spotify, Spotify, YouTube, YouTube, YouTube, Spotify, MercuryPrize, MercuryPrize, OnestoWatch, Spotify, Spotify, Spotify, JCWI, YouTube, Spotify, Spotify, Spotify, Spotify, X(FormerlyTwitter), YouTube, Grammys, OliviaDean, Instagram, AlbertHall, Spotify, Spotify, BurberryHer
