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Olivia Dean

Olivia Lauryn Dean (born 14 March 1999) is an English neo soul singer. Her music is described as "devastating heartbreak ballads and sing-along self-love anthems". She has released one studio album: Messy (2023) and five EPs. In 2021, Dean was named the breakthrough artist of the year by Amazon Music and, in 2023, Dean was selected as BBC Music Introducing Artist of the Year.

Biography

Early life

Dean was born in the London Borough of Haringey to an English father and a Jamaican-Guyanese mother. Her grandmother immigrated to the UK from Guyana at age 18 as part of the Windrush generation. Her middle name "Lauryn" is inspired from Lauryn Hill, of whom her parents are big fans. She grew up in Highams Park and sometimes felt othered for being of mixed-race. Her father often listened to music and they would dance around the kitchen together. In primary school, she sang "Tomorrow" from the musical Annie in a competition and was so nervous that she initially turned her back to the audience and started crying from stage fright, although she did win second place. She took musical theatre lessons in a Saturday school and participated in a gospel choir. At age 15, she was accepted to the BRIT School and travelled a 3-hour round trip every day to attend school. At first, she studied theatre, but she switched disciplines to songwriting and convinced her mother to buy a second-hand piano.

Career

Dean began writing songs at age 16, teaching herself the guitar and piano. She performed at her graduation concert. She attracted the attention of Emily Braham, a young woman who she hired as her manager.

Braham got Dean into an audition with Rudimental, who hired Dean as a backing vocalist at age 17. Her first show was at the Sziget Festival in front of 16,000 people. She was featured on Rudimental's single "Adrenaline" on the album Toast to Our Differences (2019). She said that she was not good in the position as she often sang the tune instead of just the harmony.

In November 2019, she released her debut EP, OK Love You Bye, recorded in a converted east London pub. After it was streamed millions of times, she was offered and signed a recording contract with EMI. Her second EP, What Am I Gonna Do On Sundays?, was released in December 2020.

In 2021, Dean recorded an exclusive version of Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song" for Amazon's Christmas Originals line-up, which charted at number 19 in the UK singles chart. That year, she was named the breakthrough artist of the year by Amazon Music.

In 2023, Dean was selected as BBC Music Introducing Artist of the Year.

In June 2023, she released her debut album, Messy.

She is embarking on a headline tour in Europe in the spring of 2024.

Influences

Dean has cited Lauryn Hill, Amy Winehouse, Carole King and the Supremes as inspirations.

Personal life

Dean is a brand ambassador for Chanel. In 2020, her mother became the deputy leader of the Women's Equality Party. Dean only works with female directors for her music videos and describes herself as "a very strong feminist".