Olivia Dean

Olivia Dean has four Brit Awards and a Grammy to her name, yet her story starts in a far more modest place: Tottenham-born, raised in Highams Park, a suburb on the edge of east London she describes as being like a village. Her parents shaped her taste, from Carole King and Al Green to Lauryn Hill, after whom she took her middle name. A spell at the BRIT School in Croydon, where she switched to songwriting, shaped her craft.

Her self-released debut single, "Reason to Stay", went viral in 2018 and led to a deal with AMF Records and Virgin EMI Records the following year. Her debut album, Messy, arrived in 2023 with the breakout single "Dive" and a Mercury Prize nomination. The Art of Loving topped the UK Albums Chart in 2025 and won her the Grammy for Best New Artist in 2026, while "Man I Need" gave her a first UK number-one single. Her Sam Fender collaboration "Rein Me In" became the longest-running UK number one and took the Brit Award for Song of the Year.