The quiet rise of Olivia Dean, the young muse of soul

A glance at the most-listened-to songs on Spotify is enough to know that Olivia Dean, 26, is destined to be one of the most promising young artists of today. So much so that, despite having spent seven years in the music industry, she has now been nominated for her first Grammy: on February 1, 2026, she will find out whether she wins the award for Best New Artist. But who is Olivia Dean?

In a musical landscape dominated mainly by pop, hip-hop, and Latin genres, the British singer is emerging as a leading figure in international soul. With her smooth voice and mellow rhythm, she has captivated more than 48 million monthly listeners on Spotify.

“I’ve done a lot of work on myself. I’ve been in therapy for a long time, and I’m fascinated by my own mind in understanding who I am, but also who I am to others and how I can be better to others. It would be impossible for that not to seep into the music. I’m very interested in the concept of music as therapy,” she said in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar last October.

Her love for making music goes way back: when she was 15, she entered the prestigious Brit School, where Amy Winehouse, Adele, and Leona Lewis studied, and every day she had to travel three hours from home to to pursue her dream.

She is also defined by being an artist who cares about her fans. Recently, she expressed on her Instagram stories — where she has more than three million followers — she spoke out against ticket scalping for her upcoming tour.

“I’m sorry that there seems to be an issue with ticket re-selling and pricing,” she said. “My team are currently looking into it. It is extremely frustrating as the last thing I want is for anyone to be scammed or overcharged for our show. Please be wary buying tickets in the comment sections as it is most likely a scam.”

The artist accused major ticketing websites for setting what she considers abusive prices. “Ticketmaster, Live Nation, AEG: You are providing a disgusting service. The prices at which you’re allowing tickets to be re-sold is vile and completely against our wishes. Live music should be affordable and accessible, and we need to find a new way of making that possible. BE BETTER,” she criticized, after announcing her The Art of Loving tour across the United States and Canada on November 14, following stops in several European cities.

The response to her complaint arrived on Wednesday, November 26, when Ticketmaster announced that it would limit future resale fees for Dean’s tour and that it was in the process of “refunding fans for any markup they already paid to resellers on Ticketmaster.”

“We share Olivia’s desire to keep live music accessible and ensure fans have the best access to affordable tickets,” said Michael Rapino, CEO of Ticketmaster’s parent company, Live Nation Entertainment.

The ticketing company AXS also stated last Thursday that it would refund the price difference to anyone who paid more than the original ticket price, and that it would cap all future ticket resale prices.

Her music seeks to create a connection between the old and the new, it’s a timeless blend of soul, jazz, and contemporary music. “I’m drawn to making things that can last. I think your job as a songwriter is to try to document a time and your story and make people feel things, but also leave something behind,” she told Marie Claire in an October interview.

But Dean isn’t just defined only by her velvety music; her wardrobe, mainly composed of long, elegant dresses, is also an intrinsic part of her stage presence. When asked by Vogue what a tour must have, she replied: “I think it’s got to do one of a number of things. But for me, it’s got to sparkle.” “Or it’s got to have an interesting shape and influence the way that I move. Or it needs to — just on a base level — make me feel really confident and beautiful and comfortable. I don’t think I perform well if I feel uncomfortable. I need to feel beautiful to be my best self. But yes, I love sparkles," she said in the September interview.

Although she hasn’t been in the music industry for a full decade, she already has an impressive discography. She has released five EPs, 28 singles, and two studio albums. Her latest, released this year, is titled The Art of Loving. On the album, she wanted to show greater emotional maturity than on her first record, Messy, released in 2023. “I think generally, as a person, I’m more centered and in touch with myself than I was two years ago,” she told Vogue. “I’m not saying I know everything about love, guys. I’m trying to work on myself and learn and be a better person, and I think that was all through writing these songs.”

The first single from this album is Nice to Each Other, which went viral on TikTok and other social media. “I wanted to start with something fun — something that felt flirty but also meaningful, which I feel is me in a package. And I think it’s a good introduction to the world of the theme of love. Before you even get into love, you get into dating, and you start to navigate that space. And that space is a scary place right now," she told Vogue. “So I feel like I needed to remind everybody that we can still treat each other like people and not dash each other’s hearts about.”

In terms of numbers, Dean became the first British female artist since Adele to have three singles in the U.K. Top 10. Globally on Spotify’s most-streamed songs chart, two of her tracks, Man I Need and So Easy (To Fall in Love), were competing closely with Taylor Swift and her latest album. In October, she also opened for the final leg of Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet Tour in cities like Pittsburgh, New York, and Nashville.

Her lyrics also reflect pride in her origins. Her maternal grandmother was part of the Windrush generation that migrated from Guyana to the U.K., and in one of her most beloved songs, Carmen, she pays tribute to her. “I’m very close with my granny. She was very present when I was growing up, and at one point, we were roomies — we shared a bedroom. When I was writing [Messy], she wasn’t doing so well, and we were spending a lot of time together," she told Rolling Stone in September.

Her mother is Jamaican-Guyanese and in 2020 became deputy leader of the Women’s Equality Party, the first Black person in that role; Dean has said her own ideology comes directly from her. “I try to work with as many women as possible because I feel comfortable in that space,” the British singer explained in an interview with Elle in July.

Her music videos, for example, are always directed by women: “It just makes sense for my videos to be directed by women because there’s so many talented female directors that just don’t get a look-in! This is something I plan to continue doing for the foreseeable, so I will really be trying to find as many women as I can,” she explained in a 2021 interview.

At her concerts, the audience often shout in unison lines like “I don’t want a boyfriend!” from her song Nice to Each Other.

When it comes to her personal life, Dean prefers to stay private. But while she doesn’t like to discuss her relationships, she does talk about love.

“I used to have a very black-and-white view of love,” she told Harper’s Bazar. "Just because someone wasn’t the love of your life doesn’t mean it wasn’t important or meaningful or that that person doesn’t still deserve respect. t. Romantic love is not the most important thing in my life, and I don’t think that’s cynical to say. [...] I don’t need to be in a relationship. If one comes and it’s amazing, that’s so good. And if it doesn’t? I still love my life. It took time to get there, though."

In July, she appeared at Wimbledon with drummer Eddie Burns, after having been romantically linked to Harry Styles in 2024. She conveys love through her lyrics and soft melodies, a style that has already earned her a Grammy nomination.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition