Olivia Dean: The Popular Sweetheart of Pop-Soul and R&B

Introduction

Olivia Dean’s music reads like a comfortable morning hit by the morning sun: pleasant, light, with a dash of lyrics that seek harmony and self-love. This is simply one of the few instances in which Dean, in an interview with Nylon, describes how she lives her life. Not only does it reflect her music, but it also offers us a glimpse of how her life structure influences the way she creates music. Uplifting, smooth, and leaving a hopeful taste in the listener’s ears, Dean offers a more peaceful, yet sophisticated sound that is reminiscent of other artists of the same calibre. As of now, she is undergoing The Art of Loving tour, where major city venues are already sold out. With that in mind, what explains this meteoric rise to fame for the London native who became so beloved across the world?

The Beginning of a fruitful career

Olivia Dean was born in 1999 in the London Borough of Haringey. Dean, from a British father and a Guyanese-Jamaican mother, grew up in Walthamstow in a mixed-race family. In an interview with Numéro, she describes her childhood as relatively peaceful, despite being the only mixed-race child in school. Early in her life, she expressed herself as a shy girl. Despite her shy nature in the past, she expressed her longing to sing and perform. In the same interview with Numéro, she talks about her mother’s reaction to her wishes, expressing her mother’s concern that her shyness is standing in the way of her performing.

Despite those struggles, Dean continued to pursue singing. She began to write songs when she was just 8 years old, and she continued into her teenage years. To the singer, she writes songs, but not at the behest of others listening to them. In Dean’s mind, she pursued creating music solely for herself as a hobby. When asked about people’s reception to her music, albeit negative, she expresses her contentment with it, saying, “I love it, and it’s real,” in an interview with NPR. Not only did this pursuit of music propel her to music stardom, but it also led her to become one of the most empowering female musicians in current times.

Her musical Journey

Olivia Dean started to create music at a young age. What evolved from a passionate hobby turned career path, Dean managed to accumulate more than 50 million Spotify listeners worldwide. At just 26 years old, she earned herself a spot in the U.K top 10 charts for three of her songs this summer, according to NPR. The path to this accomplishment was not easy for Dean, as well as for any emerging artist in the music industry. When looking at her music repertoire, Dean often writes about love and heartbreak. As of now, the artist has only released 2 albums since the artist’s career. What had launched her into popularity was her hit song, So Easy (To Fall in Love), as well as other songs such as Man I Need and A Couple Minutes.

In every artist, there is inspiration, and for Dean, it is her mother. In the same interview with NPR, she expressed that her inspiration stemmed from the women in her family, especially her mom and aunt. For context, her mother is Christine Dean. She is a lawyer and former deputy leader for the Women’s Equality Party in the U.K. It was through her family, Dean noted, that helped to shape her musicality throughout the years. She credited her family for introducing her to Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, Carol King and many more. With the release of her second album, Messy, she has accumulated a cult following.

Despite her resounding success in the music industry, Dean often relegates herself to her personal life. Whether it is through her own volition or another reason, her music, itself connects to her life on a personal and spiritual level. With that, you really do not need to research more about her life, for many of the things she writes about in her songs can be felt by everyone who listens to her music. She often expresses that her lifestyle has a major influence on her music. In multiple interviews, she expresses that she often does hobbies that many people consider to be for old people, such as knitting and crafts. In a way, her songs of heartbreak and love resonate with everyone because it is the rawness of love and heartbreak echoed in her music that captures people’s ears. Accompanying these lyrics is the soulful sound that Dean utilizes as well.

Conclusion

It is astounding to think that with Dean’s success, she has only released two full albums throughout her career. Starting by writing music for herself and becoming a sold-out artist across the globe, the world expects a lot from Dean. While we cannot completely blame social media for her resounding success in showcasing her talents, it was through hard work and luck that propelled into stardom. While the world expects lots from the artist, it should be noted that not all good things are rushed. We will have to wait and see what Olivia Dean will produce in the future.