Olivia Lauryn Dean (born 14 March 1999) is a British singer and songwriter. She has released two studio albums, Messy (2023) and The Art of Loving (2025), as well as two live albums and five EPs.
Dean grew up in Highams Park[5] and has said she sometimes felt othered for being mixed-race.[5] Her father often listened to music and they would dance around the kitchen together.[7] Her mother, a barrister, introduced her to the music of Jill Scott, Angie Stone, and Lauryn Hill, while her father introduced her to the music of Carole King and Al Green.[5] One of the first CDs that she owned was a single of "A Moment Like This" (2006) by Leona Lewis.[5] 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 due to stage fright, though she won second place.[5][4] By age 8, she knew that she wanted to be a singer, although she considered herself to be quite shy.[8] At the urge of her mother,[8] she took musical theatre lessons in a Saturday school and participated in a gospel choir.[5][1] She was one of the only black girls in her primary school, making her want to leave the area.[6]
At age 15, she was accepted by the BRIT School, a free school in Croydon,[6] and traveled an hour and 45 minutes each way to attend, always falling asleep on the commute.[8][5][9][10] In 2020, she said that attending BRIT School was "the best thing I ever did".[8] She initially studied musical theatre, but switched to songwriting for her final two years and convinced her mother to buy her a second-hand piano.[5][8][6] Her inspiration for songwriting and performing was ignited at age 17 when a teacher at the school played a live version on the projector of Paul Simon performing "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" with a South African group, which she says "just sparked something".[11][12] At the BRIT School, she became close friends with classmates Rachel Chinouriri and Raye.[13]
Career
2017–2024: Career beginnings and Messy
Dean began writing songs at age 16, teaching herself the guitar and piano.[10] At age 17, she put on street performances on the South Bank, barely making enough money to buy dinner.[14]
Dean performed at her high school graduation concert, which attracted the attention of Emily Braham of Yo&Co, whom she hired as her manager.[15][5][10][16] Braham got Dean into an audition with Rudimental, who hired Dean as a backing vocalist.[4][5] Dean has said that she was not good in the position as she often sang the melody instead of the harmony.[4] In 2017, Dean performed her first show at the Sziget Festival in Hungary before a crowd of 16,000.[5][8]
In October 2018, Dean self-released her debut single, "Reason to Stay".[9] She was featured on Rudimental's single "Adrenaline" on the album Toast to Our Differences, released in January 2019.[5] In October 2019, she released the single "Password Change". After "Reason to Stay" was streamed millions of times, she was offered and signed a recording contract with AMF Records and Virgin EMI Records. In November 2019, she released the single "OK Love You Bye" as well as her debut EP, the 4-song OK Love You Bye, via the label. It was recorded in a converted pub in East London.[5][18] That year, she was chosen as BBC Introducing London's Featured Artist of the Week and performed at a BBC Introducing show at The Lexington, Islington.[19]
In August 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, in what she called the "From Me to You" tour, sponsored by Clarks, Dean traveled around the UK in a bright yellow truck with her name painted on, delivering open-air performances to fans and passers-by.[20] Some of the shows had only 5 or 10 attendees.[4][15]
Her second EP, What Am I Gonna Do On Sundays?, was released in December 2020.[21]
In April 2021, she was named the breakthrough artist of the year by Amazon Music.[22]
In November 2021, Dean recorded a version of Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song" for Amazon's Christmas Originals line-up, which charted at number 19 on the UK singles chart.[25][26]
Also in February 2025, Dean performed on all six dates of Laneway Festival, with shows in Auckland, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth, her first shows in Australia and New Zealand.[32]
Also in November 2025, Dean criticized Ticketmaster and other primary ticket outlets for allowing tickets to her 2026 tour to be re-sold by scalpers at high markups. As a result, Ticketmaster and AXS capped resale ticket prices for Dean's tour.[39]
Dean describes herself as "a very strong feminist", and, until 2023, she only used female directors for her music videos.[4] In 2020, her mother became the deputy leader of the Women's Equality Party, making her the first black deputy leader of a political party in Europe.[4]
Dean has been in a relationship with American drummer Eddie Burns, a band member for Clairo, since April 2025. In July 2025, they attended the Wimbledon Championships.[41]
Dean is a brand ambassador for Chanel.[4] She also leads an advertising campaign for Burberry Her fragrance.[42]
Dean is a supporter of West Ham United F.C. and attended many games at Upton Park with her father, a season ticket holder, during her childhood.[43]
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