New Pop Girl Has Arrived

Nora Geoghegan

Staff Writer

Pop sensation Olivia Dean has been on a meteoric rise, especially with her new album “The Art of Loving”.

Dean has been releasing music since 2018 but didn’t start gaining worldwide recognition until 2021 when Amazon Music named her Breakthrough Artist of the Year. In 2023, her debut album, “Messy” won her a Mercury Prize.

She became more of a sensation when she put out her sophomore album “The Art of Loving” in September of this year. The album delves into themes of romantic as well as self-love which is accompanied by elements of jazz, soul, and R&B instrumentals and Dean’s smooth vocals. According to NPR, Dean has become the first British woman to have three simultaneous songs on the UK Top Ten chart since Adele.

Tracks like “Man I Need” and “Nice To Each Other” have been resonating with listeners since its release. “Man I Need” details the difficulties of a current relationship and how she wants her partner to “be a man”. The phrase, “talk to me” is repeated throughout the song, emphasizing Dean’s need for communication. She also wants her partner to shower her with praise and appreciation. The music video allows for a visual representation of her yearning for a loving and cooperative partner.

“Nice To Each Other” continues the theme of romantic instability by urging her partner to align with emotions and to understand each other. Again, she feels a strong and healthy relationship won’t come to fruition, unless the pair work out their differences.

Dean expanded on the motif of her album with NPR. She stated, “I think I used to view love in a bit more of a black-and- white sense and maybe from ideals that you kind of grow up with as a woman- that you need a partner, or once you’re with a partner you lose an independence and your own sense of self. And I love, love, love, but I also can really function alone. And I was like, ‘Well, what is that something in between where I am in love with you, but I’m also able to remain myself outside of this relationship.”

Dean is definitely solidifying her place with the main pop girls and is an artist you want to keep on your radar!