Olivia Dean
Olivia Lauryn Dean (born 14 March 1999) is an English singer. She began her career working in collaboration with Rudimental. She was named Amazon Music's 2021 breakthrough artist of the year and recorded an exclusive version of Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song" for Amazon's 2021 Christmas Originals line-up, which charted at number 19 in the UK singles chart.

Early life
Dean was born in the London Borough of Haringey to an English father and a Jamaican-Guyanese mother. She grew up in Walthamstow. She took musical theatre lessons and participated in a gospel choir from a young age. She then attended the BRIT School.

Influences
Dean has cited Lauryn Hill, Amy Winehouse, Carole King, and the Supremes as inspirations.

Music Videos 
After recording a handful of music videos for her first singles, Dean's aesthetic took a turn in the music video for her breakout single "The Hardest Part". Filmed in London, the music video features Dean and two carbon copies of herself as back-up singer/dancers. Each part was recorded separately and then merged together. Dean also cited The Supremes as one of her visual references for this music video. 

Olivia has been outspoken about championing female artists, even going as far as to set a "rule" for herself to only work with women directors on her music videos. To quote Dean in an interview given for Number One Journal in 2021: "My music is for everyone to enjoy and relate to. But obviously, because I am a woman, it does come from a female lens. So, I feel it’s common sense for a woman to direct the videos."

After the video of her Live performance at The Jazz Cafe in 2022 took on a life of its own on YouTube, it seems like Dean's visual storytelling started to present a blend between the music video format and a live concert. 

Along with the release of her debut album "Messy", Dean filmed a live session featuring three tracks from the EP. The session was filmed as an earthy mix between a live performance and a music video experience. Olivia and her band were recorded in a field from morning to night, with behind the scenes intertwined between tracks.

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Singles
 "Reason to Stay" (2018)
 "Password Change" (2019)
 "Baby Come Home" (2020)
 "Crosswords" (2020)
 "The Hardest Part" (2020)
 "Merry Christmas Everyone" (2020) 
 "Echo" (2020)
 "Be My Own Boyfriend" (2021)
 "Slowly" (2021)
 "The Christmas Song" (2021) UK #19
 "Danger" (2022)
 "UFO" (2023)
 "Dive" (2023)
 "Carmen" (2023)
 "The Hardest Part" (2023) (with Leon Bridges) – No. 30 Adult Alternative Songs

As featured artist
 "Free" (2017)
 "Adrenaline" (2019)
 "Call Me A Lioness" (2023)

Music videos

Awards and nominations

References

Living people
1999 births
21st-century English women singers
21st-century English singers
English people of Guyanese descent
English people of Jamaican descent
English soul singers
People educated at the BRIT School
People from the London Borough of Enfield
People from Walthamstow
Singers from London
People from the London Borough of Haringey