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UK culture is once again popular in the United States. Hamnet is vying for an Oscar, puberty Still a TV darling, Harry Styles Now playing for 30 nights at Madison Square Garden…and now another British export is about to triumph on the international stage: Olivia Deanwho is in the coveted competition Best Newcomer Category at the Grammy Awards. She’s one of the most exciting British new arrivals in years, not least because she’s only released two albums before she accomplishes that rarest of feats and breaks America. She manages to do this while maintaining a clear sense of personality, combining a classic soul sound with poignant, on-point lyrics about modern love.
The nomination comes after the huge success of her second album 2025 the art of love, The 26-year-old Dean has quickly become one of the UK’s biggest music exports. The London-born British School graduate has been imbibing film scores (the upbeat “It isn’t Perfect But It Might Be”) on her flawless journey from newcomer to established star. Bridget Jones: Crazy for this boy) as well as high-profile appearances at Wimbledon, film premieres, and front-row seats with top designers at London Fashion Week. Prior to last year, her debut album had achieved moderate success messy —a sumptuous work filled with introspective reflections on relationships, identity, and love. It was shortlisted for the 2023 Mercury Prize (won by jazz band Ezra Collective, with whom she also plays) and reached number four in the UK charts. So far, so good. Next, she and her team at Capitol Records (backed by wider major label Universal) set up a studio in the Love House, a renovated house in east London, where she spent two months working on her second album.
Following the album’s release, three of her singles simultaneously entered the top ten, making her the first British female solo artist to enter the top ten since Adele in 2021. Her arena tour has proven to be one of the hottest tickets of the year; the first two shows at London’s O2 Arena sold out within minutes, as did the next two shows. the art of love The song itself is brilliant, deftly walking the line between breezy and profound by blending Dean’s seductive tone with lyrics that tap into her generation’s conflicted feelings about love, romance, and communication. “Be Good to Each Other” (my personal favorite song is “The Man I Need”) is a wonderfully gentle riposte to the kind of men who like to call women hysterical while simultaneously getting excited about “who we are.” She encourages him to “meet me at the top of the mountain/I’ll be in the shallows/waiting for you to cancel/because I don’t want a boyfriend.”
《Man I “Need” is also standout, airy and sunny, while the exquisite torch song “Loud” mimics Adele’s James Bond theme “Skyfall” with those seductive key changes as Deen calls out to the man who ghosted her: “You weren’t allowed / to come to me and break my heart / to turn me on.” Just to deny me/And now nothing is said/I’m out, the silence is so loud.” The orchestral notes add elegance without feeling too over-the-top, soon giving way to the minimal sound of Dean’s upright piano as her parting words: “If you change your mind about me, I understand/But all you have to do is say it.”
During the release of her tour, I saw some pop commentators on TikTok questioning how Deen could achieve so much success without a “viral” single (this was before “Nice to Each Other” and “Man I Need” had really taken off). One thing I’m sure she was involved in was her opening for rocker Sam Fender, including at his big London Stadium gig in June, when they also released their yearning duet “Rein Me In”. Some were surprised by the choice—how did Dean’s sweet-sounding soul pair with Fender’s socially astute rockabilly? To me, though, it’s a genius move, putting her in front of Fender’s very active fan base, who happen to buy more music than most (his latest album, the Mercury Prize-winning one) people watchingthe fastest-selling vinyl record by a British artist this century and the best-selling vinyl record in the UK in 2025).
Long before that, though, Dean was steadily grafting, honing his craft in the studio and on stage. At the 2023 Montreux Jazz Festival, I was blown away by her gorgeous rendition of her early single “Dive.” “The Independent”of Music Box sessions, and her sheer professionalism and artistry. She commanded the room, enjoying the easy chemistry with her band and providing glimpses of the joy she took in her music with a flash of a smile or an ad-lib. It’s a rare gift that makes everything she does look so effortless.
There is no doubt that Dean is the perfect Grammy winner. There’s a timeless appeal to her music that screams timeless, rather than a flash in the pan chasing current trends. She was a huge success commercially (another huge hit for Grammy voters), but also artistically. Her songwriting can spark conversations while filling stadiums. For this year’s competition, we have her fellow Brit, Lola Young. While she rose to fame with her single “Messy,” she hasn’t quite reached Dean’s eye-opening statistics, and her own lyrics (which I love) may have been deemed too explicit for the notoriously uptight judges.
American pop star Addison Rae might be a contender, though similarly lacking in the business of judging love. Alex Warren has one of the biggest songs of 2025, “Ordinary,” but it’s also pretty average, especially compared to the other nominees. It would also be a huge success if Deen wins, as it would extend the current streak of eight consecutive years with a woman winning the Best New Artist award. The last male artist to win was Chance the Rapper in 2017; since then, Canadian singer Alessia Cara, alt-pop diva Billie Eilish, rapper Megan Thee Stallion, pop-rocker Olivia Rodrigo, jazz singer Samara Joy, R&B singer Victoria Monáe and, most recently, pop star Chappelle Rowan have won the award. Dean’s win will be a fitting reminder of how women continue to dominate pop music, while also marking the UK’s first win in the category since Dua Lipa in 2019.
Really, this should be easy Grammy Awards Fall in love with her – after all Dean made the entire album teaching us how to do it.