The Art of Loving Olivia Dean
I’m cruising down the Pacific Coast Highway, Menchie’s frozen yogurt balanced in my hand, Spotify on shuffle, letting the universe decide the soundtrack. Then it hits me, a jazzy, soulful groove, and Olivia Dean’s voice cutting through with: “Maybe it’s the fact that every time I fall, I lose it all.” This was the first song of hers that I heard, titled “Dive,” and I instantly fell in love with her style of music. The line was so relatable, so human.
Olivia Dean’s music is a lush blend of modern soul, classic pop, and jazz-tinged intimacy, a sound that feels both nostalgic and entirely new. Her style draws deeply from the golden eras of soul and Motown, channeling influences like Lauryn Hill, Amy Winehouse, and Carole King, while weaving in the softness of ’70s disco and the quiet storm sensuality of Sade. Her songs are slow-burning and emotionally rich, built around her velvety, expressive vocals and textured arrangements of Wurlitzer notes, horns, and layered harmonies. Dean’s artistry thrives on simplicity and sincerity, music that doesn’t clamor for attention but rather seeps into you gradually, like the afterglow of a summer evening. At its heart, her sound is “burnished soul”: a pillowy, analog warmth that merges neo-soul, folk-inflected R&B, and classic pop craftsmanship. On stage, she transforms these songs into immersive, satin-draped performances where poetry, performance, and pleasure converge; part retro reverence, part modern vulnerability.
Her sophomore album, The Art of Loving, perfects this balance: it’s a timeless exploration of love, identity, and self-acceptance, gliding between breezy, flirtatious tracks and introspective, jazz-inflected torch songs. With her effortless grace and emotional honesty, Olivia Dean’s music offers a slow, soulful antidote to Gen-Z’s hyper-speed world, inviting listeners to pause, feel, and luxuriate in their emotions.
“Loud” implements The Art of Loving with quiet heartbreak. What begins as an intimate scene, two lovers at one piano, unravels into a portrait of miscommunication and emotional distance. Dean’s soft voice hides a pulse of pain beneath the tenderness, capturing how even closeness can ache when words go unspoken.
“Nice to Each Other” feels like a breath of ease after the tension of “Loud.” Breezy guitars and warm vocals soundtrack the uncertainty of early connection, those undefined moments when you’re just figuring someone out. It’s not about commitment, but about care: learning that kindness can exist even in impermanence.
The “Nice to Each Other” music video feels like a love story caught in rehearsal. Dean stands in the middle of a bare film set, no scenery, no context, just her and the endless white space. As the crew begins to build around her: balconies, benches, the clichés of on-screen romance, she tries to perform love without a script to stand on. The props shift faster than she can adjust, and that’s the point. The video becomes a mirror for connection without grounding, the kind of almost-love that looks perfect on paper but collapses when touched. Dean isn’t mocking the fantasy; she’s moving through it, showing us how easy it is to chase the image of love before building the real thing.
“Lady Lady” turns the gaze inward. Here, Dean writes a love song to herself, celebrating solitude as strength. Her tone is gentle but assured, she’s growing, shedding old versions of herself, and finding comfort in her own company. It’s a reminder that loving yourself is still part of the art of loving.
I love this video the most, it paints a literal black-and-white picture from start to finish, capturing something raw and timeless. The multiethnic ballerinas, spanning different ages, move with such grace and power, each fully in her element. The video radiates feminism, strength, and diversity. It's beautiful, like watching a young butterfly emerge from its cocoon, discovering and loving herself through transformation.
“Man I Need” marks a shift in tone, sleeker, glossier, and brimming with R&B confidence. Dean steps into assertiveness, asking plainly for emotional honesty and reciprocity. Beneath the infectious groove, she delivers a subtle truth: vulnerability doesn’t mean passivity; knowing what you need is its own power.
The video mirrors that same elegance. Draped in a blue floral gown, Dean glows against soft, cinematic lighting, radiant but grounded. Nothing about it screams for attention; instead, it radiates quiet power. “Man I Need” isn’t just a song to dance to, it’s a manifesto of self-worth disguised as a slow groove.
“So Easy (To Fall in Love)” bursts with playful self-assurance. Wrapped in a retro-soul bounce and cheeky charm, it’s a flirty anthem of self-celebration. Dean flips the traditional love song on its head, she’s not idolizing someone else, she’s reveling in who she’s become. Loving herself, she realizes, is the easiest thing of all.
This video unfolds in an office space, where she shines in an elegant dress, radiating quiet confidence. Diversity completes the scene, from the flower shop that embodies self-love, to the perfume shop where people revel in their own essence, to the bookstore where she catches two men falling in love. “Anyone with a heart would agree,” this video reminds us that playful flirtation and self-acceptance often guide us to where we’re meant to be, and to the people we’re meant to meet.
By featuring her own Burberry advertisement and dancing through city nights of light and movement, she presents herself as a woman fully in her power. The blend of dance, joy, and spontaneity mirrors every pulse of Jungle’s “Back on 74.”
“Close Up” offers a nostalgic, brassy nod to the Amy Winehouse-era soul. The song drips with smoky vintage glamour but stays rooted in Dean’s authenticity. Beneath the horns and rhythmic swing lies a reflection on identity and influence, how we honor the artists who shaped us while still writing our own story.
“A Couple Minutes” closes the album in near silence. Stripped of production, Dean’s voice feels almost like a whisper, intimate, confessional, still. After all the searching, she finds peace in pause. The song captures the quiet realization that love doesn’t always arrive in grand gestures, it can live in stillness, in a couple of minutes alone with yourself, I’ve seen it and so have TikTok users.
When I first discovered Olivia Dean, I was immediately captivated by her effortless elegance. From bold pops of color to timeless black-and-white, every look she wears radiates artistic freedom and unapologetic self-expression. There’s a kind of glow that follows Olivia Dean wherever she steps, a fusion of sound and style that feels almost cinematic. Onstage, she’s radiant: a vision of soul, movement, and fabric that breathes right alongside the music. Her clothes don’t just dress her; they speak for her, flowing, fearless, and full of story.
Olivia Dean doesn’t just walk onto a stage, she lands like a burst of color in a monochrome world. Her fashion game is as magnetic as her voice, blending bold creativity with a nod to timeless glamour. From festival runways to red carpets, she’s been quietly crafting a signature style that’s both fearless and inviting, a wardrobe that feels like an extension of her music: layered, soulful, and full of personality. Dean has a thing for old-Hollywood charm, think jazz-bar energy with a modern twist. Voluminous curls, playful silhouettes, and textured fabrics give her outfits a sense of movement, while details like lace trims and embroidery add that retro sparkle. She manages to feel vintage without ever looking costume-y, channeling that Betty Boop-meets-contemporary vibe effortlessly.
Every look carries her aura, a mix of fearless freedom and charismatic charm, turning fashion into another instrument in her artistry. With Olivia, style isn’t a statement; it’s a soundtrack to who she is.
Credit: Vogue - Olivia Dean wears 16Arlington
One of my absolute favorite looks has to be her 16Arlington black sequined dress (above), pure elegance personified. And honestly, it’s just one gem in a treasure trove of Olivia Dean’s show-stopping, effortlessly stellar ensembles. Her minimalist moments feel deliberate, a quiet counterpoint to the more theatrical ensembles, proving her range is as wide as her vocal cords.
Olivia Dean isn’t just performing music, she’s performing fashion. With stylist Simone Beyene by her side, she’s built an on-stage wardrobe that feels entirely her own: no leotards, just dresses and co-ords that twirl, flip, and wink in every color of the rainbow. Sequins? Yes, think bright colors of Mithridate, classic Chanel, or flowy Miu Miu. Tasselled and textured? What could feel stiff or overdone on anyone else flows naturally on her. Every outfit dances with her, bending and swaying like it was made to move with her music. Her wardrobe isn’t just clothes: it’s the choreography of a visual soundtrack, a living beat, a visual harmony of her artistry that you can almost hear.
I guess the algorithm knows how often I play her music, because my feed is now flooded with Instagram reels of interviews and concert clips, each one reminding us why we keep falling for Olivia Dean. As she said in her BBC Sounds interview, there’s always a “joy in that song,” whether it’s Man I Need or any other track, making her music irresistibly catchy and uplifting. “People want to be happy and dance, and feel loving,” she explains, and her songs deliver exactly that.
While we can learn a lot from artists today, what truly sets Olivia apart is the way she presents herself with fearless creative freedom. As she puts it, she’s never interested in competing with other artists, even having attended the same London school as stars like Raye and Adele, she carves her own path entirely.
In the end, Olivia Dean isn’t just an artist we listen to: she’s a world we step into. Her music lingers long after the last note fades, and her style carries the same kind of quiet, magnetic power. From the sequined drama of her gowns to the effortless sway of pastel co-ords, every look, every lyric, every beat feels like an invitation: to pause, to feel, to move, and to exist fully in the moment. She reminds us that art isn’t just heard, it’s lived, worn, and embodied. And as her voice and vision continue to ripple through our playlists, our feeds, and our imagination, one thing is clear: Olivia Dean doesn’t follow the world, she sets its rhythm, color, and heartbeat.