How Olivia Dean became British pop’s newest megastar

Saturday’s Brit Awards will feature performances from Harry Styles and Mark Ronson, but all eyes are on Olivia Dean. The Londoner has become one of the UK’s biggest breakouts with her second album The Art of Loving and its UK No 1 single Man I Need, a light, gauzy blend of bossa nova, throwback R&B and indie-pop that applies meditations on friendship and romance.

Her rise has been swift. Mercury-nominated debut Messy reached the UK Top 5, but The Art of Loving debuted at No 1 in the UK — the first record by a British female solo artist to do so since Adele — and reached No 8 on the US Billboard. Dean promoted the album with appearances from Jools Holland to Saturday Night Live, supported Sabrina Carpenter on tour including five Madison Square Garden dates, and saw the album climb to No 3 in the US while Man I Need moved from a US debut of No 82 into the Top 10.

United Kingdom, London

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