Olivia Dean could easily have stayed in one lane for her debut album, “Messy.” She has been on a glide path to a career in smooth English pop-soul.
Dean, 24, has been releasing songs since 2018 — long enough to make her first album feel like a turning point instead of an introduction.
She was born in London — to a Guyanese-Jamaican mother and an English father — and soaked up music from her father’s album collection.
And like Amy Winehouse, Adele, Leona Lewis, Raye, Jessie J and Imogen Heap, Dean showed enough youthful talent to attend the star-making BRIT School of performing arts.
Like other newcomers, Dean gained attention for a featured vocal with an electronic act, performing “Adrenaline” with Rudimental in 2019.
Persons:
Olivia Dean, Dean, she’s, —, Lauryn Hill, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Leona Lewis, Raye, Jessie J, Imogen Heap, Elton John —
Organizations:
Guyanese, BRIT School
Locations:
London, Rudimental, Glastonbury