Olivia Dean ProfileSome artists are dinner, some are dessert. Olivia Dean is the whole damn meal. The London-born singer-songwriter has taken anything but baby steps towards the upper echelons of pop. What began with a self-released viral debut single, Reason to Stay, and a pair of EPs quickly became one of the most meteoric rises in recent pop music.
Making her Australian debut with a 4 pm time slot at Laneway Festival in February 2025, Dean arrived as a rising star on the strength of her 2023 album Messy. Since then, she’s released her second album, The Art of Loving, won Best New Artist at the Grammys and become the first female solo artist to have four singles in the UK Top 10 simultaneously.
A year on, Dean is operating on an entirely different scale. Man I Need topped triple j’s Hottest 100 of 2025, while every stop on the Australian and New Zealand leg of her Art of Loving tour sold out, including two nights at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena.
Dean also became the first artist to partner with the Australian Music Venue Foundation, donating $1.10 from every ticket sold across the tour to AMVF through PLUS1, supporting Australia’s grassroots music venues.
Supporting Dean was ARIA Award-winning artist Kaiit (pronounced ky-yeet). Hailed by Jill Scott and Erykah Badu as their “musical love child from Down Under”, the Papua New Guinean-born artist is a neo-soul baddie blending hip-hop and jazz with a swagger that commanded the stage.
Accompanied by a saxophonist and keyboardist, Kaiit performed tracks including OG Luv Kush pt.2, Natural Woman and Lil Mama Theme Song, her elastic phrasing gliding leisurely over funk-laced grooves. And then there were the claws: Cynthia Erivo-worthy, naturally.
Then it was Dean’s turn. Her name glowed across the curtain, the stage beyond it hidden from view. For a moment, the audience was left with nothing but her ethereal silhouette. Then, slowly, the curtain parted.
At 27, Dean emerged as the picture of understated glamour in a blush, satin, floor-length gown adorned with floral appliqués, carrying herself with the poise of a seasoned diva. A statuesque reminder of Diana Ross, recast with distinctly modern pop sensibilities.
For a pop concert of this scale, the staging was refreshingly restrained. The limited visual palette lent the production an air of refinement and class.
Dean was joined by two backing singers, Alita Moses and Abena, as well as a seven-piece band, who performed from a tiered, curved stage that evoked a sense of nostalgic intimacy and drew the audience into her world. Behind them, a vast curtain enveloped the stage, with video projected onto its lush fabric rather than conventional screens. Disco balls added a subtle touch of retro glamour, complementing the show’s aesthetic without competing for attention.
Drawing from the musical vocabulary of soul, jazz and bossa nova, Dean was never beholden to any one genre, instead moving between them with an ease that has become central to her appeal. That fluidity suits The Art of Loving, an album that unfolds as something of a dissertation on love in all its forms: fleeting, devastating, euphoric and everything in between. Rooted in the conversational intelligence of her lyrics, Dean’s performance often arrived with deceptively upbeat, effervescent melodies disguising the ache underneath.
“This is kind of like a first date’ Dean told the crowd, before adding, “I hope it goes well.”
The audience was spoiled, with an embarrassment of great songs to choose from – a remarkable position for an artist still so early in her career. The tour’s namesake, The Art of Loving, was performed in full, its songs threaded throughout the set, allowing each glorious meditation on love the space to breathe and unfold. The result was a particularly satisfying live listen.
On the top end, Nice To Each Other arrived as a warm afternoon breeze, followed by the serenely radiant Lady Lady and the sophisticated So Easy (To Fall in Love).
Let Alone The One You Love was as sultry as it was understated, while Touching Toes and I’ve Seen It stripped things back further. Built around a sample of Hot Chocolate's 1971 We Had True Love, the song found Dean at her most intimate, her exquisite phrasing giving even the smallest vocal inflection its own lingering weight.
Dean also dipped into her debut studio album, Messy, beginning with the quietly alluring title track. By contrast, UFO was a striking sonic departure, with Dean picking up the guitar as generous reverb gave the performance an otherworldly quality, a vivid reminder of the breadth of Dean’s musical palette.
Carmen, a song dedicated to Dean’s grandmother, offered one of the evening's more playful moments with one fan's FaceTime conversation projected for all to see. “I couldn’t resist”, Dean said with a grin. It was a glimpse of her mischievous personality that ran through the whole performance.
The set also featured Dean’s earlier material, including Echo, where the band particularly shone. The ensemble brought luxurious basslines, crisp percussion and soulful horns to the arrangements, swelling and retreating as the songs called for it. The lineup featured saxophonist Ruben Fox, trombonist Rashaan Salaam, trumpeter Trunino Lowe, guitarist Daniel Rogerson, Deschanel Gordon on keys, Finn Zeferino-Birchall on bass and drummer Joel Waters.
Moving to the B stage and dressed in custom Chanel, Dean sang three songs, including A Couple Minutes and The Hardest Part.
By the time she returned to the main stage, Dean had slipped into a pink, slinky sequined number by Clio Peppiatt, a perfect match for the blissfully buoyant Baby Steps. Ladies Room glistened as an irresistibly fun ode to sisterhood. Meanwhile, Dive was sumptuously chic, steeped in a distinctly Motown groove with layered harmonies, balancing earthy warmth with a touch of indulgence.
Never one to shy away from her influences, Dean has made a habit of weaving a cover into the latter half of her set. Last night, she performed the feel-good Move On Up by Curtis Mayfield.
OK Love You Bye was another standout, followed by It Isn't Perfect But It Might Be from the Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy soundtrack.
The evening closed with Man I Need, a fitting summation of Dean's appeal. She has a knack for making every song feel polished but never overworked, playfully seductive with an underlying ease. Nothing called attention to itself, yet the whole thing felt quietly spectacular. Simply put, Dean could have been a star in any decade; this moment, though, feels unmistakably hers.
