FEATURE:
So Hard (To Fall in Love)
Can An Artist As Successful As Olivia Dean Be Seen as Underrated?
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I was going to sort of leave it…
and not really comment on it, but there was this interview with journalist Alexis Petridis, where he spoke about Olivia Dean. He writes regularly for The Guardian and is one of the most prolific journalists in this country. It was interesting what he was saying. How Olivia Dean is this honest and extraordinary artist. Making Pop music that is not boring but is very engaging and popular. In spite of the fact that she has won major awards, including GRAMMYs and BRITs is it possible that we are sleeping on her music?! That she is flying under the radar. I realise I have written about her a fair bit recently, though it is important to discuss this incredible songwriter. How she has this ‘girl-next-door’ persona and is making this incredible music but it is sort of being overshadowed. Her latest album, The Art of Loving, is a chart success, in spirt of the fact that it was released last September. With as clutch of awards and more coming possibly, her rise has been somewhat talked about less than more of the visually-driven Pop artists like Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter. That is what Alexis Petridis argued. Of course, one might say that it is impossible to be that much of a beloved artist and win awards and be seen as underrated or under-discussed. Sure, The Art of Loving got great reviews and a tonne of praise, and Olivia Dean has an adoring fanbase. Yet, there is not the same kind of discussion, exposure and hype that many of her Pop peers receive. Perhaps that is not the worst thing when we consider the downsides of that. Being in the public gaze and having that sort of focus on you. Yet, a songwriter this extraordinary and talented should be heralded more. Her music dissected and played more. I had not seen anyone really make a point like this before regarding Olivia Dean.
She is quite a private person, though I don’t feel like she is someone who would reject a lot of celebration and the same sort of spotlight that many of the bigger U.S. artists receive. I have seen articles from around 2023 when her debut album, Messy, came out. That was nominated for a Mercury Prize, and you sort of have to feel like The Art of Loving is going to be nominated. I am not sure about the eligibility rules. However, what Petridis said about Olivia Dean and her music not getting the attention it warrants. Her being overshadowed. It opens up an interesting question and debate. Look at articles written after her award success at the GRAMMYs and BRITs and many people say she has transitioned from being underrated and rising to a megastar. Chart success too. This is all commercial recognition. Do we value artists based on awards and chart positions only? Granted, one cannot say that Olivia Dean is under-awarded or going without industry recognition. However, this is a different thing. It might be a cultural thing. How major U.S. artists get amplified and there is a different way of treating artists. One can argue that Olivia Dean is a better and more complete and successful artist than someone like Sabrina Carpenter. I celebrated Carpenter recently and really love her music. However, Dean has been putting out music for quite a few years now and I don’t feel she has yet gained the sort of love and commentary that is earned. In terms of highlighting the brilliance of the music and talking about her deeply not only as one of the finest songwriters of her generation. Olivia Dean is also one of the most compelling and inspiring artists. The fact that she does not have the same sort of lifestyle and celebrated as some of her peers. This relatable and humble artist who is all about the work and does not get involved with the fame side of music.
You could say that this might be a reason why she is being slept on slightly. Looking at the reaction comments to that Alexis Petridis interview for The Guardian’s Today in Focus interview argues Olivia Dean has not been slept on and she is getting loads of attention. Others criticising that label of ‘girl-next-door’, which might be slightly sexist, belittling or old-fashioned. A term that should be dropped. She is simply honest, nice, big-hearted and warm. ‘Girl-next-door’ suggests something slightly insulting or reductive. I would disagree that Olivia Dean is completely underrated and has gone under the radar. What I would say is to make the distinction between someone who has won awards and chart success and artists who are discussed by journalists, their music written about and the artist being written about. It is that clash of the commercial side and the critical. Also, it is fair to say that Dean has not always been spoken about in the most respectful and positive tones. It is clear that she is a very special artist and someone who does not follow the mainstream Pop herd. True to herself and not compromising, The Telegraph wrote about Olivia Dean earlier in the year and highlighted what separates her from other artists:
“Unlike the current crop of reigning female pop superstars – Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, Olivia Rodrigo – Dean doesn’t alienate older listeners with risqué outfits or graphic songs about sex. She sings about love, yes, but in PG terms: it’s soft, gentle, and romantic (her breakthrough single Man I Need centred on the pithy chorus “Tell me you got something to give, I want it / I kinda like it when you call me wonderful”). There are no bad boys here, unless you’re choosing to believe the internet rumours from a few years ago that she was dating Harry Styles.
A music industry source, who worked on the campaign for Dean’s 2023 debut album Messy, adds that her success is the result of years of hard work. “Olivia has put the time in. She’s been doing non-stop gigs and festivals for years now and it’s finally paid off,” they tell me. “You couldn’t meet a nicer person either, she’s in it purely for the music.”
It was striking, too, how positively old-fashioned a pop star Dean seems compared to her fellow nominees for this year’s Best New Artist accolade: you had TikTok favourites Addison Rae and Sombr, the slickly manufactured “global girl group” Katseye and Christian crooner Alex Warren, whose dreadful 2025 chart-topper Ordinary almost made me swear off pop music for good.
Dean’s music and image, in comparison, owes more to the glory days of Motown than today’s pop charts. She makes uplifting, sugar-coated songs that still possess depth and soul, and her music offers a welcome respite to the trauma-dumping occurring in much of popular culture. Our world is growing ever more divided, toxic and brutal, and sometimes people want music that makes them feel good rather than reminding them of every one of life’s imminent tragedies”.
I think just some of the labels attributed to her and how she is perceived. Rather than explore why Olivia Dean is such an amazing artist and what makes her songwriting so distinct, there are these comparisons to other artists. It is a bad habit of mine too: instantly comparing female artists with one another. This idea of pitting them against each other, rather than respecting them on their own terms and recognising that artists who are more provocative or expressive in a sexual way are to be as commended and saluted as much as an artist like Olivia Dean. Not see the former as bad and immoral or wrong and the latter as innocent, old-fashioned or pure. My initial question of whether Olivia Dean is underrated or not might need rephrasing. Compared to a certain type of artist, is she regarded as highly? Whilst she has an army of fans, there is not quite that same sort of mania. I do think that there needs to be more column inches dedicated to her phenomenal lyrics and what she puts into her music. Also, how she conducts herself as an artist and remains so grounded and stable. Rather than wonder why she has not got massive headline festival slots and is being cast in films or what you’d expect from an artist of her calibre, perhaps not comparing her with other women! It is something I have been guilty of, and it does help the conversation. I respect all of these amazing women, but wondering why she is not a British Taylor Swift or Sabrina Carpenter is not constructive and is problematic. Instead, we must commend this artist who has released one of the best albums of the past decade with The Art of Loving. All it has achieved. How memorable her videos are and the aesthetic there. In interviews, how wonderfully and warmly Olivia Dean comes across. That she could decamp to L.A. or New York and record for months but prefers to be at home and do it in her own setting. That is refreshing and commendable. That the measure of success is not doing what you would expect a major artist to do. In that respect, we do not rate Olivia Dean as highly. Instead of comparing her to other women and creating a divide, the astonishing Olivia Dean needs to be celebrated…
IN her own right.