Dean, who grew up in Highams Park, has surged to the top of the charts with her album The Art of Loving and hit single ‘Man I Need’, reports Marco Marcelline
Highams Park singer Olivia Dean has bagged a rare UK chart number one double, reaching the top spot with her second album The Art of Loving, and hit single ‘Man I Need’.
Dean, 26, is the first British solo female artist to simultaneously claim the UK’s number one album and single since Adele in 2021, when she achieved it with 30 and ‘Easy on Me’.
The Art of Loving shifted 53,000 copies between its release day (26th September) and Friday, 3rd October, making it the fifth biggest opening week of the year.
Dean is currently experiencing international success too, with her second album topping the charts in Australia, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and reaching number eight in the United States.
The pop-soul star, who has 31.5million monthly listeners on Spotify, told Official Charts: “I feel very grateful and overwhelmed! I love the album I made and I’m so proud of myself for making it. But ultimately it is so joyful seeing how much it means to people and how it’s helping people understand love and loving.”
A self-taught singer songwriter and guitarist who has been performing since the age of eight, Dean grew up in Waltham Forest with her mum, dad, and younger brother.
After going to primary school in Highams Park, she attended the prestigious Brit School, whose alumni includes singers Amy Winehouse, RAYE, and rapper Loyle Carner.
As a teenager Dean busked across London and made it through to the final of the country’s biggest street music competition.
Speaking previously to The Face about her upbringing, the pop-soul singer said: “I was born in Tottenham and raised in Highams Park, but I usually just say Walthamstow because people don’t know where that is. It’s on the cusp of Essex, basically. I’m an East London girl through and through.”
And in an interview with Time Out, Dean described Highams Park as being “like a village”, with “one primary school, two pubs, and a big Tesco”.
Her 2023 debut album Messy reached number four in the UK charts on its release and was nominated for a Mercury Award, while The Art of Loving has received universal acclaim from music critics, with The Guardian’s Alex Petridis describing it as an ’“exceptionally well-made record full of diaristic detail and sweetly understated vocals”.
Dean is currently on the North American leg of her world tour in support of The Art of Loving, and will play six dates at the O2 Arena in London next year, four of which are sold-out.
Congratulating Dean on her chart feat, Martin Talbot, chief executive officer at Official Charts, said: “Achieving a rare official number one chart double has truly propelled Olivia Dean onto the top table of British talent this week. Her success this week with her second album The Art Of Loving is fantastic news for the East London singer and for British music more widely.
“It is particularly timely coming at the start of the month when we will be celebrating British talent at the Mercury Prize in just a few days. What are the odds on another shortlist placing for her next autumn, as her debut Messy was in 2023?”
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