The singer-songwriter won Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles last night, reports Marco Marcelline
Highams Park singer Olivia Dean won her first ever Grammy Award last night (1st February).
Accepting the Best New Artist award from previous winner Chappell Roan, she said: “I never really imagined that I’d be up here, let alone nominated, so thank you so much.”
Dean also touched on her immigrant heritage, saying: “I’m up here as a granddaughter of an immigrant. I’m a product of bravery and I think those people ought to be celebrated. We’re nothing without each other.”
A self-taught singer-songwriter and guitarist who has been performing since the age of eight, Dean grew up in Waltham Forest with her Jamaican-Guyanese mum, English dad, and her younger brother.
After going to primary school in Highams Park, she attended the prestigious Brit School, whose alumni include singers Amy Winehouse and RAYE, and the 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.”
Dean, 26, reached number one with her second album The Art of Loving, and hit single Man I Need in September last year.
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 recently made headlines after writing an open letter to ticketing companies including Ticketmaster and LiveNation after resale tickets to her shows were listed at more than 14 times their original face value.
Calling the resale prices “disgusting” and “vile”, Dean demanded that fans were refunded and a price cap put in place to prevent future rip-offs. Ticketmaster quickly apologised for the debacle and followed through on her demands.
She is set to embark on a sold-out six date run at the O2 Arena this Spring, and is one of the frontrunners at the upcoming Brit Awards, with a total of five nominations.
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