How Olivia Dean was crowned as the year's most exciting new artist

British singer Olivia Dean has confirmed her status as one of pop's biggest breakout stars by winning the Grammy Award for best new artist in Los Angeles on Sunday.

Dean went into the ceremony as the front-runner, thanks to joyful, soulful romantic pop songs like Man I Need and So Easy (To Fall In Love), which became transatlantic hits last year.

Despite competition from fellow Brit Lola Young and R&B artist Leon Thoma, she came out on top, making her the first Brit to win best new act since Dua Lipa in 2019.

"I'm up here as a grand-daughter of an immigrant," she noted while accepting her award. "I'm a product of bravery and I think those people ought to be celebrated."

"We're nothing without each other," she added.

The star also performed a buoyant version of her UK chart-topper Man I Need, which was previously selected as BBC Radio 1's biggest song of 2025.

Her golden gramophone trophy marks her out as one of pop's most promising new names, joining former best new artist winners like Amy Winehouse, Billie Eilish, Adele and Olivia Rodrigo.

She was presented with her award by last year's recipient, pop star Chappell Roan.

The moment marked the culmination of a slow-burn success that began with Dean's first EP, OK Love You Bye, in 2019.

Since then, she's experimented with numerous genres and sounds before settling on the pillowy, jazz-toned sounds of her second album, The Art of Loving.

Late night conversations

Born and raised in Highams Park, north-east London, Dean knew she wanted to be a singer from an early age.

From a distance, she'd watched her cousin - So Solid Crew rapper and actor Ashley Walters - top the charts; but it was another Londoner who really inspired her.

"People always try and say something cool when they talk about their first record - but I remember my Granny taking me to Woolworths to buy Leona Lewis's A Moment Like This on CD single," she told BBC News two years ago.

Her debut album, Messy, was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize; but it was last year's The Art Of Loving that really put her on the map.

An intimate portrait of matters of the heart, it reached number one in the UK album charts and earned her three concurrent Top 10 singles.

The entire album was composed and recorded in a rented house in East London, where Dean shunned A-list writers and asked her closest collaborators to spend two weeks, mixing sessions with late night conversations over good food and "lots of red wine."

That easy-going, free-flowing approach is all over the record – whose stories of love and loss are conveyed with an easy informality, like your best friend spilling their secrets.

Man I Need became her breakout single in the US, reaching number two in the Billboard charts. Speaking to the podcast…And The Writer Is, she said it had been inspired by Michael Jackson's 1987 single The Way You Make Me Feel and Haribo's insanely fizzy Tangfastic sweets.

"I came in that day and there was a lot of energy in the room," she recalled. "And I was like, 'Guys, let's make something really fun. I want to make something I can dance to. I want to make something that when I perform live, it's just gonna be like a Tangfastic.

"We started with the drum beat and I was like, 'Yeah, I want to do something kind of like Michael [Jackson]'s The Way You Make Me Feel-esque'

"And I sat at the Wurly [a Wurlitzer electric piano] and we kind of just, like, wrote it."

It's not just the music that has made Dean stand out.

Early in her career, she railed against being pigeon-holed as an R&B artist, when her music spanned genres like pop, alternative and folk, alongside throwback soul.

"I have sometimes felt quite boxed in, like I have to make 'urban' music," she said, but "I feel like I can do anything".

Last year, she made headlines again after demanding, and obtaining, a refund for fans who had bought resale tickets for her US tour from Ticketmaster.

The star wrote an open letter to ticketing companies after some tickets were listed at more than 14 times their original face value, with prices rising above $1,000 (£750).

Dean called the practice "disgusting" and "vile", prompting Ticketmaster to announce a price cap on resale tickets, and refund fans "for any markup they already paid" on its service.

Showing that she's unafraid to stand up for her fans, earned the singer praise from all quarters of the industry - including Sir Elton John, who interrupted a camping trip to congratulate the star on her award nominations.

Dean's Grammy win comes just weeks after she - along with Lola Young - dominated the nominations for this year's Brit Awards, with five nods, including artist of the year.

On Sunday, the singer also fended off influencers-turned-pop stars Addison Rae and Alex Warren to top the best new artist category, as well as girl group Katseye, rock star Sombr and US indie pop band The Marías.

For the second year in a row, all eight nominees performed during a special segment at the early part of Sunday night's ceremony - dubbed the biggest night in music.

Earlier in the evening, Dean's fellow Brits, The Cure, FKA Twigs and Yungblud also picked up awards.