Back when Olivia Dean’s The Art of Loving global tour was announced last summer, a month before the album’s release itself, you’d be forgiven for thinking some of the venue choices were punchy. Prior to this run, Dean’s biggest show in the capital had been at London’s 3,500 capacity Eventim Apollo, and debut album Messy topped out at No. 4. Now it’s six sold-out nights at the O2 Arena to a combined 120,000 fans. Now? It feels like she could have done six more, judging by the clamor for tickets at this U.K. run before the tour goes global.
The Art of Loving looks set to be one of the U.K.’s defining albums this century. Since its release it has scarcely left the top five of the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart and has earned eight weeks at the summit. The LP has collected the best album prize at the BRITs — and Dean herself won best new artist at the Grammys, a rare feat for a British artist. Expect it to pick up an album of the year nod at next year’s ceremony and be a favorite to win.
Beyond the commercial heft, Dean’s The Art of Loving was built for broad appeal. The LP deftly glides between pop smashes (“Man I Need”), soul-infused groovers (“Baby Steps”) and intimate R&B (“A Couple Minutes”). The album’s visual aesthetics — and Dean herself — are leading its own inimitable style; the amount of polka dot skirts and floating dresses, Dean’s signature style, worn by fans give viral math-rock duo Angine de Poitrine a run for their money.
Now she’s bringing all of those sounds and visual references to life with a powerhouse show, one that’ll be one of 2026’s most sought-after tickets. These were the best moments from Dean’s Saturday night (May 2) showcase at London’s O2 Arena.
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Sumptuous Staging
Dean’s album campaign will be studied for years to come; not a single moment, image, look or performance has felt untethered from the overarching The Art of Loving narrative and moodboard. Saturday’s staging was a further extension of that, leveraging a large curtain as a backdrop as opposed to eye-popping visuals. The result is that the projected visuals from the show shimmer and bring a level of depth and intimacy.
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One for Granny
“Carmen,” a stand-out song from Dean’s debut album, was written for her grandmother, who immigrated from Guyana as part of the Windrush generation and brought new cultures and wisdom to Britain from the Caribbean, Africa and south Asia following the Second World War. For Dean, it celebrates “immigrants brave enough to do something different with their life,” and this punchy ode on the setlist does justice to the greats that have come before us.
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A Moment of Intimacy
The Art of Loving’s success is down to its intimate feel; the fact that Dean wrote and recorded the album at home with her close collaborators is evident in the warming tones and attention to detail. The portion of the set on the B-Stage, situated in the middle of the seating area, brought a little bit of intimacy to such a cavernous space. The songs chosen — “Loud,” “A Couple Minutes” and “Hardest Part” — gave Dean a chance to stretch her legs (she sprinted back to the main stage at the portion’s conclusion) but also remind fans that closeness and connection is why we fell in love with her in the first place.
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Dean Meets Mayfield
Dean has become a dab hand at covers, having nailed renditions of Dijon’s “The Dress” and Clairo’s “Sexy to Someone.” Her new tour setlist digs deep into the soul pantheon for Curtis Mayfield’s 1971 classic “Move On Up” in the final portion. A brave choice for an equally ambitious performer, but she brings a frenetic, Tina Turner-level energy to proceedings and matches Mayfield’s high notes.
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‘Rein Me In’ Rules
When Dean kicked off her tour in Glasgow last week (April 22), there was one track fans were crying out for: “Rein Me In.” The collaboration with Sam Fender has ruled the U.K.’s Singles Chart for nine weeks in 2026 (and currently occupies the top spot) but had only been performed live once before at Fender’s London Stadium show in June last year. Fender returned the favor by appearing at both Friday and Saturday night’s shows to bring the track to life, showing that there’s still life in a male and female duet.
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