1 week ago
12
Best New Artist Winner Olivia Dean Says She’s a “Product of Bravery” at Grammys 2026
It's not just the man she needs. Rather, Olivia Dean is confident she knows precisely what she requires in any given situation.
Take her decision to record The Art of Loving—the sophomore effort that led to the British neo-soul singer topping KATSEYE, The Marías, Addison Rae, sombr, Leon Thomas, Alex Warren and Lola Young to win Best New Artist at the 2026 Grammys Feb. 1—inside of an East London rental.
Having creating 2023's Messy by shuffling from studio to studio and dealing with "other people’s mugs where they make their tea, other people’s toilets where you’re having a bathroom break," the "Man I Need" singer explained in a December Nylon cover story, she relished the opportunity to fully own the experience.
"I'm waking up, and I’m setting the tone of the room," she explained. "I'm going to burn the incense, and when people arrive, I’m already there. I’ve pulled up what I want the reference to be for the day."
Her scent of choice was the patchouli- and sandalwood-laced attracts money. Perhaps attracts accolades would have been a bit too on the nose.
"I never really imagined that I would be up here, let alone nominated," the musician acknowledged as she grasped her Grammy. But since she'd claimed a spot onstage inside the Crypto.com Arena, she knew she needed to make the most of it.
"I want to say I'm up here as a granddaughter of an immigrant," noted the singer, raised in North London where her British father played tracks by Al Green and Carole King and her Jamaican-Guyanese mother introduced her to Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Angie Stone and Lauryn Hill, the inspiration for her middle name. "I'm a product of bravery, and I think those people deserve to be celebrated."
She's earned the right to raise a glass to herself as well.
"I've been writing music and putting songs out for almost 10 years now and wanting to do music since I was like 8 years old," the 26-year-old explained to NPR last September. "So I feel like I've always been here."
A musical theater kid, she enrolled at performing arts academy The Brit School—which counts Amy Winehouse, Adele, FKA Twigs and RAYE as alumni—and was discovered by her manager in a school showcase.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
By 2023, she'd ticked off all her inital goals: Release an album, play Glastonbury and perform alongside U.K. late-night host Jools Holland.
Next came the Art of Loving, a title she came up with after visiting painter Mickalene Thomas L.A. exhibit called All About Love, the same name as the bell hooks book she's likened to the bible.
Though she joked to Nylon that following months of heartbreak—"I call it the bin fire year"—she could have dubbed it The Art of "Damn, I Got My S--t Rocked".
Because, yes, she very much wears her heart on her delightfully elegant sleeve.
"I would never write a song if it wasn’t something that actually happened to me," explained the artist who's been linked to Harry Styles and, more recently, drummer Eddie Burns. Though she's clear she doesn't need a boyfriend.
"I think it’s okay to want to be in love and to be loved," she explained to W in October. "But it’s a fine line between, 'I don’t need a man,' or 'Men are trash,' and that becoming a negative mindset."
The why that's led to five EPs and two studio albums' worth of love songs is "the feeling of the documentary-ness of it," she explained. "I do it so that I can listen back to it in 10 years and be like, 'OK, that was about that breakup.' 'That was about that time in my life.' That’s interesting to me."
No doubt it's interesting to other as well.
As "Man I Need" landed her on the Billboard Hot chart for the first time, she became the first female solo artist to simultaneously have four tracks on the U.K. singles chart's Top 10, opened for Sabrina Carpenter and made her Saturday Night Live debut.
And come April, she'll embark on her own headlining tour. Which means she's had to come up with a few more aspirations.
Already the face of a Burberry fragrance, she'd love more opportunities in fashion. And after watching fellow multi-hyphenate Teyana Taylor in One Battle After Another, she detailed to Nylon, "something clicked like, 'I’d love to be in a movie.'"
She's less sure about embracing her pop star future.
"I don’t really have a desire to be famous," she admitted to Elle in September. "I don’t really have a desire to walk down the street and everyone’s like, 'Oh, my God!' I think that is a byproduct of doing what you love and doing it well. So I’m learning to navigate it, truthfully. Ultimately I’m really enjoying myself."
Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
Though at times, she can't help but wonder what comes next.
While London is very much home, "I see myself in New York, maybe, for a period of time," she told Vogue. "I feel like New York is my vibe. I want that Sex and the City life. So maybe—we’ll see."
What she is certain about is delivering the goods to her fans when she kicks off The Art of Loving Live in Glasgow.
"I’m excited to pour into that," she explained to Harper's Bazaar last fall, "and make that a special experience for everybody." She'd like to get back in the studio as well, after she fills up a few more pages of her passport.
"I’d like to see the world, whether that’s with touring or not," she shared. "I think I’ve got some living to do now. I think every good album comes as a result of some living."
Of course, she's not the only artist who's been living it up. Check out all the musicians who were named winners at the 2026 Grammys.
Best Music Video
WINNER: “Anxiety,” Doechii
“Love,” OK Go
“So Be It,” Clipse
“Manchild,” Sabrina Carpenter
“Young Lion,” Sade
Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media
WINNER: Sinners
A Complete Unknown
F1 The Album
KPop Demon Hunters
Wicked
Best Song Written For Visual Media
WINNER: "Golden," KPop Demon Hunters
"As Alive As You Need Me to Be," Tron: Ares
"I Lied to You," Sinners
"Never Too Late," Elton John: Never Too Late
"Pale, Pale Moon," Sinners
"Sinners," Sinners
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
WINNER: "Defying Gravity," Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande
"Golden (From KPop Demon Hunters)," HUNTR/X: EJAE, Audrey Nuna, REI AMI
"Gabriela," KATSEYE
"APT.," Rosé, Bruno Mars
"30 for 30," SZA featuring Kendrick Lamar
Best Country Solo Performance
WINNER: "Bad As I Used to Be," Chris Stapleton
"Nose on the Grindstone," Tyler Childers
"Good News," Shaboozey
"I Never Lie," Zach Top
"Somewhere Over Laredo," Lainey Wilson
Best Latin Pop Album
WINNER: Cancionera, Natalia Lafourcade
Cosa Nuestra, Rauw Alejandro
BOGOTÁ DELUXE, Andrés Cepeda
Tropicoqueta, Karol G
Y Ahora Qué?, Alejandro Sanz
Best Rock Performance
WINNER: “Changes Back to the Beginning,” YungBlud
“Mirtazapine,” Hayley Williams
“Never Enough,” Turnstile
“The Emptiness Machine,” Linkin Park
“U Should Not Be Doing That,” Amyl and the Sniffers
Best Dance/Electronic Album
WINNER: EUSEXUA, FKA Twigs
Ten Days, Fred again..
Fancy That, PinkPantheress
Inhale / Exhale, Rüfüs du Sol
F*** U SKRILLEX U THINK UR ANDY WARHOL BUT UR NOT!! <3, Skrillex
Best Dance Pop Recording
WINNER: “Abracadabra,” Lady Gaga
“Illegal”, PinkPantheress
“Just Keep Watching (From F1 The Movie),” Tate McRae
“Midnight Sun,” Zara Larsson
“Bluest Flame,” Selena Gomez & Benny Blanco
Best Alternative Music Album
WINNER: Songs of a Lost World, The Cure
SABLE, fABLE, Bon Iver
DON'T TAP THE GLASS, Tyler, The Creator
moisturizer, Wet Leg
Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party, Hayley Williams
Best Music Film
WINNER: "Music by John Williams," John Williams
"Devo," Devo
"Live at the Royal Albert Hall," Raye
"Relentless," Diane Warren
"Piece by Piece," Pharrell Williams
Best R&B Song
WINNER: “Folded,” Kehlani
“Yes it Is,” Leon Thomas
“Overqualified,” Durand Bernarr
“It Depends,” Chris Brown
“Heart of a Woman,” Summer Walker
Best R&B Album
WINNER: Mutt, Leon Thomas
Beloved, Givéon
Why Not More?, Coco Jones
The Crown, Ledisi
Escape Room, Teyana Taylor
Best Rock Album
WINNER: Never Enough, Turnstile
Private Music, Deftones
I Quit, Haim
From Zero, Linkin Park
Idols, Yungblud
Best Rap Performance
WINNER: "Chains & Whips," Clipse, Pusha T & Malice Featuring Kendrick Lamar & Pharrell Williams
"Outside," Cardi B
"Anxiety," Doechii
"tv off," Kendrick Lamar ft. Lefty Gunplay
"Darling, I," Tyler, The Creator ft. Teezo Touchdown
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
WINNER: A Matter of Time, Laufey
Wintersongs, Laila Biali
The Gift of Love, Jennifer Hudson
Who Believes in Angels?, Elton John & Brandi Carlile
Harlequin, Lady Gaga
The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume 2, Barbra Streisand
Best Country Song
WINNER: "Bitin' List," Tyler Childers
"Good News," Shaboozey
"I Never Life," Zach Top
"Somewhere Over Laredo," Lainey Wilson
"A Song to Sing," Miranda Lambert and Chris Stapleton
Best Country Duo/Group Performance
WINNER: “Amen,” Shaboozey & Jelly Roll
“Honky Tonk Hall of Fame,” George Strait, Chris Stapleton
“Love Me Like You Used to Do,” Margo Price & Tyler Childers
“Trailblazer,” Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert & Lainey Wilson
“A Song to Sing,” Miranda Lambert & Chris Stapleton
Best Americana Album
WINNER: BIG MONEY, Jon Batiste
Bloom, Larkin Poe
Last Leaf on the Tree, Willie Nelson
So Long Little Miss Sunshine, Molly Tuttle
Middle, Jesse Welles
Best R&B Performance
WINNER: “Folded,” Kehlani
“Heart of a Woman,” Summer Walker
“MUTT (NPR Tiny Desk),” Leon Thomas
“It Depends,” Chris Brown
“Yukon,” Justin Bieber
Best Rap Song
WINNER: "tv off," Kendrick Lamar ft. Lefty Gunplay
"Anxiety," Doechii
"The Birds Don't Sing," Clipse, Pusha T & Malice Featuring John Legend & Voices Of Fire
"Sticky," Tyler, The Creator Featuring GloRilla, Sexyy Red & Lil Wayne
"TGIF," GloRilla
Record of the Year
"DtMF," Bad Bunny
"Manchild," Sabrina Carpenter
"Anxiety," Doechii
"Wildflower," Billie Eilish
"Abracadbra," Lady Gaga
WINNER: "Luther," Kendrick Lamar with SZA
"The Subway," Chappell Roan
"APT.," Rosé, Bruno Mars
Album of the Year
WINNER: DeBí TiRAR MáS FOToS, Bad Bunny
Swag, Justin Bieber
Man's Best Friend, Sabrina Carpenter
Let God Sort Em Out, Clipse, Pusha T & Malice
Mayhem, Lady Gaga
GNX, Kendrick Lamar
Mutt, Leon Thomas
Chromakopia, Tyler, The Creator
Song of the Year
"Abracadbra," Lady Gaga
"Anxiety," Doechii
"APT.," Rosé, Bruno Mars
"DtMF," Bad Bunny
"Golden (From KPop Demon Hunters)," HUNTR/X: EJAE, Audrey Nuna, REI AMI
"Luther," Kendrick Lamar with SZA
"Manchild," Sabrina Carpenter
WINNER: "Wildflower," Billie Eilish
Best New Artist
WINNER: Olivia Dean
KATSEYE
The Marias
Addison Rae
sombr
Leon Thomas
Alex Warren
Lola Young
Best Pop Vocal Album
Swag, Justin Bieber
Man's Best Friend, Sabrina Carpenter
Something Beautiful, Miley Cyrus
WINNER: Mayhem, Lady Gaga
I've Tried Everything But Therapy [Part 2], Teddy Swims
Best Pop Solo Performance
"Daisies," Justin Bieber
"Manchild," Sabrina Carpenter
"Disease," Lady Gaga
"The Subway," Chappell Roan
WINNER: "Messy," Lola Young
Best Rap Album
Let God Sort Em Out, Clipse, Pusha T & Malice
Glorious, GloRilla
God Does Like Ugly, Jid
WINNER: GNX, Kendrick Lamar
Chromakopia, Tyler, The Creator
Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media (Includes Film And Television)
The Wild Robot, Kris Bowers, composer
Wicked, John Powell & Stephen Schwartz, composers
WINNER: Sinners, Ludwig Göransson, composer
Severance: Season 2, Theodore Shapiro, composer
How To Train Your Dragon, John Powell, composer
Best Musical Theater Album
WINNER: Buena Vista Social Club
Death Becomes Her
Gypsy
Just In Time
Maybe Happy Ending
English (US) ·