The cream curtains part, and Olivia Dean and her band are already in full swing. Reaching out to the audience, she shimmies behind a silver microphone stand in a floor-length candyfloss-pink dress, while her band steps sideways on curved, softly carpeted risers. The swinging, sighing soul-pop single Nice to Each Other radiates optimism for an on-off relationship, as soft-focus camera footage creates a collage of gleaming trumpets, glamorous backing singers, and Dean’s beaming face. With the atmosphere of old-fashioned music television, it is knowingly retro and deeply romantic – everything one would expect from the 27-year-old singer breathing fresh air into British soul.
On this opening night of two sold-out arena shows in Glasgow, ahead of six nights at London’s O2, Dean breezes through two more of her biggest hits as if it were effortless. Lady Lady, about moving out and growing up, is bassy and rich, while So Easy (To Fall in Love) is free, flirty, and radiant. “This is a song to remind you that you’re fab,” she crows, now dancing at the stage’s footlights.
Dean’s rapid ascent to pop’s upper echelons, cemented by her Best New Artist win at the Grammys in February and four Brit Awards, is due precisely to this airy, easy charm. So when she drops the polish for a showstopping Let Alone the One You Love, it is all the more striking. Leaning on a keyboard, brow furrowed, she relives an argument with genuine frustration seeming to rise in her voice – “If you knew me at all, you wouldn’t try to keep me small” – as her brass players fanfare their support. On record, the song’s bright arrangement feels misplaced, but on stage it is more clearly a riposte: good luck trying to dim Dean’s light.
“I drove past King Tut’s on my way here,” she says slowly. “I never imagined I could have my own arena tour.” She played the 300-capacity club only three years ago, before jumping to a venue triple its size in 2024. But aside from the glitzy set design, the core of Dean’s show remains unchanged. Since her last visit, she has added two singers to her band and a wardrobe of glamorous costume changes, but the real growth is in Olivia herself. Magnetic and commanding, she still pops some Motown moves – a hand on her hip, a finger held aloft in time-honoured girl-group style – but her performance feels lived-in and natural, as does her soft, expressive voice.
She has also gained the confidence to be vulnerable. When Dean sits on a stool to sing the older track UFO, backed only by her long-time bassist and guitarist, the audience lights the arena with their phones. It is fairly standard practice for a ballad, but Dean crumbles at the sight. She makes it to the final line before holding her face in her hands for a proper cry: “I’ll never forget that,” she squeaks.
There is tangible affection for her in the room, with the shared feeling of watching a star step into unknown but long-dreamed-of territory. It lends a rose tint to some of her lesser material, which shines brighter with the big band treatment and her sheer force of personality. By the time she closes, inevitably, on Man I Need – her first UK No 1 and the latest member of Spotify’s Billions Club – Dean is floating with happiness, her feet barely touching the ground. The curtains close, the end credits roll, and it feels like a classic romance in every way.
Olivia Dean plays OVO Hydro, Glasgow, 23 April; then touring UK and Europe until 21 June.
