Review: Olivia Dean, The O2 Arena

★★★★★

“I remember playing the Apollo a couple of years ago and thinking I’ve made it,” Olivia Dean beams, gazing out at a sea of camera lights with a look of genuine, wide-eyed wonder. It is a beautifully grounding admission from the East London-raised singer, who, anchored by the lush, brass-heavy instrumentation of her exceptional live band, now finds herself in a venue four times the size, holding court for the third of her sold-out six-night residency at The O2.

It’s been a whirlwind couple of years for the now 27-year-old, with her most recent album, The Art of Loving, going certified Platinum in the UK – not to mention the handful of singles from the project that have also found themselves in the same category. And there is no better way to chart that journey than tonight’s opening stretch…

The set immediately establishes its lush, brass-warmed parameters, where, bounding from the radical, sun-dappled optimism of ‘Nice to Each Other’ into the silken groove of ‘Lady Lady’, Dean projects a sense of infectious, almost childlike joy. Dancing and shimmering with a beautiful sense of spontaneity and backed by her full band, as ‘So Easy (To Fall In Love)’ takes flight, she is warmed and in full flow, no less than a whirlwind of sequins and smiles.

Dipping into her 2023 debut album Messy, Dean pivots into introspection, met with a sea of flashlights during her stripped-back performance of ‘UFO’. But it’s ‘Carmen’ that provides one of the evening’s most emotional anchors, a moving tribute to her grandmother, whom Dean hails for her courage and bravery, moving to the UK alone when she was just eighteen.

Her recent GRAMMY-winning speech instantly floats to mind, with Dean saying, “I’m the product of bravery, and I think those people deserve to be celebrated”. Tonight, in ‘Carmen’ especially, that sentiment is felt in every note, a raw sincerity in her performance that allows every lyric to be sung with deep-seated belief in the very people who inspired them to be put on paper.

With her whole family in the Arena to support, this vulnerable pivot continues in Dean’s transition to the B-stage, stripping away the safety net of her kinetic backing band and into a solitary spotlight at the centre of the venue. A haunting performance of ‘Loud’ follows, etched with a newfound, orchestral gravity that feels straight from a film score, a spine-tingling display of vocal economy commanding a certain weight that sent chills throughout the room.

“Pray that things don’t change, but the hardest part is…” envelopes around the O2 with almost all of the twenty thousand voices singing with Dean in unison, marking the close of her B-stage appearance. Making her transit back to the main stage, she wastes no time switching the mood, recalibrating the room’s energy with the self-assured pulse and euphoria of ‘Baby Steps’.

“Shall we do something special as it’s Friday night?” Dean teased, a knowing glint in her eye that suggested the evening’s peak was yet to arrive. The resulting roar was near-deafening as she ushered Sam Fender onto the stage, the pair delivering a triumphant, grit-flecked rendition of ‘Rein Me In’ – a track that has now spent nine non-consecutive weeks at the top spot in the UK charts.

Yet, if the Fender cameo provided the night’s headline-grabbing fireworks, the closing trio of ‘It Isn’t Perfect But It Might Be, ‘Dive’ and ‘Man I Need’ offered the most compelling evidence of Dean’s impressive ascension to the very top over the past few years.

The final notes of the brass section reverberate around the Arena as the set comes to a close with the collective euphoria of ‘Man I Need’ – Dean looking stunned yet dazzling with joy and a tinge of overwhelming emotion. The confetti rains down on an audience honoured to be in the presence of a truly special artist, an evening of singing, dancing and crying to be remembered.

A triumphant masterclass in scaling up soul, it’s safe to say that the girl who once thought the Apollo was the ceiling has, quite clearly, found a new sky.

Photo Credit: Lola Mansell