“I wrote this song as a lullaby for myself, but it’s for you too,” a radiant Olivia Dean tells The O2 as she breaks into pared-back and tender Messy. This is typical of her – generous and soulful, all while oozing a confident ease as she shimmies across the stage top-to-toe in sparkles.
The first we see of her ahead of her six-night reign at the arena is a swaying silhouette, before the curtains pull back to reveal Dean and her band already in full swing. The soul pop star is immediately warm as she smiles through the easy-breezy Nice to Each Other. The whole set is reticent of old Hollywood glam from the suited brass trio to Dean’s retro blow out, but the messaging is timeless. You can feel the audience resonate with her honesty about love and loss, presented with an indefatigable optimism.
Hot off her best new artist win at the Grammys and four Brit awards, she is cementing her stardom. After an intimate version of UFO Dean gets emotional. “I just had a moment, this is actually happening. I’m playing The O2 right now,” she almost whispers.
Her voice ranges from relaxed soul to energetic funk numbers, always in control and taking a beat to grin at the crowd. In a tender moment, she dedicates Carmen to all the women who raised her, “and all the women who raised you”. Written as a celebration of her grandmother’s life, it is a triumphant, beautiful elegy.
For A Couple Minutes, she changes into a sequinned tulle skirt with a cowl neck tank before waltzing through the crowd to a central podium. Though the magic is slightly broken by the numerous high vis security guards who have forced a path through, she is as cool and confident alone as she was with her band next to her.
Soft-focus camera footage of the backing singers play like a montage above her, occasionally dropping to the audience clutching signs like “My GCSEs start on Friday but I’m here”.
For Baby Steps, Dean is back on stage dripping in gold. Warm light and disco balls reflect onto the adoring crowds as she relaxes into a home run. Back-to-back hits follow, kicking off her film soundtrack It Isn’t Perfect But It Might Be with, “Anyone seen the Bridget Jones movie?” and bursting into a confident cover of Move On Up while introducing her band.
The audience is completely absorbed, and the lack of phones is remarkable. When she bursts into fan-favourite Man I Need the arena starts moving as one. Dean emanates defiance and joy, and it is impossible not to sway along with her as she delivers a masterclass in mesmerising, authentic romance.
