HE may come across as a cringeworthy “cool dad”, but there is no denying the commercial power of Barack Obama’s annual list of his favourite songs.
And this year, the former US president has made British chart sensation Olivia Dean his No1 act with her tune Nice To Each Other.
North Londoner Olivia topped the list of his 30 most-played songs of 2025, sent out to his millions of followers with the message, “I hope you find something new to enjoy”.
The former president’s recommendations often see artists’ popularity explode, with some enjoying streaming boosts of over 2,000 per cent.
So it’s fair to say Olivia is taking the industry by storm.
Her jazzy, soul-filled tunes have already sold out her upcoming European tour, The Art Of Loving Live, which kicks off in April in Glasgow.
And at just 26 years old, she is establishing herself as one of the music industry’s most ballsy artists.
Her authenticity and no-nonsense approach are a hit with fans.
In July, the fiercely independent star insisted, “I don’t feel like I need to be in a relationship to survive”, adding: “I don’t take any s*** from people.
“Definitely not as much as I would have when I was younger.
“I know my worth and how I deserve to be loved. I have no time for b******t.”
Most recently, Olivia proved her mettle by fearlessly pushing back against the global ticketing industry.
She publicly condemned companies that allowed touts to re-list gold-dust briefs for her North American tour at over 14 times their face value, with prices topping $1,000 (£750).
In an open letter to the firms online, she called the practice “disgusting” and “vile”.
Ticketmaster subsequently gave fans partial refunds for any markup they had already paid to resellers.
Now tipped to clean up at the Brit awards next year, Olivia, from Walthamstow, North East London, is becoming an international sensation.
In October, she was the first female solo artist to have four singles in the UK Top Ten at the same time — including Barack’s favourite.
She is also the first British woman since Adele in 2021 to top the album and singles charts simultaneously. Her record, The Art of Loving, and No1 tune, Man I Need, secured her the place in music history.
‘Eclectic taste’
But the Brit School student, who was romantically linked to Harry Styles last year, is sitting back and counting the cash.
And she is flying the flag of self-worth and living in the moment.
“People need to release themselves. Release yourself from the idea that somebody might find you cringe,” she said in a recent interview with Nylon magazine. “F them! Be cringe, and be free!”
This weekend, Olivia was named one of Britain’s best-dressed people by the Sunday Times Style magazine.
But it is not just her great voice and fashion sense that have propelled her rise to fame. She also has a talent for getting into people’s social media feeds.
Here relatable lyrics about love and female empowerment have played well on platforms like TikTok, where youngsters share her videos.
One source said: “It’s not enough just to be a good singer. You have to be a good internet star. That means being all over things like TikTok.
“Olivia has managed to hit that sweet spot of catchy songs and lyrics that mean a lot to a huge, mainly young, female fanbase.
“You’ll get nowhere as a singer these days if no one’s carving up your songs and sharing them on TikTok.”
So where did it all begin for this feisty female trailblazer? Born in the North London Borough of Haringey, Olivia was raised by her English dad and Jamaican-Guyanese mum, a barrister.
I sang Tomorrow from Annie in a competition, and I was so nervous I had to place my back to the audience.
Olivia Dean
She grew up listening to artists including Carole King, Angie Stone and Al Green. Even her middle name, Lauryn, is a nod to the legendary US artist Lauryn Hill.
Olivia said: “My dad would always be playing records, he has a really eclectic music taste. One of my earliest memories is dancing with him in the kitchen and him playing me the stuff he listened to.
“I found a love of music through his love of music, I think.”
Olivia sang in gospel choirs and musical theatre lessons, plus she was inspired by her cousin, So Solid Crew rapper Ashley Walters, topping the charts.
But she did not always have the supreme self-confidence we see in her now.
“I sang Tomorrow from Annie in a competition, and I was so nervous I had to place my back to the audience,” she once recalled.
“The pianist was like, ‘Turn around, you can do this’. So I spun and faced everyone, singing Tomorrow with tears streaming down my face.”
But it was enrolling in the Brit School that kickstarted the glittering career she now enjoys.
The famous performing arts college in South London boasts the likes of Amy Winehouse, Jessie J, and Adele among its former students — as well as another young pop sensation, RAYE, who was there at the same time as Olivia.
On a second-hand piano she begged her mum to buy, Olivia began writing her own songs — plugging away until, one day, it paid off.
Aged 16, she took part in a school showcase watched by Emily Braham, who worked with the band Rudimental.
“There was just something — and I didn’t know what it was at the time — but I was texting the school during the song like, ‘I need to meet this girl’,” said Emily, who is now Olivia’s manager.
Starting off as a backing singer for Rudimental, Olivia was thrown in at the deep end — but that didn’t stop her testing boundaries.
I just came out of the cinema and something clicked, like, ‘I’d love to be in a movie’
Olivia Dean
“I’d just come out of college and my first show was in Budapest in front of 17,000 people,” she said.
“There were times where I was supposed to be singing the harmony, but I’d think, ‘Actually, I’m just gonna sing the tune’. I would zone out and get lost in it.”
Her debut EP, OK Love You Bye, came out in November 2019. And she set herself three goals: to release an album, perform with Jools Holland and play Glastonbury.
In 2023, she achieved all three, with her debut record Messy shortlisted for the Mercury Prize.
But she was just getting started. Now, Olivia is an ambassador for Chanel and, last year, she played the Pyramid stage at Worthy Farm.
Her second album, The Art Of Loving, came out in October and scored her a UK No1.
She even wrote It Isn’t Perfect But It Might Be, the lead track for the latest Bridget Jones movie, Mad About the Boy.
Industry revolution
Looking to the future, in March Olivia told The One Show: “Next I’d like to do Bond.”
That’s if she’s not in a movie, as watching One Battle After Another, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Teyana Taylor made her want to act.
“I just came out of the cinema and something clicked, like, ‘I’d love to be in a movie’,” she said.
But Olivia’s most stand-out moment so far could in fact be her ticket price victory last month, as she may have quietly ushered in a music industry revolution.
Inspired by the story of a single mother unable to afford her shows, Olivia took aim at companies allowing tickets to be resold at vastly over-inflated prices.
Ticketmaster agreed to cap the resale cost before refunding fans who were already out of pocket.
Away from performing, Olivia was this summer spotted at Wimbledon holding hands with American musician Eddie Burns, a drummer for the artist Clairo.
They have been seen together since, but Olivia’s private life remains just that — private. In fact, she prefers low-key socialising to partying on the celebrity circuit.
It sounds like she’s completely in tune with what it takes to be a superstar.
