Olivia Dean has won the Grammy for Best New Artist and she used her speech to celebrate the influence of immigration.
The London singer-songwriter was one of the biggest winners at the 68th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday night (February 1), picking up the prestigious Best New Artist award.
She beat out a host of other nominees – Katseye, The Marias, Addison Rae, Sombr, Leon Thomas, Alex Warren and Lola Young – and picked up the trophy just minutes after all eight nominees performed live on the Grammy stage.
In her tearful speech, she appeared to subtly take aim at the Donald Trump administration by stating that she is the “granddaughter of an immigrant” and a “product of bravery”, and added that she believes “those people deserve to be celebrated”.
“So yeah, we are nothing without each other. Thank you so much,” she concluded.
Previous winners of Best New Artist include Chappell Roan, who presented the award, as well as Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Dua Lipa and Megan Thee Stallion.
Dean released her second studio album ‘The Art Of Loving’ last year, which landed in NME’s Albums of the Year list. The record saw her become the first female solo artist to have four singles in the UK Top 10 simultaneously.
In a four-star review, NME also said: “Dean’s second record, and the years that came prior to it, have placed her alongside artists like RAYE or Sam Fender. British artists who’ve ascended to bigger and bigger stages, crafting music that while sonically is in their own lanes, is filled with honest lyricism coming from a distinct voice. As Dean prepares for her own sold-out arena tours – and with her tracks soaring up the UK charts – this record comes to cement her place. With it, marks the next chapter in Dean’s career, one as a popstar risen.”
Dean also made headlines in recent months for calling out Ticketmaster, Live Nation and AEG for providing what she described as “a disgusting service”.
“The prices at which you’re allowing tickets to be re-sold is vile and completely against our wishes,” she added. “Live music should be affordable and accessible, and we need to find a new way of making that possible. BE BETTER.”
She later revealed that it was an encounter with the story of a single mother who could not afford a ticket to her show that inspired her to speak out.
In response to Dean’s criticisms, Ticketmaster put a cap on the price of Dean’s resale tickets and offered to refund fans for any markup they already paid to resellers on Ticketmaster”.
