Olivia Dean took over Crypto.com Arena for the first of two sold-out nights at the iconic L.A. venue for her Art of Loving Tour on Tuesday night, in a moment that emphasized just how quickly the British singer has gone from promising rising act to bona fide superstar.
“It’s mental to be here after playing the Fonda last time; it’s not lost on me that that’s a big jump,” Dean told the crowd after performing the first couple of songs of her set, further thanking fans for their support after her breakout album The Art of Loving “changed my life.”
As Dean said, just under a year ago, she was playing her most recent L.A. shows at Hollywood’s Fonda Theatre — a much smaller 1,200-cap room compared to the nearly 20,000-seat arena where she’s now holding court. And it was only six months ago she was on this very stage during the Grammys, giving a teary-eyed speech after winning best new artist.
Dean, 27, is bringing an old school entertainer’s flair to her arena run, complete with disco balls, a jazzy horn section, and a backing band all outfitted in matching black suits and dresses. Her fans met the moment too, donning dresses, full-length skirts and other attire a tad more formal than what one may expect for a typical L.A. concert.
Dean matched that classic lounge singer vibe with a comforting earnestness, addressing the crowd often as she preached for more togetherness and connection, self-love and being present in the moment. Her show felt particularly intimate for an arena gig; while she spent much of it on the larger main stage, she also made her way down to a smaller star-shaped stage toward the middle of the venue for a few songs, getting within just a few feet of the crowd.
Dean currently has the two longest-running hits on the Hot 100, as “So Easy (To Fall in Love)” just hit 41 weeks on the chart and sits at No. 9 this week, while “Man I Need” has logged 46 weeks and is just one spot below. Still, the fan response was as palpable for performances on her lesser-known album cuts like “Something Inbetween” and “A Couple Minutes.”
She took a few seconds to bask in the cheers after “Something Inbetween,” smiling and throwing her arms up and down as if to let the moment sink in just a bit longer.
Perhaps the most emotional segment though, was before “Carmen,” the song she dedicated to her grandmother, which closed out her debut 2023 album Messy. Before starting the song, she harkened back to that Grammy night speech she gave at this very arena six months ago, where she told the world she was “up here as a granddaughter of an immigrant.”
“She was probably the most important person in my life and made me the person I am today,” Dean said. “She came to the U.K. when she was 18 years old. She’d never been on a plane before, and she came from the Caribbean to London. By the time she was my age, she had four kids. One of them was my mum, and then my mum had me and now I get to do this with my life. As I said the last time I was on this stage, I think people like that deserved to be celebrated.”
Dean finished the hour and 45-minute set with “Man I Need,” her biggest hit, as confetti burst into the crowd during the final verse.
She’s got one more performance at Crypto.com Arena Wednesday night, and after that, she’ll continue the sold-out tour at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.