Olivia Dean is the first UK artist to be named Apple Music Artist of the Year, an award she takes for 2026. Her single “Man I Need” has charted on the Apple Music Daily Top 100 every day since it first appeared on August 29, 2025.
Apple announced the Artist of the Year award today. Her album The Art of Loving came out in late 2025 and broke through in 2026, and the award recognizes her leap to stardom.
Olivia Dean’s sold-out year made her the Apple Music Artist of the Year
She joins a list of winners that includes Tyler, The Creator for 2025, Bad Bunny for 2022 and The Weeknd for 2021.
Dean sold out her global tour and won a GRAMMY for Best New Artist. She also took home four BRIT Awards, including Artist of the Year.
In fall 2025, she opened for Sabrina Carpenter at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Less than a year later, she returned for a four-night residency of her own and followed it with a six-night sold-out run at The O2 Arena in London.
Dean said being named Apple’s Artist of the Year feels really amazing and that making music is the best thing in the world. Rachel Newman, the co-head of Apple Music, said what sets her apart is that she “speaks from the heart, every time.”
Apple Music editors tie her sound to 1960s soul, Sade and Prince
Her songs are about love and friendship. Apple Music editors place them in the songwriting tradition of 1960s soul and pop, and they describe her music as inspired by Sade, Prince and Lauryn Hill.
Her fans have responded to the idea that expressing love is an active practice that takes conscious effort. The idea was inspired by the 1999 book All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks.
Apple Music also put together a selection of playlists for the announcement, built around the songs and voices that have shaped the last 12 months.
As Artist of the Year, Dean receives a physical Apple Music Award. Each award holds Apple’s custom silicon wafer between a polished sheet of glass, inside a machined and anodized aluminum body.
Apple says the chip is the same kind that powers the devices putting over 100 million songs at listeners’ fingertips.
