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Olivia Dean has had a whirlwind year, but her favorite moment? Meeting Oprah Winfrey. In this episode of 'Ask Me Anything', the Grammy-winning singer talks all things music-- from her earliest memory of obsessing over 'Pocahontas' and jamming with classmates at The BRIT School, to touring the world with Sabrina Carpenter and watching her new album, 'The Art of Loving', hit number 1 on the charts. Watch as our Women in Music cover star also reveals the hill she'd die on (hint: it's pasta related), her favorite reality TV shows, the David Koma dress she'll never forget, and more.

Check out Olivia Dean’s ELLE cover story here: www.elle.com/olivia-dean-2026

Special thanks to St. Pancras London, Autograph Collection.

#OliviaDean #AskmeAnything #WomenInMusic #ELLE

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Transcript
00:00White trainers.
00:02If you know, you know!
00:05Hello, I'm Olivia Dean, and today I'm letting Elle ask me anything.
00:11Here we go.
00:12Which song of yours best represents you as an artist?
00:15That's a toughie, because I feel like all of my songs are quite different versions of my personality, depending on
00:22the day.
00:23I'm going to go with nice to each other.
00:24I feel like that one's a good all-rounder.
00:26She's fun, she's flirty, she's cheeky, but her overall message is joy and positivity, which I feel like is my
00:33vibe.
00:34What is your earliest memory of music?
00:36I was thinking about this the other day.
00:38I think my first kind of experience of falling in love with a piece of music was Pocahontas, Colors of
00:45the Wind.
00:45I would sit in front of the TV and watch it again and again and again and again, and my
00:49mum and my granny would get sick of it, and I just loved it.
00:52I wanted to be Pocahontas.
00:53Love you, sis.
00:55Is there a song that almost didn't make the tracklist for The Art of Loving?
00:58Many songs did not make The Art of Loving.
01:01Some because I just felt like they didn't fit the story, but also some because they were rubbish.
01:07There's one in particular that almost was on the album and didn't make it, but I might put it out.
01:12I don't know, I still like it, so I'm not going to say the name of it or anything like
01:16that, just in case I do.
01:17Describe the moment when Man I Need hit number one.
01:20I was in America about to go on the Sabrina Carpenter tour, and I think I was in the airport
01:25and we were having a pint, and we said, cheers.
01:28It was very surreal. I think the album went number one at the same time, and I was just like,
01:35either of these things happening separately would be crazy and felt like a very big life moment.
01:40What do you think is your most underrated song?
01:43I have a song called What Am I Gonna Do On Sundays from an EP that I put out called
01:48Growth, and I think it's before it's time, to be honest.
01:51I think it's a really sophisticated piece of music. I think it's heartbreaking. It doesn't fit in my normal style,
02:00but I think it's a great song.
02:02Well, I guess if you've been listening to me for a long time, my first song was a song called
02:06Reason To Stay.
02:07We haven't been playing that live recently, so I guess the day ones will remember that one, or White Trainers.
02:15If you know, you know!
02:19I don't think I've ever, I don't know, maybe I have played that live, not for a very long time,
02:23and I probably never will again, unfortunately.
02:26She's, she's a cutie, but she's old. Old. I'm enjoying the throwaway.
02:34Describe your pre-show ritual. I wish it was something more exciting.
02:38I normally am having loads of fun, and listening to like Usher, and Alicia Keys, and sort of like fab
02:45things like that,
02:46and then the music goes off, and it's classical music, and we kind of clear the room, and I just
02:51do my vocal warm-ups,
02:53and maybe have a sip of a beer, if I'm feeling it that night, otherwise a hot honey and lemon,
02:59and then just get out there, you know, and just have a good time.
03:03I wish it was something crazier, like all the, what do people do? All the green M&Ms or something.
03:08Which of your tour looks was your favourite?
03:11I've worn lots of amazing things on tour, and I'm so excited about all the new things I'm going to
03:17be wearing on tour,
03:18but I think whenever I look at photos back, I did a show in, was it Melbourne or Sydney?
03:25Sydney.
03:27In Sydney, and I wore this beautiful like baby blue David Comer dress, and it kind of had a high
03:34rise on one of the legs,
03:35and like feathers coming out, and I just think it was just gorgeous.
03:39I think fashion and my music and career right now feel very intrinsically linked.
03:46I love playing with clothes, I love working with Simone, my stylist, and I think it's kind of, aside from
03:51the music,
03:52my favourite part of the job.
03:54What's one song you wish you wrote?
03:56There are so many songs that I wish I wrote, but currently Midnight's on Zora Larsson, or Folded by Kid
04:03Lani.
04:03I think that answer speaks for itself, the best song I've felt right now.
04:07Name your dream collaborator.
04:09Stevie Wonder.
04:10Stevie Wonder would be really cool.
04:12Maybe just sort of standing next to Stevie Wonder while he's singing is enough of a collaboration for me.
04:17I would say probably him would be cool.
04:19What's the most Pisces thing about you?
04:21I think that Pisces have a real problem with boundaries.
04:25I'm like a sponge, so like anyone else's emotions around me, I'll have a bit of that.
04:30Yeah.
04:30You're feeling sad, I'm feeling it too. A bit of a emotional sponge, I'd say.
04:37Do you think a short school compatibility matters in a relationship?
04:41No, I don't think it matters.
04:44Remember in school when you do like the love calculator, like you'd put your birthday in and be like, oh
04:48we're a match.
04:50It doesn't matter. Doesn't matter guys.
04:52Describe your favourite memory from the Brit school.
04:55That time in my life was so joyful and I met all my friends there and I think it just
05:02really allowed me to blossom as an individual and kind of find myself.
05:07My favourite memory. I mean, I think just the shows we got to do, to be honest, like we would
05:13do these really big school shows in the music strand and it was like my first experience of like doing
05:19a proper gig and like playing with other people rather than just playing guitar in my room.
05:23And we did a show where everybody had to write their own song and then like put it together with
05:28a band and I played timbalay and it was just, I remember thinking like, wow, I'm in the music industry.
05:35When was the last time you were starstruck? Yesterday met Oprah Winfrey guys.
05:43Yesterday I went to the Chanel show and she came up to me and I was like, oh my God,
05:47it's Oprah. And I don't really remember what I said.
05:49I think I kind of blacked out, but there is a video of it somewhere. But yeah, it doesn't really
05:52get better than Oprah. So love you girl.
05:56What's a fashion trend you will never take part in? Listen, I like the tabby shoe. OK, I've got some
06:02tabbies. I can do two toes separated. I can't do all five.
06:06I can't do all five. I'm not going to be doing those shoes. They look really good on some people.
06:12Me, I look a bit aquatic or some sort of like little animal. So not that for me personally.
06:19What is your go to comfort show? At the moment I'm watching Narcos. Narcos. I don't know if I'm supposed
06:26to say it with a Spanish accent. Narcos. I'm really enjoying it.
06:31I never saw it when it came out and I love kind of like thrilling shows like that. And I'm
06:35learning Espanol at the moment. So it's going well for me with Narcos right now.
06:40Do you watch any reality TV? I do watch reality TV. I just watched Love Island All Stars and oh
06:47my God, what amazing television that was.
06:49Thank you, everybody involved for that. It really got me through the last couple of months and I loved it.
06:54No notes. Can't wait for the next season. Maya Jama, I love you.
06:59What does your dream acting role look like? Yeah, I think I would really like to be in a movie
07:04at one point, but maybe either like a movie musical so I can sing and like lean less on the
07:10actual acting because that is a real actual skill that people professionally do.
07:14Or a silent movie. Do you know what I mean? So I could just look really fabulous and like wear
07:20some fabulous clothes to some like gorgeous kind of Italian music, but I'm not talking.
07:24That's the last question. What is a hill you die on? Again, I have many of these, but will be
07:30here all day.
07:30So I'm just going to stick to one that I feel the most strongly about, which is that a carbonara
07:35should not have any cream in it.
07:37If you go to a restaurant and you look at the carbonara and you see under that cream, abort, don't
07:42even bother to order it.
07:43It's not going to be right. And there should never be peas in a carbonara. Okay.
07:48Thanks so much for watching and you can check out my Elle cover, which is out now.
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