The Art of Loving (album)


The Art of Loving is the second studio album by English singer Olivia Dean. It was released on 26 September 2025 through Capitol Records and Polydor Records. A pop and R&B record, it features production from Dean, Julian Bunetta, Matt Hales, Bastian Langebæk, Leon Michels, Zach Nahome, John Ryan, Max Wolfgang, and Matt Zara. It was supported by the singles, "Nice to Each Other", "Lady Lady", and "Man I Need", and the concurrent release of "So Easy (To Fall in Love)".
Upon its release, The Art of Loving received acclaim from music critics, many of whom described it as an evolution for Dean and praised her performance, being nominated at the Brit Awards for British Album of the Year. Commercially, the album had an international success, debuting at number one in Australia, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and United Kingdom, where Dean became the first British solo female artist to top the albums and singles charts simultaneously since 2021, thanks to "Man I Need"'s number-one placement. The album also reached the top ten on several charts, including the US Billboard 200 and Canadian Albums Chart.

Background

After the release of her debut album Messy, Dean started working on her next studio album project. In an interview with Paper, Dean shared that she had been "working really hard" on the album, expressing a desire to "sing for everybody" and be welcomed with "open arms" and "love", a gesture she described as a "vulnerable" act. The album was written and recorded in a grand house in East London transformed into a live-work studio for eight weeks between March and April 2025.

Composition and conception

The Art of Loving consists of twelve tracks, written by Dean herself in collaboration with songwriters and producers, including Julian Bunetta, Matt Hales, Leon Michels, John Ryan, Amy Allen and Sir Nolan. The album is a pop and R&B record, that incorporates elements of pop and neo-soul, bossa nova, jazz pop and Motown sound.
Dean explained that the album title was inspired by American painter Mickalene Thomas' art exhibition All About Love at The Broad in Los Angeles, California, which was in response to bell hooks' books. In an interview for Elle, Dean explained the album conception and the influence of the exhibition:
"I love book so much. It was one of those books that you wish everybody in your life could read. I thought that I would like to write an album reflecting on my understanding of love, the last two years of my life, and everything that’s happened. It’s obviously a topic that a lot of people have written songs about, I’m very aware, but I don’t think that takes away from the importance of it. I just think it was very healing for me to make. I went to the studio later that day . The seed for that title, The Art of Loving, was planted, and I had some songs that I knew I wanted to use, but the majority of the album really wasn’t written until the end of March and April this year. So it’s quite recent material. I dedicated eight weeks to writing the rest of it and finishing it."

Release and promotion

The album's release was preceded by several live performances, including joint appearances with Sabrina Carpenter and Sam Fender, as well as her own headlining North American tour. Dean announced The Art of Loving on 2 June 2025. The album was released on 26 September 2025 via Capitol Records and Polydor Records, issued through CD, vinyl LP, cassette, and digital formats.

Singles

The album's lead single, "Nice to Each Other", was released on 30 May 2025, and simultaneously announced the upcoming album. The second single, "Lady Lady", was released on 11 July 2025. The third single, "Man I Need", was released on 15 August 2025. The fourth and final single, "So Easy (To Fall in Love)", was released on 26 September 2025, coinciding with the full album.

Tour

The album will be supported by the The Art of Loving Live 2026 tour, which is set to commence on 23 April 2026, in Glasgow, Scotland, and conclude on 17 October 2026, in Auckland, New Zealand.

Critical reception

The Art of Loving received widespread critical acclaim upon release. The review aggregator AnyDecentMusic? assigned the album a weighted average score of 8.0 out of 10 from 13 critic scores.
Writing for Rolling Stone, Larisha Paul praised the record as a significant artistic step forward, highlighting "Man I Need" and "Let Alone the One You Love" as career-defining moments and comparing Dean's balladry to Amy Winehouse, Adele, and early Beyoncé. Helen Brown of The Independent called it both "deep and breezy" and commended Dean's ability to "de-complicate and de-escalate romance with playful generosity." Similarly positive, Rhea Hagiwara of The Skinny saw it as "a continuation and a step forward" from her debut Messy, with a new level of "maturity and authenticity".
In The Guardian, Alexis Petridis credited Dean for shedding the "neo-soul clichés" of her debut in favour of 1970s Los Angeles-inspired pop and soft rock, while praising her understated vocals and diaristic lyrics. Clash described it as "a quiet, meditative exploration of love," while noting occasional repetitiveness in its pacing. The review nonetheless praised Dean's voice as the centerpiece of the record and "crystalline, versatile and laced with warmth". Andy Kellman of AllMusic called the album "a couple cuts above her promising debut." Emma Way of DIY said the album "is all of these lessons; from the need for independence to the art of letting go, Olivia manages to convey all wisely, without becoming preachy." Adele Julia of The Line of Best Fit described Dean's performance as her "most compelling yet". Hannah Mylrea of NME said the album "marks the next chapter in Dean's career, one as a popstar risen."
Some criticism was more reserved. Pitchforks Walden Green characterised Dean's voice as warm and engaging but suggested that parts of the record leaned too heavily on retro pastiche, particularly on "Close Up" and "Baby Steps".

Commercial performance

In the United Kingdom, The Art of Loving debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart with 52,366 album-equivalent units, marking Dean's first number-one album and the highest debut for a British female artist on the albums chart since Adele's 30. "Man I Need", the album's third single, also reached number one on the UK Singles Chart the same week as The Art of Lovings debut, making Dean the first British solo female artist to top the albums and singles charts simultaneously since Adele in 2021 with 30 and "Easy on Me". On 9 January 2026, The Art of Loving was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry for sales of 300,000 album-equivalent units.
In the United States, The Art of Loving debuted at number eight on the Billboard 200 chart with 43,000 album-equivalent units, of which 11,000 were pure album sales. In its second week, the album rose to number seven, moving 35,000 units. On the chart dated 17 January 2026, the album rose again to a new peak position of number three. The Art of Loving was only the third album of 2025 to debut in the top ten of the Billboard 200 and reach a new peak in a subsequent week, following Bad Bunny's Debí Tirar Más Fotos and the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack.
In Australia, The Art of Loving debuted at number one on the ARIA Albums Chart, the first by the artist to achieve this result, simultaneously occupying the top position in the singles chart with "Man I Need". As of January 23, 2026, the album spent seven non-consecutive weeks at number one on the chart. The Art of Loving also debouted at number one on the New Zeland's Official Aotearoa Music Charts, spending eight non-consecutive weeks at one.

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.

Musicians

  • Olivia Dean – vocals, background vocals, piano, keyboards, synthesiser
  • Zach Nahome – programming, synthesizer effects, bass, drum programming, electric guitar, lap steel guitar, drums, percussion, synthesizer, guitar, rhythm programming
  • Bastian Langebæk – piano, background vocals ; drum programming, organ, Rhodes, Wurlitzer electronic piano ; synthesiser
  • Rosie Danvers – string arrangement
  • Wired Strings – strings
  • Finn Zeferino-Birchall – bass, background vocals
  • Deschanel Gordon – background vocals, keyboards, piano, keyboard arrangement, Wurlitzer electronic piano
  • Daniel Rogerson – background vocals ; acoustic guitar, electric guitar ; guitar
  • Joel Waters – background vocals, percussion, congas, tambourine
  • Jermaine Amissah – saxophone
  • Joe Bristow – trombone
  • Jack Banjo Courtney – trumpet
  • Leon Michels – acoustic guitar, bass, guitar, keyboards, percussion
  • Homer Steinweiss – drums
  • Matt Hales – keyboards, percussion, synthesiser
  • John Ryan – programming ; bass, guitar, horn, piano
  • Julian Bunetta – drums, programming, bass
  • Matt Zara – programming ; bass, drums, guitar, piano ; percussion
  • Max Wolfgang – background vocals, organ ; bass, piano ; electric guitar, percussion ; guitar, synthesiser
  • Mark Rudin – horn
  • Eric Hagstrom – drums
  • Ollie Clark – guitar
  • Michael Stafford – background vocals

Technical

  • Charlie Holmes – mixing
  • Simon Francis – mastering
  • Jan Trafas – engineering, engineering assistance
  • Dan Ewins – engineering
  • Austin Christy – engineering
  • Jeff Gunnell – engineering
  • Zach Nahome – engineering
  • John Ryan – engineering
  • Max Wolfgang – engineering
  • Nick Taylor – strings engineering
  • Adele Philips – engineering assistance