Olivia Dean

On a scale of 1 to 10, Olivia Dean is a 12 — that’s a bigger suspension of disbelief than Nigel Tufnel insisting his amp goes to 11. You can’t hold her beauty against her, though.

We never knew what anyone looked like before MTV so it didn’t matter then. But now it does. (I can hardly remember when it didn’t.) Also? You can’t just stand at a mic anymore and sing (even if you’re a knockout) unless you’re Adele. A performer has to create some kind of visual interest. Something that makes us stick around.

IMO Olivia Dean was a class act on her recent SNL performance. Adam and I were watching together. He’d never heard of her. I, on the other had, have been enjoying her album and I was curious to see her deliver live.

Now, to be frank, Adam and I often laugh at the outrageous musical guest ‘presentations’ on SNL. Some of the acts take themselves way too seriously. There are times we literally can’t tell the them apart from a parody performed by the cast members. We ask each other, “Is it us, are we simply out of touch?” (I don’t think so btw.)

Olivia presents more ‘pageant queen’ than pop-star. She’s not a dancer but she did manage to move to the joy of the song-of-the-moment, “Man I Need.” Hair flips abundant. That was a thing of interest. A gorgeous thick mane. And legs for days strutting about the stage. Olivia is so distractingly stunning I thought sure Adam was going to fall off the couch no matter how she sang or how much he liked (or didn’t like) the song. But he didn’t fall off the couch. He was unmoved. He thought she was just ok. Average.

And so, I challenged his opinion. I asked him to consider that perhaps he thinks she’s ‘meh’ because we’re so used to a spectacle — hip-rolling and ensemble-twerking, Benson Boone’s back flips. He swore it wasn’t that. But I think it has to have something to do with it. At least unconsciously.

Now if she were Whitney or Aretha I would argue vehemently. Those were voices that were so undeniable that if you denied them you were truly clueless. But I can’t argue here. Because TBH, if I didn’t know any better (and I didn’t when I first heard Olivia through speakers) I’d think she was the sultry Lianne La Haves (who I’ve been a fan of for years) or maybe the even the sultrier Celeste - both British chart-making peers. Still, even if she blends in with a genre I’m not mad at it or her at all.

Ok, so ”Man I Need” is not “Man In The Mirror,” but it’s delightful, no? It’s not trying to bedazzle me with substance-free wordplay. And back-flips. It’s a good-old fashioned ear-worm. (Don’t hate me. Isn’t it kinda like “What a Girl Wants” — the ear worm part? 🤓)

I have to admit, it might have stuck with me harder had I heard it 20 years ago, before there were an absurd amount of songs vying for my attention. That being said I like the track. I like her whole album, The Art of Loving. I know this is true because I keep choosing to play it again when there is so much else to choose from. (That Tame Impala song about her bedroom “Piece of Heaven” is embarrassingly awful. I can’t even believe it.)

Am I jealous because Olivia is unfathomably stunning and young and flawless and Ariana skinny? Mmmaybe. But I’m not going to hold that against her.

Is the jury out?

What say you?

********

Thanks for staying with me. You can subscribe to my blog here. Get a signed CD or a copy of “Confessions of a Serial Songwriter.” And here’s My Serial Songwriter Facebook Page! 💋