Listen up, ladies. Olivia Dean is an upcoming 2025 artist who is quickly rising to the top. Her newest album, The Art of Loving is topping charts on music platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music. Upon listening to one of her hit songs, Lady Lady, I’ve formed a deeper connection to the music and lyrics.
Lady Lady is a song about changing, and how as women we always find a way to judge ourselves through what we perceive to be the lens of others. When it comes to the male gaze, it’s even worse. We change our image constantly to fit a different version of ourselves, and that opens the doors for something new in relationships or just the opportunities in life.
There’s one lyric that really stuck out to me, and that I feel is crucial to my point. Dean writes,
“God, I used to love this hair
Now there’s something in the air
Something calling
Overnight, the clothes I always wore
Don’t suit me anymore.”
These words feel like a conversation towards herself; she’s talking to the person she was as the person she’s become. There’s passion in her words, and I believe she is one of the wisest and most emotionally intelligent women. She speaks from the heart, and gets her point across with classiness and in the form of song, one of the greatest arts of the modern time.
Following these lyrics, just before the chorus Dean uses a straight forward approach in the song. She says,
“She’s always changing me without a word
And I was just, I was just getting used to her
Keeps rearranging me a little bit
And I was just, I was just getting used to it.”
While change is oftentimes seen as a negative aspect, it’s all about changing your mindset. A negative attitude will always be equivalent to a negative lifestyle. Dean encourages women to flip the script, and see the way we change ourselves as a beautiful and new experience rather than constantly wanting to be better.
As a singer, Dean is superb. Not only is her voice beautiful, but it’s timeless and classic. She feels like a calm Sunday morning, or a walk in the park with the sunlight pouring down on you. She sings with such ease and warmth that it’s impossible not to fall in love with her song (hence the album title).
As a woman myself, these lyrics and song are very important to me. They make me feel seen and heard in myself, and they make me feel passionate about the person I want to be. Her music gives me strength to go out and achieve my goals, and they unite women all over the world to become the best version of themselves possible. You can’t help but fall in love with The Art of Loving.
