Apple has named British singer-songwriter Olivia Dean its Apple Music Artist of the Year for 2026, the first time the honour has gone to a UK artist.
Dean’s late-2025 album The Art of Loving broke through this year, and her single ‘Man I Need’ has charted on Apple Music’s Daily Top 100 every day since it first appeared on 29 August 2025. She also won the Grammy for Best New Artist and four BRIT Awards, including Artist of the Year, and sold out her global tour.
Apple says Dean opened for Sabrina Carpenter at Madison Square Garden in autumn 2025, then returned for a four-night residency of her own. A six-night sold-out run at London’s O2 Arena followed.
‘I think being Apple’s Artist of the Year feels really amazing,’ Dean said. Rachel Newman, Apple Music’s co-head, said: ‘What sets Olivia apart is that she speaks from the heart, every time.’
Apple’s music editors point to 1960s soul and pop songwriting as a root of her sound, with echoes of Sade, Prince and Lauryn Hill. Winners receive a physical award built around a slice of Apple’s custom silicon wafer, suspended between polished glass and an anodised aluminium body.
Why it matters
In our view, a UK winner suits the global reach Apple Music stresses in its announcement: the service runs in more than 167 countries and regions, and Dean’s breakthrough has played out on both sides of the Atlantic.