Olivia Dean’s breakthrough hit in the U.S., “Man I Need,” is currently #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has topped the publication’s Pop and Adult Pop Airplay tallies. It’s hard to believe that at first, Olivia didn’t even want to release the catchy, upbeat tune as a single.
“I wasn’t sure about it,” she tells the U.K.’s Hits Radio. “I thought it was a little bit different.” She explains, “I knew I really liked it, but I didn’t know if it was representative of the whole album and the story.”
She says she eventually changed her mind during rehearsals, when her band told her, “This one’s good, y’know.”
“I’m glad I followed through with that one. There was definitely loads of songs that didn’t make the album,” she adds. “I might still do something with them, I don’t know.”
Olivia will, of course, be singing “Man I Need” when her tour starts April 22; it comes to the U.S. in July. She tells Hits Radio, “I think we’re gonna go on a bit of an emotional journey.”
“But I think the feeling that I want you to feel is just warmth and togetherness,” she adds. “I want people to feel like they can come and sing along … [a]nd dance, but maybe also cry. Just get it all out!”
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