Olivia Dean Makes History as Apple Music’s First British Artist of the Year
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Apple has just announced that it’s named Olivia Dean as the Apple Music Artist of the Year, recognizing “her undeniable leap to stardom in what’s been the defining feel-good music story of 2026.”
While today’s press release notes that Olivia is “the first UK artist to receive this honor,” she’s actually the first in the UK to receive any form of recognition by the Apple Music Awards. When Apple kicked off the Apple Music Awards in 2019 with Billie Eilish taking the inaugural Artist of the Year trophy for her full-length debut album, When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, it added four other categories: Songwriter of the Year, Breakthrough Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year. It continued to recognize those categories in 2020 and 2021 before streamlining them to a single Artist of the Year Award when Bad Bunny won in 2022.
Perhaps ironically, Olivia Dean would likely have also qualified in the Breakthrough Artist of the Year category, which might explain why Apple felt that simplifying things to a single award made a lot more sense. Along similar lines, Taylor Swift picked up Songwriter of the Year in 2020 and then won Artist of the Year in 2023.
Apple notes that it was Olivia’s late 2025 album, The Art of Loving, that “truly broke through this year,” with her hit “Man I Need” charting on Apple Music’s Daily Top 100 every day since its Apple Music debut on August 29, 2025.
Olivia Dean has also won a Grammy for Best New Artist and four BRIT Awards, including Artist of the Year, so the Apple Music Artist of the Year is arguably the least of her accomplishments.
I love making music. It’s the best thing in the world. I think being Apple’s Artist of the Year feels really amazing. To be recognized as an artist that’s made an impact is really cool.
Olivia Dean
“What sets Olivia apart is that she speaks from the heart, every time,” said Rachel Newman, Apple Music’s co-head. “Her songs make you want to call a friend, dance in your kitchen, and tell someone you love them. She is open and genuine in everything she shares, and that connection is what turned a great year into a defining one.”
As it does for each year’s Artist of the Year, Apple has curated a special selection of playlists that not only feature Olivia Dean’s music but also dive into the Best of 2026 across a staggering 53 categories.
Apple’s prior Artist of the Year Award winners were Billie Eilish in 2019 and again in 2024, Lil Baby in 2020, The Weeknd in 2021, Bad Bunny in 2022, Taylor Swift in 2023, and Tyler, the Creator in 2025.
The inaugural 2019 Apple Music Awards also saw Billie Eilish’s brother, FINNEAS, sharing the Songwriter of the Year award with his sister, while rap artist Lizzo was named Breakthrough Artist of the Year. The other two categories, Album of the Year (Eilish’s When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?) and Song of the Year (Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road”), were based strictly on streaming data, which Apple described as “reflective of what Apple Music customers have been listening to (on repeat) this year.”
In 2020, Apple named Taylor Swift the Songwriter of the Year and Megan Thee Stallion the Breakthrough Artist of the Year, while Roddy Ricch won in the Album and Song categories for Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial and “The Box,” respectively.
Apple expanded things even further in 2021, the last year in which it handed out awards in multiple categories, with a unique Regional Artist category that recognized the best artists in Nigeria (Wizkid), France (Aya Nakamura), Germany (RIN), Japan (Official HIGE DANdism), and Russia (Scriptonite). That year, the Artist of the Year went to The Weeknd, while H.E.R. was recognized as the Songwriter of the Year and Olivia Rodrigo took home awards in three categories: Breakthrough Artist, Album of the Year (SOUR), and Song of the Year (“drivers license”).
