Olivia Dean’s Early-Career Project Finally Debuts — And Almost Hits No. 1

Olivia Dean’s five-year-old EP 'Growth' debuts on four U.K. rankings following a reissue, nearly giving the singer another No. 1. The project opens at No. 2 on the Official Vinyl Albums chart, blocked only by Ariana Grande’s 'Petal,' and starts at No. 3 on both the Official Albums Sales and Official Physical Albums tallies. 'Growth' also reaches the Official Albums chart at No. 42. Meanwhile, Dean’s current album 'The Art of Loving' remains a major success across half a dozen British rosters, including a No. 7 placement on the vinyl ranking.

Next month, Olivia Dean’s album The Art of Loving will turn one year old. The set is her second full-length, but when it came to American audiences, it is the one that turned her into a hitmaker and, on some rankings, a chart-topper.

Dean, the current holder of the Best New Artist Grammy, may end up competing in some of the biggest categories at the 2027 ceremony, with tracks like “Man I Need” and the album itself perhaps up for some of the most competitive prizes. Just as Dean may be winding down promotion of The Art of Loving – and ramping up her Grammy campaign – one of her earlier, pre-fame projects debuts on the charts in the United Kingdom.

The musician’s Growth EP, originally released in the summer of 2021, just turned five, and in a sort of celebration of the short studio effort — and perhaps as something of a victory lap for the past year or two — her camp reissued the EP. It nearly earns Dean another No. 1 across the Atlantic this frame.

Growth debuts on four U.K. rankings this week, opening not only inside the top 10, but the top three on all but one of them. The EP comes closest to conquering the Official Vinyl Albums chart after being released on a limited-edition pink marble 10-inch record. This period, Growth opens at No. 2 on the vinyl-only tally.

Only Ariana Grande’s Petal blocks Dean from another leader on the Official Vinyl Albums chart. Grande’s new full-length launches at No. 1, earning the pop superstar her third champion on the roster following Positions and Eternal Sunshine.

Dean earned her first No. 1 on the Official Vinyl Albums chart with The Art of Loving. The project started its time on the list in first place, then slipped away, but eventually returned to the summit. During the 45 weeks that The Art of Loving has spent on the vinyl-only tally, five of those stints have been at No. 1.

Dean has placed four projects on the Official Vinyl Albums ranking throughout the years, and all but one have spent time inside the top 10. Growth joins The Art of Loving and Messy, her debut full-length, among her top 10 successes. Messy peaked at No. 8, while Live at Eventim Apollo spent one frame at No. 35 last January, only months before The Art of Loving debuted.

Growth opens in third place on both the Official Albums Sales and Official Physical Albums charts. The former counts album purchases across eligible formats, while the latter focuses specifically on people buying physical copies, like vinyl and CD.

On both rosters, Growth becomes Dean’s third top 10. The Art of Loving conquered the rankings for a month, while Messy peaked in second place on both rundowns.

Growth also debuts on the Official Albums chart, the main ranking of the most-consumed albums and EPs in the U.K., which combines sales and streaming activity to show what the British public is listening to during any given tracking week. The EP sneaks in at No. 42, missing the top 40 by just two spaces.

That means Growth now claims the lowest peak of Dean’s three albums that have reached the roster. Messy climbed as high as No. 4, while The Art of Loving has thus far spent eight of its 45 frames in charge.