One of music’s biggest rising stars is headed to Saturday Night Live.
How to Watch
Watch Saturday Night Live Saturdays at 11:30/10:30c on NBC and next day on Peacock.
November 15 Musical Guest Olivia Dean is a 26-year-old English singer-songwriter whose hit “Man I Need” has gone mega-viral in 2025, but she’s been gaining attention across the pond for a few years now. Her first album, Messy, was released in 2023, featuring bangers like “Dive” and “The Hardest Part.” And she just nabbed a 2026 Grammy nomination.
In September 2025, Dean released her second album, The Art of Loving, after the singles “Nice to Each Other,” “Lady Lady” and “Man I Need” took social media by storm. She’s evenearned comparisons to Adele, since she’s the first British solo female artist to hold the UK’s No. 1 album and single simultaneously since Adele’s 2021 album 30 and single Easy On Me.
Adele also famously broke out in the U.S. thanks to her 2008 SNL debut, so the world is currently Dean’s oyster.
Get to know Olivia Dean, who headlines SNL with Host Glen Powell on November 15, and listen to a few of her biggest bops below!
RELATED: Get to Know Every Musical Guest for Saturday Night Live Season 51
The meanings behind Olivia Dean’s biggest songs
“Man I Need”
Dean’s biggest chart hit was released in August 2025, an upbeat track she’s described as “forward, sexy, fun.”: “‘Man I Need’ is a song about knowing how you deserve to be loved and not being afraid to ask for it…It’s made for dancing!”
“Nice to Each Other”
Dean performed The Art of Loving‘s first single on The Tonight Show in July 2025, grinning widely throughout the performance. She called it “a song about enjoying each other in the present” on Instagram. “Let it be both light and meaningful,” she said.
RELATED: Saturday Night Live’s Season 51 Cast Members: The Full Lineup for 2025-2026
“Lady Lady”
When Dean released The Art of Loving‘s second single in July, she shared that it is a song “about the universe, mother nature, and accepting and trusting in the plan that she has for you.” “It’s about the feeling of having to change just as you’re getting used to a version of yourself.”
“Baby Steps”
Dean’s “Baby Steps” is a bittersweet song about moving on from a breakup at your own pace, and taking “baby steps” towards getting used to being without your person.
RELATED: Every Host of SNL Season 51 for 2025-2026
“So Easy (To Fall In Love)”
The new album’s last single is a girl power anthem disguised as a love song. In truth, the song is saying “It’s so easy to fall in love with me.” Dean told Elle that she had observed friends who went on dates and worried more about the other person liking them than if they liked that person. “I just wanted to say, ‘You’d be really easy to fall in love with. Anyone will be lucky to have you in their life,’ and it’s so easy to forget that sometimes. So I think this song is just a pat on the back when you’re going out the door on your first date.”
“Ok Love You Bye”
“I literally wrote ‘OK Love You Bye’ the day after ‘Password Change’, which is a song about having an argument in a pub while the football’s on,” Dean shared in 2019, when she released it on an EP of the same name. “It is supposed to feel like the morning after an argument, but reflecting on it more positively and being like ‘there’s things you did wrong, there’s things I did wrong, but we can get through it’. It’s a moment in time for me — capturing a specific memory and feeling.”
SNL Musical Guest Olivia Dean is a 2026 Best New Artist Grammy nominee
On November 7, Dean and her fans received big news: The artist is a Best New Artist nominee alongside Alex Warren, The Marias, KATSEYE, Addison Rae, Leon Thomas, Lola Young, and SNL‘s November 8 Musical Guest Sombr.
RELATED: Who Is Sombr? About SNL’s November 8 Musical Guest and His Songs
“Had to take a sec to process this but i’ve been nominated for a Grammy 🥲 thank u world and the Recording Academy!” she wrote in an Instagram post. “No words.”
