On February 1st, the Grammys, aka the music industry’s Super Bowl, aired. Great performances and heartwarming speeches quickly graced our screens. However, what quickly followed was loads of discourse over the winners of the night. One prominent debate was over the winner of Best New Artist, Olivia Dean. A conversation about preference then veils a deep conversation about stan culture and its interactions with Black music.
Olivia Dean is a British singer born in London as a descendant of her Jamaican-Guyanese mother and English father. She released her first single in 2019, “Password Change.” There, she cemented her soulful sound with mixtures of pop and jazz. She then released her first album in 2023, Messy. But her main rise to fame comes from her most recent album, The Art of Loving, in 2025. Songs like “The Man I Need” and “So Easy (To Fall in Love)” started trending on social media platforms. Videos of her performing live skyrocketed her virality, which led to declarations of her name appearing in conversations about possible Grammy nominees.
It was later announced that Olivia Dean was nominated for Best New Artist alongside Addison Rae, Leon Thomas, Sombor, The Marias, Katseye, and Alex Warren. Then, she finally tearfully accepted her Grammy award. The room was filled with smiles, cheers, and applause for an award deemed well deserved. Meanwhile, the internet had a polarizing reaction that did not mirror that of the live crowd.
Olivia Dean’s comment section began to be filled with hate comments. There were stan accounts making hate edits and commenting that another artist deserved the award more. Comments stated that her music gave “conservative trad wives vibes” and that her music was male-centered. These comments were piled across multiple accounts. The compilation of comments on the surface level can seem to be people just stating their preferences. But there is an underlying tone in these comments that is currently going unchallenged.
The Grammy Awards have had a history of anti-Blackness. Musical artist Tyler, the Creator called this out after his first Grammy win, saying, “On one side I’m grateful what I made could be acknowledged in a world like this, but also it sucks that we (and I mean guys that look like me) do anything genre bending or that’s anything—they always put it in rap or the urban category.” Black musicians are held in tight boxes of genres society deems acceptable for them. When they attempt to break out of these boxes, they are either shoved back into their box or punished for stepping out of line. Then, if Black musicians perform in these boxes, they are “ghetto,” “demonic,” or “oversexualizing themselves.” These boxes create a culture that profits off of Black music yet promotes a surface-level consumption of it.
There’s an outstanding irony in comment sections referring to Olivia Dean’s discography as “conservative trad wife” music. Olivia Dean has credited her musical influences to artists Lauryn Hill, Jill Scott, and Angie Stone. All of these artists are singers who are Black women that have a prominent presence in Black music. Dean has performed at the Apollo Theatre, which is historic for hosting popular Black artists like James Brown and Bob Marley. In 2023, she released the song “Carmen,” which celebrates the resilience of her Jamaican grandmother migrating to Britain.
There’s also irony in calling her music male-centered. On the album, Dean does have songs about romantic love. But she also has songs about all types of love. Her song “Lady Lady” talks about self-love and growing confidence in oneself. The song “I’ve Seen It” talks about the sharing of love between family and friends. She also ends the song by claiming the love she searched for in a relationship was inside herself. So, where do these claims come from?
Stan culture has changed the way audiences engage with art. People are now devoted to their favs, willing to do anything to “support” them. But the line between support and toxic parasocial behavior can run extremely thin on the internet. Stan culture promotes fans streaming their favorite artist’s music. This can lead fans to only listen to their favorite artist’s songs. The problem comes when these fans are then exposed to other music. They begin to bandwagon hate toward anyone that could “stop the success” of their favs.
This behavior can be exacerbated when the artist is Black. Microaggressions and other forms of racism are thrown at these Black artists, all while misusing AAVE and claiming it to be “Twitter slang.” These fans may be quick to misjudge Olivia Dean’s music due to not listening to other genres like Motown and jazz. These are genres that Dean takes inspiration from. Stan culture can also influence fans to judge other artists before listening to their discography in a genuine way. It becomes a show to prove that you are loyal to your favorite artist by hating on other artists.
It’s a shame that racism and stan culture influence others to write off certain musical acts. It is okay to not like another artist’s music. It’s also okay to have a preference for who wins an award. However, it’s another thing to tear down another artist because of unchallenged bias. Music has always been diverse and open to everyone. This diversity should be celebrated, no matter who your favorite artist is.