Messy

Hailing from the London Borough of Haringey, Olivia Dean emerged from the creative crucible of the BRIT School, alma mater of Adele and Amy Winehouse. After honing her songwriting skills at the hallowed halls of the BRIT School, Dean embarked on a musical journey that led to her collaborating with Rudimental on their 2019 song "Adrenaline." Dean's star continued to rise as she was crowned Amazon Music's breakthrough artist of the year in 2021. Her version of Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song," recorded for Amazon's 2021 Christmas Originals lineup, reached #19 on the UK Singles Chart. "Messy" is the title track of her debut album.

The song opens with whispered vocals and a serene acoustic guitar melody that builds into a subtle bossa nova groove. It was the last track Olivia Dean wrote for the album. While penning it, she had an epiphany - the song was not just for the world, but for herself. "I needed to write a song that says it's okay that you're a bit of a mess," said Dean to The Independent. "I wanted to hint towards saying that feeling insecure is fine. Especially in men," she added. "It's kind of sexy. Tell me you feel insecure if you do, I'll respect you so much more. We're all just anxious puppies pretending that we're not anxious puppies."

Olivia Dean wrote the song with her producer Matt Hales, and with Andrew Sarlo, who has collaborated with Big Thief and Bon Iver. Hales records under the moniker Aqualung and had a Top 10 hit in the UK in 2002 with "Strange and Beautiful (I'll Put a Spell on You)." He's also worked with King & Country, Tom Chaplin, and Lianne La Havas.