Dean Lewis’ Hardest Love is as Real as His Obsession With Iced Americanos
2-14-23 : Green Line Records had a chance to sit in on a press conference by UMG’s °1824 featuring Australian singer-songwriter Dean Lewis, who shared about his latest work and tour. Photo by Kent Tarver.
By Taylor Chow
Dean Lewis is blown away by the attention he is receiving worldwide. He says that he has been lucky to be able to expand outside of Australia and sell out arena tours globally. One of his goals for the upcoming tour is to sell out everything. Despite all the exponential fame he has been gaining on TikTok, Dean remembers that he is a pre-TikTok artist and had to learn to use the platform compared to those who had an advantage because they had become popularized solely from the app. Dean explains that gaining attention on TikTok requires a different skill set but anyone can do it – if you “post in the right way” you can break through on TikTok. In today’s world, TikTok has become a game and if you choose not to play, it is a missed opportunity and you are no longer in the loop. The harsh reality, believe it or not, is that TikTok is where artists blow up. In Dean’s words: “It is what it is now, it’s the rules of the industry. It is hard but also a gift to have TikTok.” Having transitioned onto this fairly new platform that has greatly changed the music industry, Dean has shown that he is capable of carrying a huge following on TikTok. In the artist’s own words: “Great art will always find a way.” This has been demonstrated with “Half a Man” that (un)surprisingly blew up and became the #1 song in Denmark and charted on Billboard Global 200.
When he first entered the industry in 2016, the trending artists were Ed Sheeran, George Ezra, Shawn Mendes, and Lewis Capaldi. He mentions that at the time, there was no one who was really doing his style of “spoken, wordy verses and not rapping,” as showcased in breakout single “Be Alright” (2018). Therefore, his uniqueness was able to fill the gap in the industry. Growing up, he was inspired by Eminem, who helped his songwriting in a “rap style, melodic sense.” “Be Alright” (2018) is an amazing example of what Dean means by his wordy, rapping, melodic cadence style. In the song, he isn’t quite rapping, but delivers a wordy singing style that flows nicely into the chorus.
Dean Lewis has described his albums as a movie whose scenes are made up by each track. With the right angle and a powerful chorus, Dean says that focusing on one “scene” can never get boring. These “scenes” are some of the losses he has experienced during the past few years. They influenced many of the songs he has written during the pandemic and act as timestamps that describe his thoughts and feelings during those moments. The album title, Hardest Love, originates from the idea that “the fear of losing someone you love is the hardest love.” Through Dean’s loss of his father due to cancer, he communicated his vulnerability with “How Do I Say Goodbye” and has shared a very personal connection with his fans. His authentic lyrics touch fans across Europe to America. Dean wants people to understand that he doesn’t think he’s special, that he wants to write songs for himself and pour his own spirituality into them. He has to be both selfish and genuine in hopes that fans connect with his music because he believes “you have to write songs for you, and it has to be for you.” Dean has experienced feedback from songwriters he has collaborated with saying “we need to make it more general,” to which he responds “if it becomes more general, then it will become nothing.” By ignoring what others say about making songs more broad, he is able to have an enormous impact and connection with those who have gone through similar experiences. Fans at concerts cry and sing every single word to his songs, exemplifying the impact he has on thousands of fans’ lives. He says “if you are going through something in your life, it should just come out subconsciously.” This creates lyrics that are meaningful to his own life and people are able to feel the impact from the heartfelt lyrics.
Dean’s songs intentionally come across as still and calming, but behind the scenes Dean says he is crazy stressed and overthinks during the process from songwriting through the release. He says that stillness just comes with the outcome of the songs and he gives us a sneak peek that his next track will incorporate some rain sounds.
Dean Lewis’ real and genuine conversation has brought light to many realities that he has come face to face with. As Dean’s career continues to grow, he will continue to expand into different aspects of the music industry by trying new things. Look forward to his upcoming tour as there are lots of amazing things in store!