Grammy-award winning singer and songwriter Olivia Dean sat down with WSJ. Magazine's Elias Leight for an in-depth conversation about her early career struggles, overcoming self-doubt, her transformative time at the BRIT School and conquering her perfectionism to embrace global pop stardom.

Olivia Dean scored her first real music industry job in 2017, working as a backing vocalist for the electronic group Rudimental. There was just one problem. 'I was terrible,' she says, beaming. 'I was just along for the ride, and owning that I had no clue what I was doing, but I think I brought a good vibe.'

Upon graduating, Dean worked to sharpen her songwriting. 'I was in every single session you could possibly be in, turning up to studios in London with absolute strangers four or five days a week, and just writing song after song after song.