On average, about 3 million videos are uploaded to YouTube every single day. Think about that for a second…

Somewhere in that tidal wave of uploads is a performance from one of Britain’s brightest artists, Olivia Dean, and it might just be the best video on the Internet right now. The London-based singer, with Jamaican and Guyanese roots, steps up to the COLORS podium in Berlin and hits a home run Shohei Ohtani would be jealous of.

Dressed beautifully in green, Olivia delivers the track “A Couple Minutes” from her 2025 album The Art Of Loving with absolutely devastating results. From the moment the first note spills from her lips, I guarantee that feel-good chemicals will fire in your brain.

What I find so mind-boggling is the 26-year-old’s vocal control and projection. Sometimes Olivia seems to open her mouth only a fraction, yet somehow a swell of soul comes flooding out. I’m not one to believe in higher powers, but it’s undeniable that Olivia Dean has a god given gift. Her voice feels like sitting in front of an open fireplace, laughing with my best friends. Comfortable. Nourishing. Safe.

“A Couple Minutes” unfolds a story of love lost as Olivia crosses paths with an old flame and they share a brief, nostalgic conversation. It’s bittersweet and almost too tender to bear, but in those fleeting words, a line is drawn as both recognise what can no longer be. Strangely, there’s even a sense of “almost” in her voice, a hint of what might have been, which makes the recording all the more heartbreaking. Lyrics like