Since I was little, I’ve consumed a lot of romance media. I picked up my first romance book at my elementary school Scholastic Book Fair, which probably should’ve rung some alarms but instead paved the way for a future of Emily Henry novels. I couldn’t get enough of the early 2000s romantic comedies that have become a staple in my life. I dramatically sang along with One Direction and Selena Gomez when I couldn’t yet relate to their heartbreak in the slightest.

That being said, I thought I had seen love represented in nearly all its forms, tropes and cliches. That is until I discovered Olivia Dean’s album “The Art of Loving,” a nuanced perspective on growing from the loves we’ve had and moving toward the love we will receive.

“Discovered” is a loose term, as tracks on the singer’s sophomore album like “Nice To Each Other” and “So Easy (To Fall In Love)” had already blown up on social media by the time I went on a deep dive into her discography. I had already been humming her music for months.

In the past year, she has quickly grown in popularity, and I’m only one of many who teared up when she won the Grammy for Best New Artist in February. 

Dean was born to be a pop star, not solely because of her captivating voice and joyful performance style, but also because she’s paving the way for lover girls seeking comfort in their romanticism. “The Art of Loving” doesn’t want you to feel ashamed that you’ve loved and lost; it wants you to forgo bitterness toward exes or sulking in solitude for seeking happiness in the future and within yourself.     

Heartbreak will forever be a universal experience, and it will never go out of style in pop music, but neither will the joys of love. 

We as listeners have gotten so used to the Olivia Rodrigo break-up ballads, the Taylor Swift cautionary tales and the Sabrina Carpenter man-hater anthems — all great and relatable — but we’ve forgotten how happy love can make us feel. Putting your heart on the line will never be a mistake, even if the outcome isn’t what you expected.

Dean’s “The Art of Loving” stands out from other pop takes on love because of its emphasis on the more complicated feelings love evokes. Dean doesn’t condemn her failed relationships, choosing to embrace both the mistakes and successes. Listening to this album makes you feel like the heroine of your own romantic comedy, complete with an arc of bliss, heartbreak and self-discovery. 

One of my favorites on this album, “Something Inbetween,” tackles an aspect of love I rarely see in media — maintaining a sense of self in a relationship. Dean sings “I’m not his, I’m not hers / I’m not your, ‘All or nothing.’” 

In an interview for NPR’s “Morning Edition,” she explained that women are often taught that love is a necessity, and once you’re with someone, you have to surrender your independence. But she affirms that “I love, love, but I also can really function alone.” 

The tenth track on the album, “Baby Steps,” covers a similar topic through a different lens. Dean sings about coping with a failed relationship and learning to function alone. But despite its melancholy subject matter, the song is uplifting. The lyrics label every new moment of independence as “baby steps” toward a better future: “I won’t fall back (mm) / If I fall forwards (mm).” 

Even when Dean writes about relationships that end poorly, she doesn’t forget to give the positives their flowers, too. In the second-to-last track, “A Couple Minutes,” she reminisces about a love that didn’t work out but, ultimately, still cares for. The two of them only have “a couple minutes” to catch up before they return to reality. Although the song is about heartbreak, it also highlights the importance of having loved at all: “Love’s never wasted when it’s shared.” 

The album’s final track, “I’ve Seen It,” is a heart tugger that makes me tear up every time I hear it. Dean sings about all the various types of love she’s seen in her life, from relationships that “last for 30 years” and those that “bloom, then end in tears.” The song’s final lines perfectly conclude the album’s takeaway: “Brings out the worst, brings out the best / I know it’s somewhere in my chest / I guess it’s been inside me all along.” 

At the end of the day, no matter how terrible, tragic or heartbreaking the journey can be, experiencing love will always be worth it, and if it leads to loving yourself, the reward is even greater. 

Sophia Kang is a sophomore writing about romance media in her column, “Love, Actually,” which runs every other Tuesday.