Olivia Dean “Man I Need” Live — Spotify Live Room: watch the new session and hear why this song sticks

Olivia Dean has dropped a Spotify Live Room take on “Man I Need,” filmed at Spotify Music Studios’ Live Room in Los Angeles and released alongside a two-track Spotify single that also includes her tender cover of Dijon’s “The Dress.” 

Watch the Live Room video now; the description pegs it to her forthcoming album The Art of Loving.

The cut keeps what made the studio version a fan favourite, direct lyrics and a swung, neo-soul lilt, but strips it to room sound and close-mic intimacy: warm bass, brushed percussion, and backing vocals that leave her lead sitting right on the front rail. 

It reads like proof-of-song rather than a rewrite, and it travels well in a single take. 

Dean has been clear about what the song is doing. As she put it when Man I Need first arrived, it’s “about knowing how you deserve to be loved and not being afraid to ask for it,” and it’s “made for dancing,” a line that fits this Live Room’s head-nod swing even without a full crowd. 

For deeper context on the studio cut, see Neon Music’s review and lyric breakdown. Read Neon Music’s full “Man I Need” review →