L Devine

Olivia Rebecca Devine (born 21 June 1997), known professionally as L Devine, is an English singer and songwriter who is signed to Warner Bros. Records[1] and BMG Publishing.[2]

L Devine
Devine in Los Angeles in July 2018
Background information
Birth nameOlivia Rebecca Devine
Born (1997-06-21) 21 June 1997
OriginWhitley Bay, England
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • piano
  • guitar
Years active2017–present
Labels
  • Warner Bros. Records
  • BMG
Websiteldevinemusic.com

Early life

Devine was born and raised in Whitley Bay, a coastal town near Newcastle Upon-Tyne. Devine attended Newcastle High School for Girls, an independent day school, completing A' Levels in 2015.[3]

Inspired by The Clash and The Sex Pistols, she formed her first band, The Safety Pinz, when she was seven years old.[4] She later posted a mash-up of her own music with Beyoncé’s "Mine" to YouTube,[5] which attracted the attention of producer Mickey Valen, and she subsequently saved up enough money to relocate to London to pursue a career in music.[6]

Devine adopted L Devine as her artist moniker because she shares the name Olivia Devine with a porn star.[7]

Career

2017: Growing Pains

Devine released her debut single "School Girls" in July 2017.[8] In an interview with Nylon, she said that the song is about "how in the 'real world’, you still encounter the same bitchiness you thought you left behind at school."[9] The accompanying lyric video for the track was made in collaboration with British designer and producer Chloe.[9] She subsequently released an acoustic session performance of the track, which was premiered by The 405.[10]

In November 2017, Devine released her debut five-track EP Growing Pains, which was accompanied by a ten-minute visual that was directed by Emil Nava, who had previously collaborated with Rihanna and Selena Gomez.[4] The majority of the film was shot in Newcastle.[11]

2018: Peer Pressure

Devine's second EP, Peer Pressure, was released on 16 November 2018[12] along with a short film, also directed by Emil Nava.[13][14] "Peer Pressure", the lead single, opens with a line from the 1988 film Heathers, and Devine spoke about her love of the coming-of-age film in an interview with The Line of Best Fit.[15] Devine counts Charli XCX among her fans,[16] and Charli's backing vocals feature on the track "Peer Pressure" after producer Justin Raisen played it to the pop star, who asked to record a version of it.[17] The single was accompanied by a music video on her YouTube channel.[18]

The same month the EP was released, YouTube Music announced Devine had been chosen to be on their Ones to Watch list for 2019[19] and BBC Radio 1 added L Devine's track "Nervous" to their BBC Introducing playlist.[20] Tmrw magazine also released a special edition issue: L Devine by tmrw, entirely dedicated to and curated in partnership with Devine, and described the artist as "an extremely exciting pop talent who we believe is destined to be a global phenomenon".[21]

2019: Upcoming music

In May 2019, Devine performed at The Great Escape Festival.[22] On 17 May 2019, she released the single "Naked Alone".[23] In an interview, she said "I actually wrote the song nearly two years ago. That’s not usually the case, usually I just write them and then they come out over the next few months, but this one I’ve been sitting on for a while, just trying to find the right time to put it out, but it’s time."[24] In July 2019, two songs co-written by Devine were released; "Mean That Much" by Rudimental, and "Next Mistake" by Icona Pop.[25][26]

Influences

Devine cites her songwriting hero as Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys.[4] Other artists that she admires include Robyn, Dua Lipa,[4] Julia Michaels,[11] Tove Lo and Stefflon Don.[27]

Personal life

In 2018, in an interview with The Line of Best Fit, Devine revealed that she is a lesbian, commenting that "it's kind of nice now that there can be like a lesbian artist who just happens to be a pop star, or a pop star who happens to be queer".[15]

Discography

Extended plays
Title Details
Growing Pains
Peer Pressure
  • Released: 16 November 2018
  • Label: Warner Bros
  • Format: CD, digital download

Singles
Title Year Album
"School Girls" 2017 Growing Pains
"Peer Pressure" 2018 Peer Pressure
"Can't Be You"
"Nervous"
"Naked Alone"[28] 2019 TBA
"Peachy Keen"
"Boring People"[29] 2020
"Don't Say It"[30]

Songwriting credits
Title Year Artist(s) Album Credits Written with
"Be My Anime"[31] 2018 Rat Boy Civil Disorder
  • Co-writer
  • backing vocals
 Jordan Cardy
"Mean That Much"
(featuring Preditah and Morgan)		 2019 Rudimental TBA Co-writer Amir Izadkhah, Piers Aggett, Kesi Dryden, Leon Rolle, Nathan Chisanga
"Next Mistake" Icona Pop Aino Jawo, Caroline Hjelt, James Napier, Maaike Kito Lebbing, Hudson Mohawke

Awards and nominations
Year Organisation Award Work Result
2020 NME Essential New Artists for 2020 Herself Included[32]
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gollark: You are NOT to allocate on the stack æ.
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References
  1. "L Devine". Warner Bros. Records UK. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  2. "L DEVINE". Major Influence - Creative Artist Management. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  3. Meritt, Emily (20 August 2015). "A Level Results 2015: Newcastle schools share lists of pupils' successes". Chronicle Live.
  4. "northern star l devine is one of the brightest in today's pop sky". I-d. 6 December 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  5. Archer, Zoe (2018). "L Devine". Rollacoaster Magazine. London.
  6. "L Devine premieres new video | Twin Magazine". www.twinfactory.co.uk. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  7. "tmrw | Ones to watch 2018: L Devine". tmrwmagazine.com. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  8. "L Devine debuts her first track 'School Girls' exclusively with Fault - FAULT Magazine". FAULT Magazine. 6 July 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  9. "L Devine Reveals The Truth About The Real World In Her Debut Song". NYLON. 28 July 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  10. http://thefourohfive.com. "Here's an acoustic version of L Devine's 'School Girls' [405 Premiere] | News | The 405". The 405. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  11. "L DEVINE "GROWING PAINS" - noctismag". noctismag. 3 January 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  12. Peer Pressure - EP by L Devine, 16 November 2018, retrieved 26 November 2018
  13. L Devine (16 November 2018), L Devine - Peer Pressure (The Film), retrieved 26 November 2018
  14. "L Devine Shares New Short Film 'Peer Pressure'". Clash Magazine. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  15. "On The Rise: L Devine". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  16. "Charli XCX on Her New '1999' Video and Her Experimental Approach to Pop: 'I Really Have Something to Say'". Billboard. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  17. "L Devine Is Patiently Working to Be the UK's Next Big Pop Star". Noisey. 20 November 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  18. Blistein, Jon (4 September 2018). "L Devine Releases Video for 'Heathers'-Inspired Song 'Peer Pressure'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  19. "Mahalia tops YouTube Music's inaugural Ones To Watch list". Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  20. "The BBC Radio 1 & 1Xtra Playlists: Friday 23rd November 2018". BBC Music Introducing. 20 November 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  21. "L Devine Special Edition". tmrwmagazine.com. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  22. "TRAILBLAZERS: The Great Escape Festival 2019 ones to watch". Music Festival News. 25 April 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  23. "A star is porn…why L Devine changed name". Metro Newspaper UK. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  24. "L Devine will release new single "Naked Alone" next week". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  25. Milbourne, Steve (12 July 2019). "Out now written by @LDevineMusic". @stevemilbourne. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  26. "SONG: Icona Pop - 'Next Mistake' » Scandipop.co.uk". Scandipop.co.uk. 26 July 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  27. "L Devine: "You may not be seen as cool, but you are" - SheBOPS". SheBOPS. 23 August 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  28. "Are you ready for me?! I'm so excited to announce my new single 'Naked Alone' is coming this Friday 😬 AND I'm playing a show at Courtyard Theatre in London on 12 June. Tickets on sale this Fridayyyy". 13 May 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2019 – via Twitter.
  29. @LDevineMusic (10 January 2020). "I promised you lot new music this year and I never break a promise 😉 I'm very excited to tell u that I have a new song coming out on Friday 24 January called Boring People!! Pre-save/pre-add it now and get ready to stop being boring!!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  30. Devine, L [@LDevineMusic] (27 April 2020). "So so SOOOO happy to announce I have a new song coming out Pleading face Don't Say It will be released on 6th May Face with hand over mouth I deffo wanna play this to a few of you before then though so pre-save/add now and I might just surprise some of you on Zoom Zany face" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  31. "Credits - CIVIL DISORDER - Rat Boy". Tidal. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  32. Smith, Thomas (3 January 2020). "The NME 100: Essential new artists for 2020". NME. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
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