Dean Lewis | Biografie

An epilogue follows the final chapter of a story. Rather than close the book once and for all, it alludes to what the future may hold for the characters. 

The future looks as bright as ever for multiplatinum award-winning Australian singer and songwriter Dean Lewis. Following unprecedented worldwide success, critical acclaim, and sold-out tours, he continues to write and perform with unmatched vulnerability, vibrancy, and vitality. 

As such, his third full-length LP, The Epilogue, represents both the culmination of an incredible journey thus far and a harbinger for where he may go next.

“I’ve been touring and recording nonstop for eight years,” Lewis says. “An Epilogue traditionally sums up a book, answers any unanswered questions, and hints at what’s to come. This is a new chapter. It feels like the ending of the last few years of my life and the beginning of the next. I really tried to define my own style. For me, the music wraps up the past and shines a light on what to expect going forward.”

That light has burned brilliantly for his entire career. 

Since his emergence in 2017, Dean Lewis has gathered over 13 billion streams and dozens of multiplatinum, platinum, and gold certifications worldwide. Dean’s 2019 Platinum-certified debut, A Place We Knew, housed the hits “Waves” and “Be Alright”—which also reached rarified air as a member of the Spotify “Billions Club.” He has picked up 3 ARIA Awards and 7 APRA Awards. Moreover, he has amassed a cumulative social media following of nearly 7 million fans. Not to mention, collaborated with everyone from Kygo, Martin Garrix, and Tiësto to Ruth B. and Julia Michaels. On the road, he’s enraptured audiences at packed headline shows in addition to touring with AJR and James Arthur. Speaking to his impact, he regularly averages north of 17 million monthly listeners on Spotify and has consistently soared as one of the “Top 5 Most Viewed AU Artists on TikTok.” During 2022, Lewis unveiled his sophomore effort The Hardest Love to critical acclaim. EUPHORIA. hailed it as “an emotionally rich record,” and Atwood Magazine raved, “His gut-wrenching and powerful storytelling has captivated hearts, and now he’s coming back with a bang.” 

In its wake, Dean Lewis crafted The Epilogue. In between a packed live schedule, he penned music during sessions in a Hollywood Hills house and in Hawaii. Harnessing a renewed state of inspiration, the troubadour tapped into the spirit of his earliest material from a fresh perspective honed by six more years of experience.

“My first album had a level of rawness,” Lewis observes. “For the second, I was a little more cautious and pop-oriented, but the songs were meaningful to me. On this record, I started to get rawer and more acoustic again. I was trying to rekindle the simplicity of why things worked. I knew what I wanted to hear, so I embraced what made the first one special.”

This energy courses through the lead single “All I Ever Wanted.” Lightly plucked acoustic guitar and soft strings accompany his delicate delivery. Emotion bleeds through the cracks in the verses as he practically holds onto the notes of the refrain for dear life, “All I ever wanted was to go back to the days when we were young and made a promise that we’d never change.”

“Prior to having any success, I was in a relationship, but I was so focused on achieving my dreams,” Lewis recalls. “I thought if I got to where I was going, the grass would be greener, and I’d be happy. I realized it was different than I’d thought. I couldn’t trust a lot of people due to ulterior motives. I thought back to the time where I had this pure, sweet thing with someone who cared about me when I had nothing. It was real, which is harder to find. That was all I ever wanted, but I didn’t realize it at the time. Now, it’s too late.”

A driving beat sets “All Your Lies” in motion. Wrestling with disappointment and deceit, an anxious back-and-forth ignites the chorus, “You can say what you want to, just believe what you need to burn my whole world down with your lies.”

“I’ve realised that in this business, not everyone has the best intentions. I wrote ‘All Your Lies’ about a situation I found myself in, which was not a good experience.” 

Acoustic strumming creaks beneath his emotionally charged vocals on “Rest” with Sasha Alex Sloan. Holding nothing back, Lewis pleads, “I want you, or I want nothing at all,” as she counters with a soulful response.

“We wrote about people we love or have loved,” Lewis notes. “Our voices really complement each other. It’s the first proper love song I’ve done.” 

Handclaps kickstart “Empire” as his voice practically hovers atop sparse chords. The momentum climaxes on a confessional chant, “I feel so alone.”

“I like when an album opens with a bang,” he grins. “My best friend was involved in every aspect of my life, but she wanted to prove she could do things on her own. She needed to go out and find her place without me. The song is me saying, ‘Go find yourself and bloom. However, if you ever find that you’re in trouble, I’ll always be around. Call me if you need help’.”

A buoyant rhythm underlines “Cold.” Tambourine and organic percussion uplift an irresistible hook punctuated by his impressive range. “When you find ‘the one’, this person just makes you feel good,” he muses. “It’s a happy song. It would feel weird if this person wasn’t in your life.” 

In the end, The Epilogue is the start of the best chapter of Dean’s story.

“I’ve learned a lot of lessons, and I know myself more, but I’ve retained the wonder and possibility of life,” he leaves off. “When I wrote my debut, I had nothing, and I was living with my grandma. I’m in a much different place, yet I have the same youthful excitement. I’m calmer and more relaxed. I never lost the drive to make great music. This is my craft, my life, and my purpose.  Before, I often felt like I didn’t belong, but I’m surer of my place in the world today.”

Dean Lewis has sold 3.8M+ albums and EPs worldwide and his music has attracted 7.5+ billion streams to date. He was welcomed into the Spotify Billions club for his hit ‘Be Alright’ which now has 3 billion streams and has been certified 11x platinum in Australia, triple platinum in the U.S.A, platinum in the UK and platinum+ in 22 other countries. Dean has 1.7M Tik Tok followers and 1.1M YouTube followers. Lewis was an Apple Up Next artist in 2019 and played over 200 shows that year, including sold-out U.S. and Australian tours plus many shows and festival slots around Europe. That same year, Dean collaborated with Dutch superstar DJ/producer Martin Garrix on their hit single ‘Used To Love’ and kicked another bucket-list career goal when he performed at the AFL Grand Final. 

Off the back of his # 1 Debut album release – 2019’s chart-topping, multiple-award-winning, multiple-Platinum-certified ‘A Place We Knew’ – Dean has cultivated and captivated a huge global fanbase. After ‘Half A Man’ was performed by a contestant on X Factor in Denmark earlier this year, this track from his debut album received a second life when it flew to the top of the Danish charts. 

Earlier this year, Dean performed his single ‘Hurtless’ on X Factor Denmark’s finale, this impassioned breakup song climbed to #8 on the Danish charts and topped the Swedish Heatseeker chart, the song now has 59M+ streams.  ‘Hurtless’ was preceded by 2021’s ‘Looks Like Me’ and ‘Falling Up’ which have also generated huge numbers, ‘Falling Up’ is ARIA Gold-certified 75M+ global streams, Looks Like Me’ has hit 70M+.   Added to this, Dean’s most recent collab with Norwegian DJ/Producer Kygo, has hit 40M+ streams.  

Dean Lewis is featured on New Music Daily on Apple Music.