Dean Lewis releases 'The Hardest Love'

Australian singer-songwriter Dean Lewis has had an awe-inspiring journey to the top of the global music charts is sure to reach even greater heights with today’s release of his highly anticipated, second album The Hardest Love. The news comes after Dean finished his sold-out European & UK tour, with a landmark performance at The O2 Forum, London. He just announced The Future Is Bright Tour’s tour, including a stop at London’s Roundhouse on March 26th, 2023. Listen here.

Having spent the past three months playing sell out shows through the US, Europe and the UK, Dean returns home next week for the sold-out Australian Leg of his Sad Boi Winter Summer global tour. Set to perform in theater venues in all capital cities and across major regional areas, the 19-date tour will begin in Brisbane at the Tivoli on Tuesday.

The release of The Hardest Love album follows what has been a remarkable 2022 for Dean Lewis. As he arrives back in the country, the momentum of his current single ‘How Do I Say Goodbye’ continues to escalate, climbing up local and international music charts. Already certified gold in Switzerland and Norway, ‘How Do I Say Goodbye’, has accumulated 81 million total streams worldwide, peaking at #68 on the Spotify Global Chart, #13 on Spotify US Viral Chart, and Top 20 on Shazam. Most notably, this week ‘How Do I Say Goodbye’ has charted #31 on the UK Official Singles Chart and is currently #90 on the Billboard Global 200 Chart. Locally, the single is Top 30 on ARIA Single Chart and Top 40 on the Hot 100 Airplay Chart.

Accompanied by an emotionally charged official video, and over 73k uses of the song on Tik Tok, Dean last week released an acoustic video of the song, filmed in London – Watch Here.

Dean explains the lengthy creation process of making The Hardest Love, “I started writing the album in this hotel on Sunset in West Hollywood. I wrote in Nashville for a while, then I came back to LA and then went to London…” In each port of call, Dean experimented with various producers in search of the right sound and feeling.

“There’s a famous quote that says people have their whole life to write their first album, and then six months to write the next one. I feel like I’ve had double the amount of time for this album than the first one.”

He recalls the jolt of ignition that greeted his first single, Waves, six years ago. “It blew up so fast and everything was so crazy that I didn’t have time to figure out what I was doing. This time I had a lot more time to think about what I liked about those songs, to go back and look at the things that made them work.”

The deep dive led to a reaffirmation of the honest emotional content that Dean has become known for. Highlights of The Hardest Love include the uneasy surrender of Scares Me and the bracing title track, a deceptively dark song that builds from whisper to visceral brass finale.

From hope to heartache and back again, The Hardest Love is “totally reflective of where I was in my life at that time,” Dean says. “It’s been a stressful few years… I don’t think I realised the pressure I was under because on the other side, man, I had nothing. I’d moved in with my grandma before I got a record deal. I had no money; on the verge of thinking that I had wasted all of the opportunities in my life.”

“When Waves and Be Alright blew up, I just sprinted so fast that maybe I got a bit burnt out. I’m good though, now. It’s been a crazy, crazy time. I can’t wait to play these songs for the people who bought my first album, ‘cause I really think they’re gonna love this one.”