The “Billboard” Hot 100 is the most fiercely competitive chart in the music industry. While the tracks at the top naturally reflect the most popular songs, the list occasionally has an effect of its own. In recent weeks, the biggest buzz has no doubt been around the battle for No. 1 between Taylor Swift’s single “The Fate of Ophelia” and the Huntrix song “Golden.” But if you look a bit further afield than that, you can catch the scoop on the final big story the Hot 100 has to tell this year before Christmas songs once again take over the chart.

Let’s start with the Top 10 of the Hot 100 chart dated November 15. Both No. 1 and No. 4 are tracks off Swift’s latest hit album, “The Life of a Showgirl.” Justin Bieber’s song “DAISIES” (No. 6) and Morgan Wallen’s single “I Got Better” (No. 9) are themselves testaments to the staying power of big-name stars who can hold steady thanks to loyal fans streaming their songs and to robust airplay. While it’s true that there now exist more diverse routes to success, the path to the very top still demands a great deal. Blockbuster releases paired with massive promotions, flashy collaborations and remixes, and stirring up excitement through both social and traditional media is all part of the equation. Many of the Top 10 hits currently on the chart come from big names, and even rising stars like Sabrina Carpenter and Tate McRae follow a similar playbook. Combine that with the tendency for streaming services to make the songs people are already listening to even more ubiquitous, and the result is a stagnant upper echelon of long-charting hits punctuated by a few rapidly rising but ultimately fleeting tracks.

And that’s where Olivia Dean’s song “Man I Need,” which climbed to No. 5 that same week, stands out. When the song first came out back in mid-August, the response was lukewarm. By the first week of September, however, it debuted at No. 82 on the chart and steadily climbed from there, breaking into the Top 20 in the space of eight weeks. By October, thanks to Dean opening for Sabrina Carpenter on tour and making numerous TV appearances, the song gained traction with a broader audience and saw its airplay time rapidly increase. Then, in the first week of November, it broke into the Top 10 with a good balance of 14 million streams and 17 million radio listeners. When her new album “The Art of Loving” dropped on October 26, interest in Olivia Dean skyrocketed. In her home country, the UK, “The Art of Loving” and “Man I Need” simultaneously went to No. 1, becoming the first British female solo artist to achieve the feat since Adele did in 2021. Equally amazing is that it was the first time Dean had ever had an album or single go to No. 1. The song even made it to No. 5 in the US. “Man I Need” has seen a slow but solid upward trajectory, bucking the common trend of a big debut followed by a quick decline. Is this a textbook example of a sleeper hit driven by demand rather than supply?

This isn’t just about one hit song, either. It’s the result of Dean’s musical journey, including her development and philosophy, and how it naturally permeates her whole image—something that’s been a long time in the making. Dean inherits from a line of neo soul, jazz, and singer-songwriter greats like Lauryn Hill, Amy Winehouse, and Carole King—a taste passed down from her parents that she also touts as her own. A recent interview in “ELLE” begins with a description of her outfit: a chocolate-colored sweater, black pants, and a beige tartan belt. The writer describes her look as “cozy, comfortable, and warm,” as though a personification of her music. “I’ve always just made music that I hopefully would want to listen to,” Dean says. “I love soul music. I love jazz. I love bossa nova. I am listening to it all the time. I’m not like, ‘I’m going to make this jazzy, soul music because that will be cool.’ I just like it.” She’s even more direct in her interview with “Rolling Stone UK” from when her debut album, “Messy,” came out. “I get frustrated with music that feels overly saturated or autotuned or calculated,” she says. “I really enjoy imperfection.” In other words, she chooses to prioritize consistency in taste over trend-chasing.

“Man I Need” blends the traditional sounds of jazz, R&B, and gospel atop a gentle bossa nova beat. Instead of filling her music with wall-to-wall digital maximalism, Dean lets the piece breathe, complementing her own piano with understated bass, percussion, and brass. Her vocals are simple and clear, emphasizing story over flashy filler. The lyrics steer away from fictions and heightened emotions, instead giving a fresh take on the healthy desire to be loved, knowing she deserves it and having the confidence to demand it. “The Art of Loving” is an unusual album in that there are no featured artists of any kind. Speaking with “Harper’s BAZAAR,” she called the decision “very intentional. I wanted the listening experience to be an intimate one. I imagined this kind of conversation between me and the listener, and the idea of having another voice speaking felt odd to me.” No wonder “Rolling Stone UK” talks about how “authenticity has always been a watchword in Dean’s songwriting.”

In short, Dean is proof that there’s plenty of room for more classic, organic music to thrive when maximalist and algorithm-friendly content starts to fatigue audiences. But she isn’t the only exception. Getting back to the Hot 100, the Kehlani song “Folded,” currently at No. 7, broke into the Top 10 after 20 weeks on the chart. One of the major factors that pushed “Folded” up past No. 14 and through the tough barrier of the Top 10 was a series of six remixes paying homage to 1990s and 2000s R&B icons like Brandy, Toni Braxton, and Mario by featuring them directly on the tracks—a group of songs that make it clear to the kind of taste they’re satisfying. At No. 8, Leon Thomas’s song “MUTT” reached its highest position after 40 weeks on the chart, marking one of the slowest climbs in chart history. After debuting at No. 100 in February, the song, first released in August 2024, finally broke into the Top 10 after 38 long weeks. While the two songs take different forms, with one more neo soul and the other a modern blend of rock and R&B, they share a classic approach to songwriting colored with authenticity.

At times, the big names end up being the root cause of a problem where they leave a gap for demand in listening preferences. When that happens, it’s possible for an artist who’s been consistently honing their craft and building trust to end up with a hit on their hands that sticks with people for a long time. With the way the Hot 100 is today, this isn’t a one-off phenomenon, either—it’s shaping up to be a trend. And Olivia Dean is the latest and most emblematic artist leading it. What better way to see the artist you discovered stop being a well-kept secret?