Dean Lewis

Dean Lewis
Lewis in 2019
Lewis in 2019
Background information
Born
Dean Lewis Grant Loaney

(1987-10-21) 21 October 1987 (age 39)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
GenrePop
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Years active2016–present
Labels
Websitedeanlewismusic.com

Dean Lewis Grant Loaney, known professionally as Dean Lewis, is an Australian singer and songwriter. He is best known for his 2016 single "Waves", which has been certified seven times platinum in Australia, his 2022 single "How Do I Say Goodbye", which achieved worldwide popularity on social media and has been certified Gold or Platinum in ten countries, and his 2018 single "Be Alright", which reached number one in Australia and was certified Platinum within four weeks of release, eventually reaching 11 times platinum in Australia and multi-platinum worldwide, including double platinum in the United States.

Lewis has released three studio albums: A Place We Knew (2019), The Hardest Love (2022), and The Epilogue (2024). In 2025, he was accused of sexual misconduct and his label, Universal Music, parted ways with him.

Esports

Lewis competed in esports, representing Australia in Halo 2 at the World Cyber Games 2005 in Singapore.[when?]

Music career

2016–2017: Career beginnings and Same Kind of Different

Lewis was inspired to pursue music after watching a live Oasis DVD in 2005, and "spent the next five years watching every Oasis video – Noel Gallagher basically taught me how to write songs."

Lewis signed his recording contract with Specific Music in 2014, and a major contract with Island Records and Universal Music Australia in March 2016. Lewis released his debut single "Waves" on 30 September 2016 which peaked at number 12 on the Australian ARIA Charts. The song was featured in a number of American television shows such as Suits, Grey's Anatomy, Valor, Riverdale, All American, Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments and Magnum P.I.. The song has since been certified 7× Platinum by ARIA.

Lewis released "Need You Now" in April 2017 and his debut extended play Same Kind of Different on 12 May 2017 which peaked at number 27 on the ARIA Album Charts. Lewis received five ARIA Award nominations at the ARIA Music Awards of 2017. "Lose My Mind" and "Chemicals" were also released as singles from the EP and have been certified Platinum and Gold respectively.

2018–2020: A Place We Knew and collaborations

In June 2018, Lewis released "Be Alright". The single reached number one in Australia for five consecutive weeks, becoming his first chart-topper in the country, and has been certified eight times platinum in Australia. It also reached number one in Belgium, top five in New Zealand, Sweden and Ireland, top 10 in the Netherlands and Switzerland, top 20 in the United Kingdom and Scotland, top 30 in the United States and number one in the Billboard Adult pop chart. In January 2019, Lewis released "7 Minutes". Lewis released his debut studio album A Place We Knew on 22 March 2019. Lewis performed "Be Alright" and "Waves" at the 2019 AFL Grand Final. In 2019, Lewis signed with WME for representation in all areas.

Lewis released a single in collaboration with Dutch DJ/producer Martin Garrix on 31 October 2019 called "Used to Love". Regarding the collaboration with Garrix, Lewis explains that "Since my career began, collaborations never felt like something I saw myself pursuing. As a songwriter, who also sings, the entire concept just felt foreign. Until I met Martin. We spent about a week together locked behind closed doors in Amsterdam working on a song, which thought might end up be sung by someone else. But as the track progressed is started to sound a lot like me, but also very Martin. It's a real collaboration with a guy who's now become a great friend". An acoustic version of the song was released in 2020.

2022–present: The Hardest Love and The Epilogue

On 5 March 2021, Lewis released the single "Falling Up". Lewis stated the song is about "being online and focusing on that one negative comment in a sea of good".

On 22 October 2021, Lewis released "Looks Like Me", which was inspired by a personal relationship where an ex was "hanging" with a guy that she said looked like Lewis. This was followed by "Hurtless" on 1 April 2022. On 2 September 2022, he released the single "How Do I Say Goodbye".

In 2024, Lewis opened several shows for AJR on their tour for The Maybe Man (2023). In June 2024, Lewis announced his third studio album The Epilogue, released in October 2024, alongside Australian tour dates.

At the end of 2025, it was confirmed that Lewis and Universal Music had parted ways.

Personal life

Misconduct allegations

In October 2025, Lewis was the subject of various sexual misconduct allegations on social media. He responded to the allegations on Instagram, admitting wrongdoing but refuting any claims of illegal behaviour. This was paired with an announcement of a hiatus, and a promise to pursue therapy.

In November 2025, his award nominations for the 2025 ARIA Awards for Song of the Year and the 2025 TikTok Awards for Music Artist of the Year were withdrawn.

In late March 2026, Evie Smith, whose October 2025 TikTok video had contributed to the spread of allegations, posted a public apology on TikTok acknowledging that she had made serious claims without properly checking them. In a statement responding to the apology, Lewis said the situation had significantly damaged his reputation, career and personal life, and asked supporters not to direct abuse toward Smith.

Also in March 2026, the Amsterdam District Court dismissed Lewis's application for an injunction against Dutch woman Sanne van Ooijen, finding that because she had not named Lewis in her posts it could not be established that the allegations referred to him; Lewis was ordered to pay her legal costs of €1,707. A spokesperson for Lewis disputed the basis of the ruling.

Discography

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. Lewis has won three awards from 16 nominations.

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2017 "Waves" Best Pop Release Nominated
Breakthrough Artist Nominated
Song of the Year Nominated
Michael Jones for Dean Lewis "Waves" Best Video Nominated
John Castle for Dean Lewis "Lose My Mind" Engineer of the Year Nominated
2018 "Be Alright" Best Male Artist Nominated
Best Pop Release Nominated
Song of the Year Nominated
Jessie Hill and Dean Lewis – "Be Alright" Best Video Won
2017 National Tour Best Australian Live Act Nominated
2019 A Place We Knew Album of the Year Won
Best Male Artist Won
Best Pop Release Nominated
"7 Minutes" Song of the Year Nominated
2021 "Falling Up" Song of the Year Nominated
2022 "Hurtless" Song of the Year Nominated
2023 "How Do I Say Goodbye" Song of the Year Nominated
2025 "With You" Song of the Year Withdrawn

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are held in Australia and New Zealand by the Australasian Performing Right Association to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually. Lewis has won seven awards.

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2018 "Waves" Pop Work of the Year Nominated
Most Played Australian Work Nominated
2019 "Be Alright" Pop Work of the Year Nominated
Song of the Year Shortlisted
Himself Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year Won
Himself Outstanding International Achievement Award Won
2020 "7 Minutes" Most Performed Australian Work of the Year Nominated
Most Performed Pop Work of the Year Won
2021 "Used to Love" (with Martin Garrix) Most Performed Australian Work of the Year Nominated
Most Performed Dance Work of the Year Nominated
"Be Alright" Most Performed Australian Work Overseas Won
2022 "Falling Up" Most Performed Alternative Work Nominated
2023 "Hurtless" Most Performed Australian Work Nominated
Most Performed Alternative Work Won
2024 "How Do I Say Goodbye" Most Performed Australian Work Won
Most Performed Pop Work Won

MTV Europe Music Awards

The MTV Europe Music Awards is an award presented by Viacom International Media Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture.

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2018 Himself Best Australian Act Nominated
2019 Himself Nominated

National Live Music Awards

The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016.

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2018 Himself Best Live Act of the Year – People's Choice Nominated

Rolling Stone Australia Awards

The Rolling Stone Australia Awards are awarded annually in January or February by the Australian edition of Rolling Stone magazine for outstanding contributions to popular culture in the previous year.

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2025 Dean Lewis Rolling Stone Global Award Shortlisted

Notes

  1. ↑ In November 2025, Dean Lewis and his management requested to have his nomination for the 2025 ARIA Award for Song of the Year withdrawn following allegations of inappropriate behaviour by Lewis in October 2025. ARIA actioned this request.

References

  1. ↑ Newstead, Al (21 March 2019). "How ex-songwriter for hire Dean Lewis found huge success in his sadness". ABC.
  2. ↑ "About Dean Lewis". Dean Lewis Music. Archived from the original on 5 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  3. ↑ "DEAN LEWIS". Specific Music. 2017. Archived from the original on 5 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  4. ↑ "Dean Lewis' Hit Song 'Waves' Has Been Picked Up By Yet Another Hit US TV Series". The Music. 13 September 2017. Archived from the original on 13 September 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  5. ↑ "Dean Lewis' 'Waves' scores third (and biggest) TV sync". The Music Network. 22 December 2017. Archived from the original on 5 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2019 Singles". www.aria.com.au. 31 January 2019. Archived from the original on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  7. ↑ "Dean lewis leads the charge of island records artists nominated for 2017 aria awards". Event Alaide. 10 October 2017. Archived from the original on 5 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  8. ↑ Peaks in Australia:
  9. ↑ "WEEK FIVE AT #1 FOR DEAN LEWIS' BE ALRIGHT". ARIA Charts. Archived from the original on 7 November 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  10. ↑ "Dean Lewis Shares New Single '7 Minutes', The Follow-Up To 'Be Alright'". Music Feeds. 18 January 2019. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  11. ↑ "Dean Lewis Confirmed Debut album, tour". auspOp. 20 February 2019. Archived from the original on 20 February 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  12. ↑ Mims, Taylor (19 November 2020). "Dean Lewis Signs With WME for Worldwide Representation". Billboard. Archived from the original on 5 December 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  13. ↑ Meadow, Matthew (9 September 2019). "Martin Garrix announces new single 'Used To Love' in collaboration with Dean Lewis". Your EDM. Archived from the original on 20 September 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
  14. ↑ Todoroski, James (31 October 2019). "Martin Garrix & Dean Lewis – Used To Love". We Rave You. Archived from the original on 18 November 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  15. ↑ Narozniak, Rachel (16 February 2020). "Martin Garrix strips down "Used to Love" in acoustic rendition [Stream]". Dancing Astronaut. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  16. ↑ "Dean Lewis returns with new single "Falling Up" ahead of new album". The Music Network. 5 March 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  17. ↑ "Dean Lewis Shares New single "Looks Like Me"". www.totalntertainment.com. 22 October 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  18. ↑ "Dean Lewis Returns With "Hurtless", His First Single of 2022". Music Feeds. 1 April 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  19. ↑ "Dean Lewis Releases New Song". Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  20. ↑ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  21. ↑ "Dean Lewis Announces Australian Tour In Support Of 'The Epilogue'". The Music. 11 June 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  22. ↑ "Dean Lewis 'No Longer Signed' to Universal Music Group". Rolling Stone Australia. 6 January 2026. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  23. ↑ "Dean Lewis responds to viral misconduct allegations: 'I was breathtakingly dumb'". The Independent. 31 October 2025. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  24. ↑ "Dean Lewis Withdrawn From ARIA and TikTok Awards". Rolling Stone Australia. 9 November 2025. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
  25. 1 2 "Dean Lewis Issues Statement After Being Denied Injunction in Dutch Court Case". Rolling Stone Australia. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
  26. ↑ "Dean Lewis Issues Statement After Dutch Court Rejection". The Music Network. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
  27. ↑ "ARIA Awards Search Results – Dean Lewis". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 5 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  28. ↑ "ARIA Awards 2019: Tones and I wins big & Human Nature Hall of Fame". MediaWeek. 27 November 2019. Archived from the original on 27 November 2019. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  29. ↑ Kelly, Vivienne (20 October 2021). "ARIA Awards nominees revealed: Amy Shark & Genesis Owusu lead the charge". The Music Network. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  30. ↑ Lars Brandle (12 October 2022). "Rüfüs Du Sol Leads 2022 ARIA Awards Nominees (Full List)". The Music Network. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  31. ↑ "Nominees Announced for 2023 ARIA Awards". Music Feeds. 21 September 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  32. ↑ "Dean Lewis Withdrawn from ARIA and TikTok Awards Following Allegations of Inappropriate Behaviour". The Music (magazine). 10 November 2025. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
  33. ↑ "Dean Lewis". APRA AMCOS. Archived from the original on 5 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  34. ↑ "Sarah Aarons wins four APRA Awards: The Complete Winners List". Noise11. 30 April 2019. Archived from the original on 1 May 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  35. ↑ "Tones and I leads nominations for 2020 virtual APRA Awards". Noise11. 7 April 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  36. ↑ "2020 Awards". APRA AMCOS. 7 April 2020. Archived from the original on 9 April 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  37. ↑ "Full List of Winners". APRA AMCOS. 2020. Archived from the original on 26 May 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  38. ↑ "APRA Reveals 2019 Song of the Year Shortlist". Music Feeds. 5 February 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  39. ↑ "Nominees announced for the 2021 APRA Music Awards". APRA AMCOS. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  40. ↑ "Midnight Oil, Tones And I among big winners at 2021 APRA Music Awards". Industry Observer. 29 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  41. ↑ "Nominees Revealed for 2022 APRA Music Awards". The Industry Observer. 7 April 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  42. ↑ "Nominees revealed for the 2023 APRA Music Awards". APRA Awards. 30 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  43. ↑ "APRA AMCOS: 2023 APRA Music Awards". APRA AMCOS (Australasian Performing Right Association and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society). 27 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  44. ↑ "2024 APRA Music Awards nominees announced: Paul Kelly, Troye Sivan, Tex Perkins, and more". Mumbrella. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  45. ↑ "APRA Music Awards 2024: Troye Sivan, Sia & The Teskey Brothers Among Biggest Winners". The Music. 1 May 2024. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  46. ↑ "MTV announces the five nominees for EMA Best Australian Act". Mediaweek. 19 October 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  47. ↑ "These are the big winners at the 2019 MTV EMAs". MTV Europe. 3 November 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  48. ↑ "NLMA announce 2018 nominees and Live legend". National Live Music Awards. 2 October 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  49. ↑ "Winners of the 2018 NLMAs". National Live Music Awards. December 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  50. ↑ "2025 Rolling Stone Australia Awards: Longlist Revealed". Rolling Stone Australia. 5 March 2025. Retrieved 6 March 2025.