Olivia Rebecca Devine (born 21 June 1997), known professionally as L Devine, is an English singer and songwriter. After signing with

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

, she released her debut EP ''Growing Pains'' (2017). This was followed by the release of two further EPs, ''Peer Pressure'' (2018) and ''Near Life Experience: Part 1'' (2021). L Devine is also signed to BMG, having co-written songs for artists including

Icona Pop Icona Pop ( ) is a Swedish electropop duo which formed in 2009, with electro house and indie pop music influences. Its two members, Caroline Hjelt (born 8 November 1987) and Aino Jawo (born 7 July 1986), grew up in Stockholm and create what the ...

and

Rudimental Rudimental are a British drum and bass band, signed to Asylum Records, Atlantic Records and Black Butter Records. The band consists of Piers Aggett, Kesi Dryden and Leon "Locksmith" Rolle. They were nominated for a Mercury Prize in 2013, and ...

Early life

Devine was born and raised in

Whitley Bay Whitley Bay is a seaside town in the North Tyneside borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It formerly governed as part of Northumberland and has been part of Tyne and Wear since 1974. It is part of the wider Tyneside built-up area, being around eas ...

, a coastal town near

Newcastle Upon-Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is als ...

. Devine attended

Newcastle High School for Girls Newcastle High School for Girls is an independent day school for girls aged 3–18 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The Junior School is at Sandyford Park and the Senior School is located in the neighbouring suburb of Jesmond. The school was f ...

, an independent day school, completing A' Levels in 2015. Inspired by

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

and

The Sex Pistols ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

, she formed her first band, The Safety Pinz, when she was seven years old. She later posted a mash-up of her own music with

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

’s "

Mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...

" to

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

, which attracted the attention of producer Mickey Valen, and she subsequently saved up enough money to relocate to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

to pursue a career in music. Devine adopted L Devine as her artist moniker because she shares the name Olivia Devine with a

porn star A pornographic film actor or actress, pornographic performer, adult entertainer, or porn star is a person who performs sex acts in video that is usually characterized as a pornographic movie. Such videos tend to be made in a number of dist ...

Career

Devine released her debut single "School Girls" in July 2017. In an interview with

Nylon Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers composed of polyamides ( repeating units linked by amide links).The polyamides may be aliphatic or semi-aromatic. Nylon is a silk-like thermoplastic, generally made from petro ...

, 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." The accompanying lyric video for the track was made in collaboration with British designer and producer Chloe. She subsequently released an acoustic session performance of the track, which was premiered by The 405. 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 Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...

and

Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American singer, actress and producer. Gomez began her acting career on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004). As a teenager, she rose to prominence for starring a ...

. The majority of the film was shot in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

. Devine's second EP, ''Peer Pressure'', was released on 16 November 2018 along with a short film, also directed by Emil Nava. "Peer Pressure", the lead single, opens with a line from the 1988 film ''

Heathers ''Heathers'' is a 1989 American black comedy film written by Daniel Waters and directed by Michael Lehmann, in both of their respective film debuts. The film stars Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk, Kim Walker, and ...

'', and Devine spoke about her love of the coming-of-age film in an interview with ''

The Line of Best Fit ''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music. It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...

''. Devine counts

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is an English singer and songwriter. Born in Cambridge and raised in Start Hill, Essex, she began posting songs on Myspace in 2008, which led to her discovery ...

among her fans, 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. The single was accompanied by a music video on her

channel. The same month the EP was released,

YouTube Music YouTube Music is a music streaming service developed by YouTube, a subsidiary of Google. It provides a tailored interface for the service, oriented towards music streaming, allowing users to browse through songs and music videos on YouTube based ...

announced Devine had been chosen to be on their Ones to Watch list for 2019 and

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

added L Devine's track "Nervous" to their

BBC Introducing BBC Music ''Introducing'' is BBC Radio's platform supporting unsigned, undiscovered, and under-the-radar UK music talent. It gives artists the opportunity to be played on Local BBC Radio and nationally on BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra, Radio 2, Radio 3, 6 ...

playlist. 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". In May 2019, Devine performed at

The Great Escape Festival The Great Escape Festival is a three-day music festival held in Brighton and Hove, England every year in May. It is operated by MAMA Festivals and showcases new music from a variety of genres. The festival was founded in 2006 and roughly hosts ...

. On 17 May 2019, she released the single "Naked Alone". 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." In July 2019, two songs co-written by Devine were released; "Mean That Much" by

, and "Next Mistake" by

. In 2020, Devine has released two singles: "Boring People" and "Don't Say It". The songs were followed by the release of her third EP, ''Near Life Experience: Part 1'', released on 30 July 2021. The EP was preceded by its lead single, "Girls Like Sex".

Personal life

In 2018, in an interview with ''

'', Devine stated that she is a

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

, 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".

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Songwriting credits

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Devine, L 1997 births Living people Warner Records artists People from Whitley Bay Musicians from Tyne and Wear English women singer-songwriters English women pop singers English dance musicians 21st-century English women singers 21st-century English singers Lesbian musicians English LGBT musicians British LGBT singers 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people