The Hardest Part

When Olivia Dean composed The Hardest Part, she had just ended an important two-year relationship. Instead of succumbing to sadness, she channeled her energy into creating a musical piece that reflected an optimistic perspective on moving forward and personal growth. The song became a reminder to herself that she was progressing and that, despite the melancholy, it was necessary to look toward the future. This track, lasting 2:56, was originally released in August 2020 as the first single from her EP What Am I Gonna Do on Sundays? and was later included on her debut album, Messy. By June 2023, it had surpassed 117 million streams.

In June 2023, Olivia Dean collaborated with Leon Bridges on a new version of The Hardest Part. Bridges described the song as something that struck him from the first listen, feeling it had the quality of an "instant classic." The production involved Felix Joseph and Bastian Langebaek, while the songwriting was credited to Olivia Dean alongside Bastian Langebaek and Max Wolfgang. The mixing was handled by Nathan Boddy. The album Messy, released on June 30, 2023, reached number four on the UK Albums Chart and was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry. This work, which aimed to capture the "imperfection" of early adulthood, was originally titled Between Islands, but the name was changed to Messy during recording to reflect the honest and sometimes chaotic nature of the compositions.