Dean Lewis Parts Ways With Universal Music
Universal Music and Dean Lewis have cut ties following a wave of misconduct allegations against the Australian singer and songwriter.
Dean Lewis
Universal Music and Dean Lewis have cut ties following a wave of misconduct allegations against the Australian singer and songwriter.
A spokesperson for the major music company shared with Billboard a brief statement that reads, “We can confirm that Dean Lewis is no longer signed to Universal Music Australia or any Universal Music Group label.”
The split comes after multiple women turned to TikTok in the back-end of 2025, to address Lewis’ alleged inappropriate behavior with fans online.
The “Be Alright” singer responded by yanking his nominations for the ARIA and TikTok Awards, and by sharing a seven-slide apology on Instagram. “In the past few days,” he wrote in the post, published Oct. 30, “social media has made public a decade-plus of private conversations with a number of women, all of adult age.”
He continued, “from the bottom of my heart, I want to sincerely apologise to those I’ve hurt. This is not only an apology to the women who have spoken up, but those who haven’t and felt hurt by my words or behavior. I also need to apologise to my family and fans who I’ve gravely disappointed.”
The 38-year-old Sydneysider also assured he would make “a lot of changes,” and accept a “whole new set of rules” in how he engages with fans or respond to messages.
Lewis boasted a decade on the Universal Music roster, having signed with Island Records and Universal Music Australia in April 2016. Since then, Lewis has accumulated 15 billion streams and shifted 7 million albums and EPs worldwide, and has been one of Australia’s brightest international breakthroughs.
An international hit landed with “Be Alright,” which peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 and logged 29 weeks on the tally in 2018 and 2019. The single just missed out on the top 10 in the U.K., where it peaked at No. 11. “Be Alright” gave Lewis his first and only ARIA No. 1. Lewis followed it up with a second top 40 hit, 2022’s “How Do I Say Goodbye,” which peaked at No. 23 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart.
His debut 2019 album A Place We Knew cracked the top 40 in the United States and the United Kingdom and went to No. 1 in his homeland. Universal Music issued his second album The Hardest Love, peaking at No. 4 in Australia in 2022, and in 2024 released The Epilogue, topping out at No. 2.
