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Apr 07, 2026 By Andy Von Pip Photography by Silken Weinberg

In 2020, UK singer-songwriter Holly Humberstone released her debut single, “Deep End,” during the COVID-19 pandemic, when venues were empty and the future of the music industry felt uncertain. Even in that unusual landscape, her fragile, haunting songs soon found an audience. After lockdown, she quickly established herself as one to watch, finishing second in the BBC Sound of 2021 poll, earning an Ivor Novello nomination for “Haunted House,” and taking home the BRITs Rising Star Award in 2022. She then toured with Olivia Rodrigo and girl in red, cementing her reputation as one of the UK’s most exciting emerging artists. Her acclaimed debut album, Paint My Bedroom Black, released in October 2023, showcased her ability to craft songs charged with feeling without resorting to bombast or egregious caterwauling to convey genuine emotion. And if that wasn’t enough, she was personally chosen by Taylor Swift to perform alongside Paramore at Wembley Stadium during the record-breaking Eras Tour.

Now, as she prepares to release her second album, Cruel World, Humberstone reflects on how much has changed in just a few years. “Lockdown was such a strange time for all of us,” she says. “I remember being at home with my family and things blowing up on my phone after releasing my first song. There was this weird disconnect between what was happening online and what was going on at home. Then coming out of lockdown and suddenly having an audience, being able to play my own shows… it sounds cheesy, but it’s all I’ve ever dreamed of doing since I was a kid.”

That sense of disbelief has never faded. “Getting to do this job… my dreams fully came true. It still feels crazy.” Yet despite her rapid rise, her feet remain firmly planted on the ground. “I don’t think I’ll ever take this for granted. The novelty of playing shows and touring, having people there… I feel so lucky. I have such an incredible audience who’ve grown up with me and who receive my music so warmly. I’m so, so grateful.”

After a period of relentless touring, Humberstone took some time out, and that downtime has clearly paid off. Cruel World arrives with a striking new visual aesthetic, showcasing a universe entirely of her own making and featuring what is arguably the strongest collection of songs of her career so far. “The writing process for this album has been vastly different from anything I’ve released before,” she explains. “We live in such a fast-paced world and industry, and I feel like not many artists are afforded the time and space to exist as people outside of being artists. I get a lot of my inspiration from those around me, my friends, and being at home. So getting a chance to just exist and reconnect with myself this past year and a half has been so crucial.”

Many of the album’s inspirations trace back to her childhood. Fragments of her early life, including ballet shoes, Alice in Wonderland books, and films like Edward Scissorhands and James and the Giant Peach, resurfaced when she prepared to move out of her family home. “I found those old ballet shoes when I was going through my things,” she recalls. “I think dancing as a child was my first step into music. I loved it so much. It was my first love. I remember one Christmas my mum took me to see a ballet. Walking into the theatre, everything was plush and warm: the smell of old perfumes, the orchestra tuning, the curtains opening on this paper-mâché world. For two hours, you could completely escape. I remember coming out of it feeling so moved. It was such a formative experience.”

She also drew inspiration from darker childhood stories. “My favourite Christmas gift as a kid was a Brothers Grimm book. The stories had all the familiar elements, but with twisted, eerie undertones that made them impossible to put down. That sense of wonder mixed with darkness is something I wanted to capture on Cruel World. I’m someone who struggles with change, so revisiting these influences has felt comforting. I wanted to create a space that feels protective, almost magical. Music has always been that for me, and I wanted the album to provide the same escape, a place to feel safe and transported. In such confusing and uncertain times, I think it’s something we all need.”

Leaving her childhood home, a place that had been both sanctuary and creative foundation, was wrenching. It was the inspiration for her song “Haunted House.” “That home had such a niche vibe, even down to how it smelled or how the carpet felt. The house you grow up in, if you’re lucky enough to stay in one place, is always going to be your anchor, a place to return for safety, comfort, and to feel like a kid again,” she says.

“So, leaving that house, leaving that chapter behind, well, it really did feel like a definitive bookend to my childhood. Even though I’m 26 and should be grown up by now, that refuge of girlhood was suddenly gone. But change is necessary for growth, and it makes room for something new. And my place in London feels like the new haunted house. I live here with two of my sisters and my best friend, and building a safe space with them has shaped my life now. I’ve realised that who I am doesn’t depend on where I am; it’s who I’m with.”

If Paint My Bedroom Black represented Humberstone’s emo period, Cruel World explores a darker, more gothic aesthetic. Fans need not worry, she hasn’t suddenly embraced full-on Sisters of Mercy bombastic doom-meister vibes; instead, her visuals evoke a darkly enchanting fairy-tale world reminiscent of Tim Burton. “I’ve never thrown myself into crafting this kind of cinematic world before,” she says. “I didn’t realise how much it could help convey stories and emotions alongside the songs.”

The album marks a bold creative leap for Humberstone, who cites the title track as one of her favourite songs she’s ever written. “The kind of songs I love, I’m always trying to find them and piece them together. To me, ‘Cruel World’ feels like a song that was already written. The first part of that track that we had was actually an instrumental, just this drum beat really. Then I found some lyrics from ‘To Love Somebody’ in my notes, and underneath them, just the words cruel world.’ When looping that drum beat, it soon began to take shape, and it felt like a title,” she explains.

Then it was a case of going into the studio and really ‘finding’ the song, as she puts it. “Some days when I’m working in the studio, I don’t come back with anything. Songwriting is, like life, a kind of chaos. I feel like there’s no real formula. It’s about being patient with yourself, showing up even if nothing happens for a while. You just have to be there, and eventually, something will happen. I do love that song so much. It has everything I love in a pop song. It does something chemically to me that I can’t explain.”

The forthcoming record explores the raw tension of love, where pain and pleasure collide and heartbreak coexists with joy. Humberstone has a gift for capturing life’s messy, chaotic moments in a way that feels deeply relatable. Even in her most vulnerable songs, like “To Love Somebody,” she conveys experiences listeners instantly recognize. “Drunk Dialling” is another standout, blending heartbreak with wit and honesty.

“All of my songs are written from my perspective, whether I’ve gone through something specifically or not. I don’t think I need to have lived it to understand it. If somebody around me is going through something similar, I’ve definitely been there. Do you know what I mean? Like being heartbroken over somebody who just does not give a shit about you, and feeling pathetic, and getting drunk in your room on your own and dressing up to feel good about yourself. And this person still doesn’t care. And you’re just kind of being an embarrassing mess. But yeah, ‘Drunk Dialling’ was so fun to write. I think it’s got that chorus that people can scream to, drunk at a festival.”

“I feel like a lot of the songs on the album were written with a live context in mind. I’ve had an incredible time on tour over these past few years with my band. Being on stage is the best feeling I’ve come across. I wanted to write songs that people could sing with me so it becomes a joint experience. At a festival, with the sun going down, half-cut in a field, all you want to do is scream, dance, and cry with your friends. If you can latch onto a lyric like ‘and baby, I’m drunk dialling you,’ it’s so simple, but we’ve all been there. That song’s a bit of fun. It’s important not to take yourself too seriously and to laugh at your own pathetic moments.”

While Humberstone has always had a strong sense of her music, the striking visuals and cinematic promo videos for the singles from Cruel World let her fully bring that vision to life. “I never felt in the past that I could creatively direct my own visuals,” she explains. “I knew how to write songs and could imagine them visually, but with this album, starting with ‘Cruel World,’ I began to see exactly what I wanted it to look like. My sister, (Eleri) and I ended up creatively directing everything. We started Pinterest boards with childhood inspirations in mind and watched lots of old films we loved. It was such a nostalgic, fun time of rediscovery. We put together a huge deck of ideas about how the music should look, and the label loved it.”

Finding the right director, however, proved more challenging. “We approached a lot of people, but we weren’t quite getting what we wanted. Then we realised we needed a feminine perspective. Most directors we’d considered were men, and we wanted someone who could understand us from our point of view. I’d been a fan of Silken Weinberg’s work for a long time. She’d done lots of work with Ethel Cain and Skullcrusher, who I love, and a bunch of other amazing things. We were like, let’s ask, even if she seems way out of our league, and just see if she gets it. And she did. Her treatment was spot on. From there, we’ve built an amazing creative team where everyone just clicked. It really felt like we’re all best friends.”

That sense of artistic trust and shared purpose carried over into the shoot. “Being on set with a female director is such a different experience. Everything feels so collaborative. People are working together not to prove something, but to get the best out of each other, and to really listen because we trust each other in our own fields. These videos have been the most fun to make. We hired a big theatre in Teddington for a weekend and filmed everything there. It was all set builds, and it felt like stepping back into my past, like going to watch a ballet, except it was my own visual world that I’d built with my sister. I’ve loved it, and it’s been such a rewarding process. I think the best video is still to come, for the song “Beauty Pageant.” I’m so excited to share it because that’s a really important song to me, and the video is exactly how I imagined it when I wrote it. It just feels perfect. I’m really glad people are loving the videos, and I’m so excited to share everything.”

Upcoming Tour Dates

May 24 – BBC Big Weekend, Herrington Country Park, Houghton-le-Spring, UK

June 3 – Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA, USA

June 4 – Théâtre Beanfield, Montréal, QC, Canada

June 6 – RBC Amphitheatre, Toronto, ON, Canada

June 7 – Governors Ball, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, New York, NY, USA

June 9 – Theatre of the Living Arts, Philadelphia, PA, USA

June 10 – 9:30 Club, Washington, DC, USA

June 12 – Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, GA, USA

June 13 – Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, What Stage, Manchester, TN, USA

June 15 – Saint Andrew’s Hall, Detroit, MI, USA

June 16 – The Vic Theatre, Chicago, IL, USA

June 19 – Varsity Theater, Minneapolis, MN, USA

June 21 – Gothic Theatre, Englewood, CO, USA

June 22 – The Complex, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

June 24 – The Showbox, Seattle, WA, USA

June 25 – Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, BC, Canada

June 28 – The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA, USA

July 4 – BST Hyde Park (Swan Stage), London, UK

July 10 – Mad Cool Festival, Madrid, Spain

July 14 – Ejekt Festival, Athens, Greece

August 14 – Summer Sonic, Tokyo, Japan

August 15 – Summer Sonic, Osaka, Japan

August 23 – Golden Leaves Festival, Darmstadt, Germany

August 28 – Leeds Festival, Leeds, UK

August 30 – Reading Festival, Reading, UK

September 15 – Le Trabendo, Paris, France

September 16 – Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands

September 17 – Botanique, Brussels, Belgium

September 20 – Stollwerck, Cologne, Germany

September 22 – Amager Bio, Copenhagen, Denmark

September 23 – Parkteatret, Oslo, Norway

September 24 – Nalen, Stockholm, Sweden

September 26 – Gruenspan, Hamburg, Germany

September 27 – Festsaal Kreuzberg, Berlin, Germany

September 28 – Technikum, Munich, Germany

Cruel World is set to be released on 10 April 2026

www.hollyhumberstone.com