Introducing Holly Humberstone: A Rising Star In The Making

Holly Humberstone is breaking all barriers at only 21 years old. Born in Grantham, England, she was raised in a close-knitted family where music was a constant background in the daily life.

Holly moved to London at 19 to pursue her music career. It wasn’t easy to adapt to a whole new world in a big city such as London and be far away from everything that she ever known, but it was this feeling of growth and somehow loneliness that inspired her to write the songs that will be part of her first upcoming EP “The walls are Way too thin” .

The EP that will be released on November 5th includes singles such as the milestone track “Scarlett” as well as "Please Don't Leave Just Yet," which was co-written and co-produced by The 1975's Matty Healy.

As of today, Holly Humberstone’s streams surpassed over 150 million and she has performed on iconic shows such as Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Late Late Show with James Corden.

Her music covers different topics such as mental health struggles, transitioning from adolescence to a full blown woman, the importance of friendship, toxic relationships with men and much more.

You may also be able to leave her concerts with a bunch of brand new, yet second hand clothing, as Holly is actually a big fan of clothes swapping and recycling material, a passion that started in her own home with her 2 sisters. She often encourages her fans to bring clothing to exchange at her shows.

It is safe to say that “the future is female”. Whenever I hear or read this sentence I can’t help but imagine a world where women like Holly are free to express themselves in any way possible and use their power to inspire others. Music is an incredible medium to do so and we’re excited to see what the future holds for Holly Humberstone.

Rarepeace had the exclusive opportunity to have a Q&A with Holly Humberstone and we are excited to share her precious words with you. Who were your biggest inspirations growing up?

Listening to music is the best way to be transported back to my childhood. I have such an emotional tie to the music I used to listen to growing up.

One of my favorite artists that I remember connecting to while growing up is Damien Rice. I remember finding his album “ O “. My parents had stacks and stacks of CDs in a room and I remember going through them and finding the album. I was very young, probably 5 or 6 and had no clue of what he was talking about but I was touched by it and it hit me in a very deep way.

I don’t know, maybe it is something about his really intimate lyrics but there’s something about his intonation and the way he delivers his words and speaks, these kinds of things. There’s something about that’s really next level and I remember listening to it in the car on the way to school or whilst we were having dinner and I think my sisters and I know pretty much every single Damien Rice song by heart.

I think he’s definitely a family favorite.

Then, some of my parents favorite artists were Radiohead, my mom was particularly obsessed so we always listened to them. I think they’re amazing and have so many different styles and a wide broad spectrum of sounds. My dad’s favorite song is Fake Plastic Trees and I think it’s my favorite as well.

I also remember finding a Kylie Minogue album and hiding it in my room cause I was afraid my sisters would steal it but in reality they didn’t care about it. The album was Fever.

Also, Backstreet Boys Greatest Hits was one of my first loves. What inspired you to write Scarlett and why is your favorite song from the EP?

I think it’s my favorite song just because somehow for me it sits apart from the rest of the EP.

The other songs were about my experiences and all the stuff I was going through at the time, which wasn’t a load of really empowering positive stuff that I feel like I wanted to sing about. I wasn’t in my best mood ever at the time but it’s probably a good thing cause you get the best songs from not being in the best place.

I was writing about breaking up with someone, my first proper relationship came to an end and that was really sad. Trying to navigate changes, being an adult, having to deal with these things for the first time and living on my own, taking care of myself, starting out in music … is just confusing and there’s a lot of pressure, I also put a lot of pressure on myself.

Scene from Scarlett Music Video

It’s emotionally draining to dig stuff up all the time so yeah , the EP was mostly about feeling lost and not having anyone around me to cling on to and then when I wrote Scarlett I found it like a massive relief and freeing because I was writing about somebody else.

It was also something that I was through with her. This average guy had broken up with her and she’s so amazing so I couldn’t understand why she was so upset about this guy.

I remember seeing her going through all different stages of breakup and like processing everything - firstly she was gutted and I didn’t know what to do so I actually wrote an unreleased song about this too

Scene from Scarlett Music Video

Then I could see her feeling herself again, getting over this guy and realizing her self-worth, seeing herself from my perspective. That’s when I wrote Scarlett it was such a relief, in so many ways like sonically I wanted to go crazy and make cool sounds, make it epic and it makes me feel empowered.

Basically it’s about not needing things that tie you down. It’s a positive song and you can dance to it, sing to it and cry to it.

Holly announced her first ever headlining tour in the US starting this October with dates in California, New York, Texas and more.