At just 20 years old Holly Humberstone has already gripped audiences across the globe in less than a year’s time, signaling her emergence as one of music’s biggest breakthrough artists and an important voice for her generation. Blending her dark and moody signature sound with unwaveringly honest lyrics, Holly’s music possesses a universal relatability. Her songs embrace and translate some of life’s most intense feelings in a way that typical conversations all too often fail to capture, from coming to terms with her sisters’ mental health struggles, to the perpetual cycle of loss and moving on, to the dizzying feelings of falling for someone for the first time and even the impending doom of failed driving tests
At just 20 years old Holly Humberstone has already gripped audiences across the globe in less than a year’s time, signaling her emergence as one of music’s biggest breakthrough artists and an important voice for her generation. Blending her dark and moody signature sound with unwaveringly honest lyrics, Holly’s music possesses a universal relatability. Her songs embrace and translate some of life’s most intense feelings in a way that typical conversations all too often fail to capture, from coming to terms with her sisters’ mental health struggles, to the perpetual cycle of loss and moving on, to the dizzying feelings of falling for someone for the first time and even the impending doom of failed driving tests.
Her debut EP Falling Asleep At The Wheel features six songs including her heralded quartet of debut singles “Deep End”, “Falling Asleep At The Wheel”, “Overkill” and “Drop Dead”, all of which possess a remarkable authenticity that feels utterly beyond her years. It’s a quality that leaves its imprint not only on her music, but her visuals as well. From her mesmerizing debut television performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to all of her music videos, there’s a cohesive vision, vulnerability and embrace of unfettered emotions. In the video for her latest single “Drop Dead”, Holly channeled her pent up feelings over multiple failed driving tests by strapping “L plates” to her father’s car and setting it ablaze, while the VHS-filmed video for “Overkill” saw Holly being led by her sister on an unconventional 5k jog through the forest near her home at dusk, as she performed the song without a clue where she was headed.
Having crafted most of the EP with Rob Milton (producer - Easy Life) in the old, withering country house that she grew up in, Holly’s childhood home plays a significant part of her creative process and identity. She grew up there with her three sisters, developing a love for literature, fashion, art and of course music alongside them. “We kept imagining this really dark image of me stood dripping wet in the cold, staring at the camera and playing my electric guitar. Rain starts pouring. We then thought it would be funny and relevant to reveal my sisters (who the song is about) holding hoses, spraying me down.”
What was once a dream home for the four children to grow up in, is now falling slowly into disrepair with the walls crumbling around them. The big tree out back, first pictured in her press shoot has now snapped and fallen due to a storm. Like all good things, the much loved home will likely fade into a memory in the not-so-distant future.
Determined to help causes she believes in and be a voice for her generation, Holly is also extremely invested in activism across multiple fronts. Often borrowing her sisters’ clothes in music videos, she’s decided to swap these items with fans in an effort to encourage sustainability and recycling in fashion. This will be named her ‘Fifth Sister Swap Shop’ in which Holly will wear her fans clothes in her upcoming shoots. Alongside this, she will be printing patches for her fans to up-cycle their clothes and a one off eco-wear hoodie with all profit going to a BLM educational charity. She is keen to empower her generation of speakers, poets, podcasters via offering support slots at her at shows, and even recently helped support an all female skate crew in LA & NY with their first official skate video.
In a span of months, Holly has amassed well over 40 million streams, sold out her debut three headline shows at London’s Omeara, performed two starkly stripped back tracks on Jimmy Kimmel Live, been named Apple Music’s Up Next Artist, garnered radio play around the world from BBC Radio 1, Apple Music 1, Sirius, iHeart, KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic, Triple J, Flux FM and many more, and most recently blazed onto Rolling Stone’s Breakthrough 25 Chart as one of the fastest rising artists of the month. She’s also been championed by VEVO DSCVR, The NY Times, Variety, Clash, NME, BBC Introducing, Billboard, DIY Magazine, Dork Magazine and Coup De Main Magazine. Acclaim has continued to pour in for her from across the world.
“an absorbing affair. Her lovely voice is fluttery and precise, and also oozy, hanging over her songs like low, enveloping fog...Song after song, [it] is a striking blend of offhand conversation and acutely detailed storytelling, verses that feel like whispers into the ear of an intimate.” - The New York Times
“Her talent does not stop impressing.” - Billboard
“Now is her time.” - Refinery29
“The next big thing.” - The Line of Best Fit
“Daring, poignant, and endlessly evocative.” - Clash Magazine
