Holly Humberstone

Holly Humberstone
Humberstone performing in 2021
Humberstone performing in 2021
Background information
Birth nameHolly Ffion Humberstone[1]
Born (1999-12-17) 17 December 1999 (age 25)[2]
Grantham, Lincolnshire, England
Genres
OccupationSinger-songwriter
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • piano
  • violin
Years active2018–present
Labels
Websitehollyhumberstone.com

Holly Ffion Humberstone (born 17 December 1999) is an English singer-songwriter from Grantham, England. In 2021, she signed a recording contract with Interscope and Polydor Records. Her first extended play (EP) following the signings, The Walls Are Way Too Thin, was released in November 2021. Afterwards, she won the Brit Award for Rising Star at the 2022 Brit Awards. She released her debut studio album, Paint My Bedroom Black, in October 2023. Her work Haunted House was nominated for the Best Song Musically and Lyrically Ivor Novello Award.[3]

Early life

Humberstone is from Grantham and is one of four sisters.[4][5] Her parents are NHS doctors.[6][7][8] She studied at Kesteven and Grantham Girls' Grammar School[9] and the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.[4]

Humberstone started writing songs at a young age. She has discussed growing up in a small town, stating there was "no music scene growing up in rural Lincolnshire, so I just really did my own thing" in an interview with The Telegraph.[8] Humberstone was formerly a violinist for the Lincolnshire Youth Symphony Orchestra and was first spotted by a manager whilst performing on her local BBC Music Introducing radio show.[10]

Career

2019–2021: Debut and The Walls Are Way Too Thin

Humberstone performed at Glastonbury Festival 2019 on the BBC Music Introducing stage.[11] Her debut single "Deep End" was then released on 30 January 2020.[12] Her second single, "Falling Asleep at the Wheel", was released on 19 March, while her third single, "Overkill", was released on 26 June.[13][14] On 30 July 2020, she released a cover of "Fake Plastic Trees" by the English rock band Radiohead. Her debut EP, also titled Falling Asleep at the Wheel, was released on 14 August, which contained her three previous singles, alongside the tracks "Vanilla", "Drop Dead" and "Livewire".[15][16] On 9 December 2020, she was included in Vevo DSCVR's Artists to Watch 2021.[17] She performed her song "Vanilla" on the channel.[18]

In March 2021, ahead of the release of her single "Haunted House" and her second EP, Humberstone signed with Polydor Records in the United Kingdom and Darkroom/Interscope Records in the United States. She also signed a publishing deal with Universal Music Publishing Group.[19] On 13 October 2021, Humberstone performed "Scarlett" from her EP The Walls Are Way Too Thin on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.[20] On 9 December 2021, it was announced that Humberstone had been awarded the Brit Award for Rising Star, which recognises pop's most promising new acts to watch.[10] Sam Fender surprised Humberstone with the award whilst they were recording an acoustic duet of his song "Seventeen Going Under".[8]

2022–present: Paint My Bedroom Black and tours

On 21 January 2022, she released the single "London is Lonely".[21] Humberstone was the opening act for Girl in Red's Make It Go Quiet Tour of North America in March 2022,[22] as well as the opening act for the second half of the North American leg of Olivia Rodrigo's Sour Tour.[23] After a string of standalone singles including "Sleep Tight", she released a compilation album of her music released at that point in time, Can You Afford to Lose Me?. It was made available on 24 October 2022.[24] In June 2023, she announced that her debut album would be titled Paint My Bedroom Black. It was released on 13 October 2023 and was promoted with three singles, "Antichrist", "Room Service" and "Superbloodmoon", the lattermost of which featured American artist d4vd.[25][26] In July 2023, she was featured on the song "Diving" by British band Bombay Bicycle Club.[27]

In February 2024, Humberstone released "Dive", along with announcing that a new EP "Work In Progress" would be released on 15 March,[28] noting that the tracklist was made up of demos she had forgotten about that she wanted to release, instead of a more typical deluxe album.[29] On 5 August 2024, she was announced as an opener for the 16 August 2024 show of Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour.[30]

Musical style and influences

Humberstone music has been described as pop,[16][31] synth-pop,[32] indie rock,[16] alternative rock[33] and pop rock.[34][35] Her music style has been compared to artists such as Lorde and Bon Iver given its intimate and atmospheric style.[10] Humberstone cites Damien Rice, Ben Howard, Phoebe Bridgers, and Haim as musical inspirations.[36] Rice's debut studio album O (2002) is considered by Humberstone to be her 'first favourite album'.[37] She has stated she mostly identifies with "female writers who overshare", and has described her own musical style as "quite self-exposing".[8]

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected details and chart positions
Title Details Peak chart positions
UK
[38] 		SCO
[38]
Paint My Bedroom Black
  • Released: 13 October 2023[39]
  • Label: Polydor, Darkroom, Interscope
  • Formats: Digital download, streaming, CD, vinyl, cassette
 5 3

Compilation albums

List of compilation albums, with selected chart positions
Title Details Peak chart positions
SCO
[38]
Can You Afford to Lose Me?
  • Released: 24 October 2022
  • Label: Polydor, Darkroom, Interscope
  • Formats: Digital download, streaming, CD, vinyl, cassette
 39

Extended plays

List of extended plays, with selected chart positions
Title Details Peak chart positions
UK
[38] 		SCO
[38]
Falling Asleep at the Wheel
  • Released: 14 August 2020[40]
  • Label: Platoon
  • Formats: Digital download, streaming
 — —
The Walls Are Way Too Thin
  • Released: 12 November 2021[41][42]
  • Label: Polydor, Darkroom, Interscope
  • Formats: Digital download, streaming, CD, vinyl, cassette
 64 35
Work in Progress
  • Released: 15 March 2024
  • Label: Polydor, Darkroom, Geffen
  • Formats: Digital download, streaming, CD, vinyl, cassette
 — —

Singles

Title Year Peak chart
positions 		Album
UK Sales Chart
[38]
"Deep End" 2020 — Falling Asleep at the Wheel
"Falling Asleep at the Wheel" —
"Overkill" —
"Fake Plastic Trees" — Non-album single
"Drop Dead" — Falling Asleep at the Wheel
"Vanilla" —
"Haunted House" 2021 — The Walls Are Way Too Thin
"The Walls Are Way Too Thin" 26
"Please Don't Leave Just Yet" —
"Scarlett" —
"Friendly Fire" —
"Seventeen Going Under"
(Acoustic version with Sam Fender) 		— Non-album singles
"London Is Lonely"[43] 2022 41
"I Would Die 4 U"[44] —
"Sleep Tight" —
"Can You Afford to Lose Me?" — Can You Afford to Lose Me?
"Antichrist"[45] 2023 — Paint My Bedroom Black
"Room Service"[45] —
"Superbloodmoon"
(featuring d4vd) 		—
"Into Your Room"[46]
(solo or with MUNA)[47] 		—
"Kissing in Swimming Pools" —
"Paint My Bedroom Black" —
"Cigarettes & Wine"
(featuring Del Water Gap)[48] 		2024 — TBA
"Dive" — Work in Progress

Tours

Headlining

Tour name Dates Locations Setlist Other band members Support acts
Deep End Tour[49] 2021 UK and Ireland: London, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Leeds, Manchester, Dublin, Belfast, Glasgow, Birmingham, Cardiff, Nottingham Solo Benjamin Francis Leftwich; Dora Jar
Sleep Tight Tour[50] 2022 UK: Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Birmingham, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Glasgow, Manchester, London, Norwich, Nottingham.

North America: New York, Toronto, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco

Benjamin Francis Leftwich; Allison Ponthea
This Feels Like The Truman Show[51] February-March 2024 Europe and UK: Paris, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Hamburg, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Munich, Zurich, Luxembourg, Cologne, Antwerp, Edinburgh, Manchester, Lincoln, Leicester, London, Bristol, Dublin Paint My Bedroom Black; Into Your Room; The Walls Are Way Too Thin; Overkill; Vanilla; Kissing In Swimming Pools; Cocoon (featuring Medium Build); Dive; Deep End; London Is Lonely; Antichrist; Lauren; Falling Asleep At The Wheel; Elvis Impersonators; Flatlining; Girl; Sleep Tight; Ghost Me; Friendly Fire; Scarlett Lauren O'Donnell Anderson (drums); Jack Rennie (guitar); Seth Tackaberry (bass / keyboards) Medium Build
The Holly Humberstone Show[52] May 2024 North America: Nashville, Washington Philadelphia, Boston, Brooklyn, Toronto, Detroit, Chicago, Minneapolis, Denver, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, Vancouver TBC Lauren O'Donnell Anderson (drums); Jack Rennie (guitar); Seth Tackaberry (bass / keyboards) Carol Ades

Supporting

Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent Tour (Lewis Capaldi) - 2019/20[53]

Sour Tour (Olivia Rodrigo) - 2022

Make It Go Quiet Tour (Girl In Red) - 2022

The Eras Tour (Taylor Swift) - 2024

References

  1. ^ "Album Details". Universal Music Publishing Group. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Holly Humberstone". Booking Agent Info. 4 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  3. ^ Flynn, Tilly (7 April 2022). "Nominations announced for The Ivors 2022". The Ivors Academy. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  4. ^ a b Creaghan, Connor. "Grantham singer, 19, gets first gig at Glastonbury". Lincolnshire Reporter. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  5. ^ "Getting to know... Holly Humberstone". Dork. 14 August 2020. Archived from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  6. ^ Caramanica, Jon (10 August 2020). "Holly Humberstone Wants Her Songs to Last a Lifetime". The New York Times.
  7. ^ "Holly Humberstone: The singer dabbling with 'dark, wonky pop'". BBC News. 30 August 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d McCormick, Neil (14 December 2021). "Brits Rising Star Holly Humberstone: 'My songs don't leave much to the imagination'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  9. ^ "Singer releases new single from upcoming debut album". Grantham Journal. 25 September 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  10. ^ a b c "Brit Awards: Holly Humberstone wins the rising star prize". BBC News. 9 December 2021. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  11. ^ "Holly Humberstone Reveals Debut New Single". Total Ntertainment. 31 January 2020. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  12. ^ Smith, Thomas (2 February 2020). "What's Your Band Called, Mate? Get to know Holly Humberstone". NME. Archived from the original on 6 June 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  13. ^ Vitagliano, Joe (28 May 2020). "Holly Humberstone wakes up on new single 'Falling Asleep At The Wheel'". American Songwriter. Archived from the original on 6 June 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
    • "Dirty Projectors Also Covered John Lennon, Thankfully, and 10 More New Songs", The New York Times, [1]
    • "Artist to Watch: Holly Humberstone's second single "Falling Asleep at the Wheel" is a hauntingly intimate upheaval", Mosk, Mitch, Atwood Magazine, [2]
  14. ^ Muir, Jaime (26 June 2020). "Holly Humberstone has released another absolute gem with new track 'Overkill'". Dork. Archived from the original on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  15. ^ Moore, Sam (30 July 2020). "Listen to Holly Humberstone's cover of Radiohead's 'Fake Plastic Trees'". NME. Archived from the original on 31 July 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  16. ^ a b c Caramanica, Jon (10 August 2020). "Holly Humberstone wants her songs to last a lifetime". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  17. ^ Vigil, Dom (9 December 2020). "Holly Humberstone Shares "DSCVR Artists To Watch 2021" Performance Video | Prelude Press". Archived from the original on 9 December 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  18. ^ "Vevo Artists To Watch 2021: Olivia Dean, Holly Humberstone, Alfie Templeman, Kylie Morgan, Dylan Fuentes". Music Business Worldwide. 14 December 2020. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  19. ^ Earl, William (17 March 2021). "UK Newcomer Holly Humberstone Signs With Darkroom/Interscope/Polydor Records". Variety. Archived from the original on 23 March 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  20. ^ Phillips, Lucy (14 October 2021). "Watch Holly Humberstone perform 'Scarlett' on The Tonight Show". Dork. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  21. ^ Doria, Matt. "Holly Humberstone shares snippet of new song about moving to London". NME. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  22. ^ "Girl In Red performs 'I'll Call You Mine' live on 'Seth Meyers' and announces US tour". NME. 23 September 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  23. ^ Blistein, Jon (6 December 2021). "Olivia Rodrigo Plots 2022 'Sour' World Tour". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  24. ^ Kreps, Daniel. "See Holly Humberstone Deliver Entrancing 'Can You Afford to Lose Me? on Colbert". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  25. ^ Duran, Anagrical (29 June 2023). "Holly Humberstone announces debut album Paint My Bedroom Black". NME. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  26. ^ Carter, Daisy (28 July 2023). "Holly Humberstone Collaborates with D4vd on New Single 'Superbloodmoon'". DIY. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  27. ^ Jamieson, Sarah (1 August 2023). "Bombay Bicycle Club and Holly Humberstone share acoustic version of 'Diving'". DIY. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  28. ^ Ackroyd, Stephen (15 February 2024). "Holly Humberstone is releasing a new 'Work In Progress' EP". Dork. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  29. ^ "We Chat to Holly Humberstone About Her Upcoming EP 'Work in Progress' - Leftlion - Nottingham Culture". leftlion.co.uk. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  30. ^ "Taylor Swift Adds 5 Opening Acts to London Eras Tour Dates: 'Love Their Music'". Peoplemag. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  31. ^ Snapes, Laura (28 October 2021). "'I have chaos in my head all the time': Holly Humberstone, pop's pandemic breakout star". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  32. ^ Gallagher, Alex (8 September 2021). "Listen to Holly Humberstone's soaring new synth-pop single 'Scarlett'". NME. Archived from the original on 23 April 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  33. ^ "Holly Humberstone tours with Girl in Red". The Sentinel. 23 March 2022.
  34. ^ "Holly Humberstone Has The Best Night Of Her Life At Brixton". Rockshot Mag. 5 December 2022.
  35. ^ Baines, Huw (23 November 2022). "Holly Humberstone review – Brit winner makes a big room feel intimate". The Guardian.
  36. ^ Taylor, Daniel (23 July 2020). "Holly Humberstone releases video for 'Overkill', announces debut EP". IINAG. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  37. ^ Devine, Anna Miles (14 August 2020). "A Conversation with Holly Humberstone". Noisetrend. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  38. ^ a b c d e f "Holly Humberstone | full Official Charts history". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  39. ^ "Paint My Bedroom Black by Holly Humberstone". Apple Music. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  40. ^ Williams, Sophie (12 August 2020). "Holly Humberstone – Falling Asleep at the Wheel EP review: a perfect storm of hope, selfhood and pain". NME. Archived from the original on 28 September 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  41. ^ Richards, Will (4 August 2021). "Holly Humberstone announces new EP The Walls Are Way Too Thin". NME. Archived from the original on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  42. ^ "The Walls Are Way Too Thin - EP by Holly Humberstone". 12 November 2021. Archived from the original on 7 November 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  43. ^ "Holly Humberstone shares heartbreaking new single "London is Lonely"". NME Australia. 21 January 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  44. ^ "I Would Die 4 U - single". Apple Music. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  45. ^ a b "Holly Humberstone Announces Debut Album; Shares Two New Singles". U Discover Music. 30 June 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  46. ^ "Holly Humberstone has released a new single, 'Into Your Room'". Read Dork. 22 September 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  47. ^ "Holly Humberstone Taps MUNA for New Cut of "Into Your Room": Stream". Consequence of Sound. 1 December 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  48. ^ "Del Water Gap and Holly Humberstone Are So Close But So Far Away on 'Cigarettes & Wine'". Rolling Stone. 31 January 2024. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  49. ^ "Holly Humberstone brings the Deep End tour to London". // MELODIC Magazine. 11 November 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  50. ^ Daly, Rhian (17 May 2022). "Holly Humberstone Announces North American 'Sleep Tight' Tour". uDiscover Music. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  51. ^ Peacock, Tim (3 October 2023). "Holly Humberstone Announces Biggest UK, European Tour To Date". uDiscover Music. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  52. ^ Schube, Will (6 November 2023). "Holly Humberstone Announces First North American Headlining Tour". uDiscover Music. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  53. ^ Wembley, OVO Arena. "Lewis Capaldi | OVO Arena Wembley". www.ovoarena.co.uk. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
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