Holly Humberstone’s identity crisis and struggle with being compared to pop stars

Finding her way back home

Humberstone says her childhood home near Grantham helped her remember who she was. The freezing, deteriorating house and her old bedroom became part of a process of revisiting the past as she and her parents cleared out the property.

Comparisons and expectations

Humberstone says she was compared in meetings with artists on her label who were operating on a different scale. She describes herself as a “small fish,” and says the experience fed a mindset shaped in part by her all-girls school in Grantham.

In Die Happy, she sings about a woman in a dressing room who longs for applause while struggling with beauty standards placed on female artists. Humberstone says she had not set out to write the song, but its lyrics came from a specific state of mind.

A different measure of success

Humberstone says she has stopped measuring herself against her peers. She believes the desire for validation persists, and no longer wants to set goals that distract her from why she makes music.

New songs, new persona

The expanded edition of Cruel World includes five new songs, largely written after the original album was handed in. The tracks present a more confident, flirtatious and somewhat salty persona.

Humberstone says the music drew inspiration from a playlist featuring Abba, Madonna and Robyn. Her biggest songs include Falling Asleep At The Wheel, The Walls Are Way Too Thin, Die Happy and Scarlett.