HOLLY HUMBERSTONE RE-IMAGINES CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED SECOND ALBUM “CRUEL WORLD” WITH FOUR TRACK EP “it’s a real Cruel World”
FEATURING NEW VERSIONS OF WHITE NOISE, TO LOVE SOMEBODY, RED CHEVY AND CRUEL WORLD
PERFORMS ON SEASON FINALE OF SNL UK AND LATER..WITH JOOLS HOLLAND
WATCH RADIO 1’S BIGGEST WEEKEND PERFORMANCE HERE
SET TO SUPPORT GRACIE ABRAMS AT KIA FORUM IN LOS ANGELES IN DECEMBER
NORTH AMERICA HEADLINE TOUR THIS MONTH AND EUROPEAN HEADLINE TOUR IN SEPTEMBER
SET TO PERFORM AT BRITISH SUMMER TIME, READING & LEEDS, MAD COOL, GOVERNORS BALL AND MORE FESTIVALS THIS SUMMER
05 JUNE 2026 (TORONTO, ON) — Today, award-winning singer and songwriter Holly Humberstone releases it’s a real Cruel World, a strikingly intimate EP that reimagines four standout tracks from her critically acclaimed second album Cruel World. Offering a new perspective on some of the album's most beloved songs, the collection features fresh versions of of fan favourites “White Noise”, “Red Chevy”, the title track “Cruel World”, and “To Love Somebody” - Holly’s biggest-ever single launch - placing her singular songwriting and unmistakable voice centre stage.
The release arrives amid a landmark period for Holly. Over the past few months she has delivered striking performances on Later... with Jools Holland, the finale of season one of SNL UK and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, taken to the stage at Coachella and Radio 1’s Biggest Weekend, and continues to cement her status as one of Britain’s most compelling live artists. This summer, Holly will perform at festivals including British Summer Time, Reading & Leeds, Mad Cool Festival and Governors Ball Music Festival. Following a North American headline tour this month and a European headline run in September, Holly is also set to support Gracie Abrams at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles this December.
In April, Holly released her critically acclaimed second album Cruel World, which debuted at No.4 on the UK Albums Chart and has since amassed more than 83 million streams, establishing herself as one of the most distinctive British singer-songwriters of her generation. A richly detailed exploration of love, longing and self-discovery, Cruel World traces the fine line between pain and pleasure, capturing the moments where devotion becomes obsession and comfort becomes chaos. Through razor-sharp lyricism and expansive, cinematic production, Holly maps the emotional terrain of modern relationships with remarkable honesty and precision.
LISTEN TO it’s a real Cruel World
TRACKLIST
1. it’s just White Noise
2. at least you got To Love Somebody
3. back in your Red Chevy
4. it’s a real Cruel World
Place has always anchored Holly’s lucid storytelling. From her breakthrough EP Falling Asleep At The Wheel, which is a portrait of a girl growing up in a “haunted house” in Grantham - through The Walls Are Way Too Thin and her #3 debut album Paint My Bedroom Black, Holly documented the dislocation of leaving home, capturing life in fragments: hotel rooms, late-night messages, and new cities. Now 26, Holly has built a home of her own in South-East London, restoring a dilapidated house alongside her sisters and best friend Scarlett. Where her debut was steeped in turbulence and longing, Cruel World is anchored in stability and routine. Also written with the live experience in mind, the album layers backing vocals, shaped by years on the road, from festival stages to stadium tours with the likes of Sam Fender, Olivia Reodrigo and Taylor Swift.
Nominated for an Ivor Novello for her debut EP and winning the BRIT Rising Star in 2022 — Holly has grown into a global force, whose lucid storytelling resonates far beyond her own walls. Holly’s story began with Falling Asleep At The Wheel, the breakthrough EP that revealed a young woman translating her haunted childhood home and three-sister household into vivid, unforgettable songs like “Vanilla,” “Overkill” and “Deep End.” The intimacy and precision of her lyrics marked her as a diarist of the small details that make up big emotions. That voice quickly carried her from her gothic family home to the international stage: performing “London Is Lonely” live to millions at the BRIT Awards in 2022, supporting Olivia Rodrigo and Girl in Red across North America, and releasing her acclaimed debut album Paint My Bedroom Black in 2023, written partly in hotel rooms while living the dream she had imagined as a girl.
Entering Cruel World, Holly escapes into a dark fairytale world of her own making, where childhood relics, monsters and memory collide. Cruel World was written with a new discipline through daily studio sessions with collaborator Rob Milton and draws deeply on love - romantic, platonic, and feminine. Raised among strong women, Holly speaks to the way girls are taught to see one another as competition, unlearning that instinct and reclaiming solidarity as survival.
WATCH AND LISTEN “TO LOVE SOMEBODY”
USA TOUR DATES
3 June - Boston, MA
4 June - Montreal, QC
6 June - All Things Go, Toronto
7 June - Governors Ball
9 June - Philadelphia, PA
10 June - 9:30 Club, Washington
12 June - Variety Playhouse, Atlanta
13 June - Bonnaroo Fest
15 June - Saint Andrew’s Hall, Detroit / Majestic Theatre, Detroit
16 June - The Vic Theatre, Chicago
19 June - Varsity Theater, Minneapolis
21 June - Gothic Theatre, Englewood
22 June - The Complex - The Grand, Salt Lake City
24 June - The Showbox, Seattle
25 June - The Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver
26 June - Roseland Theater, Portland
28 June - The Fillmore, San Francisco
FESTIVAL TOUR DATES
12 April — Coachella, California
24 May — Radio 1’s Big Weekend, Sunderland
07 June — Governors Ball, New York City
4 July – London, BST Hyde Park
10 July – Madrid, Mad Cool Festival
14 July – Athens, Ejekt Festival
14 Aug – Tokyo, Summer Sonic Festival
15 Aug – Osaka, Summer Sonic Festival
23 Aug – Darmstadt, Golden Leaves Festival
27-30 Aug - Reading & Leeds
EUROPEAN TOUR DATES
15 Sep – Paris, Trabendo
16 Sep – Amsterdam, Paradiso
17 Sep – Brussels, Botanique
20 Sep – Cologne, Stollwerck
22 Sep – Copenhagen, Amager Bio
23 Sep – Oslo, Parkteatret
24 Sep – Stockholm, Nalen
26 Sep – Hamburg, Gruenspan
27 Sep – Berlin, Festsaal Kreuzberg
28 Sep – Munich, Technikum
GRACIE ABRAMS SUPPORT TOUR
18 Dec – Los Angeles, CA Kia Forum
19 Dec – Los Angeles, CA Kia Forum
20 Dec – Los Angeles, CA Kia Forum+
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