Holly Humberstone: People can’t connect to a pop star who’s ‘too polished’

Holly Humberstone says leaving her childhood home in Lincolnshire prompted recurring doubts about her identity, which she channelled into her second album, *Cruel World*. The move matters because the house had shaped her early songwriting and sense of self, while its sale forced her to sort through 23 years of family belongings and confront the end of childhood.

The album reached number four in the UK charts earlier this year and uses fantasy and escapism to explore loss, desire and self-image. Its closing song, “Beauty Pageant”, reflects Humberstone’s struggle with beauty standards and the pressure to win approval; she links those feelings to the competitive culture at her all-girls school.