Holly Humberstone has never been one to leave a song alone once she’s finished with it — thank god for that. The BRIT Rising Star winner has just released it’s a real Cruel World, a four-track EP that reimagines some of the most beloved cuts from her critically acclaimed second album Cruel World, and the result is exactly the kind of intimate, candlelit reset her diaristic songwriting was built for.

Stream it’s a real Cruel World here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0zbHxxsljKWaWch3RSaShQ

Released via Interscope Records, the EP peels back the production on “White Noise,” “Red Chevy,” “Cruel World” and “To Love Somebody,” recasting them under new titles — “it’s just White Noise,” “at least you got To Love Somebody,” “back in your Red Chevy” and the title track “it’s a real Cruel World.” If Cruel World was Humberstone’s dark fairytale — all childhood relics, monsters and memory colliding — this EP is the quiet moment after the storybook closes, where the same songs breathe differently in the dark.

The reimagined collection lands during a genuinely landmark stretch for the 20-something singer-songwriter from Grantham. Since April’s release of Cruel World, she has racked up more than 83 million streams on the album alone, delivered standout performances on Later… with Jools Holland, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and appeared on the season one finale of SNL UK. Not bad for someone the New York Times recently placed in the same conversation as Olivia Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter, and who InStyle says is “poised for the pop throne.”

Humberstone is also taking these songs where they belong — on the road. The Cruel World North American Tour is already underway with support from Diva Smith and Leyla Ebrahimi, hitting festival stages at Bonnaroo, Governors Ball, Summerfest and All Things Go Toronto, plus headline nights at LA’s Fonda Theatre, Boston’s Paradise Rock Club, DC’s 9:30 Club, Chicago’s The Vic Theatre, Minneapolis’ Varsity Theater and San Francisco’s The Fillmore, among others.

And for the grand finale: Humberstone will support Gracie Abrams at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum this December — a full-circle moment for an artist who has already opened for Taylor Swift at Wembley Stadium and played Glastonbury and Lollapalooza before most of her peers finished their debut albums.

HOLLY HUMBERSTONE LIVE
June 6 – Toronto, ON – All Things Go Toronto
June 7 – Queens, NY – Governors Ball Music Festival
June 9 – Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of The Living Arts*
June 10 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club*
June 12 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse*
June 13 – Manchester, TN – Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival
June 15 – Detroit, MI – Saint Andrew’s Hall*
June 16 – Chicago, IL – The Vic Theatre*
June 18 – Milwaukee, WI – Summerfest
June 19 – Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater*
June 21 – Englewood, CO – Gothic Theatre^
June 22 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex – The Grand^
June 24 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox^
June 25 – Vancouver, BC – The Commodore Ballroom^
June 26 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theater^
June 28 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore^
June 29 – Los Angeles, CA – The Fonda Theatre^
December – Los Angeles, CA – Kia Forum (supporting Gracie Abrams)

*w/ support from Diva Smith
^w/ support from Leyla Ebrahimi

Tickets are on sale now at hollyhumberstone.com/tour. Press play on it’s a real Cruel World, then go see these songs the way they were meant to be heard — in a room, with the lights down, and Holly Humberstone doing what she does best.