7 reasons why Holly Humberstone might be the reincarnation of Prince

With the release of the latest double single “Antichrist/Room Service”, there’s not much doubt left that Holly Humberstone is the reincarnation of Prince. Although the date of death of the singer (2016) and the birth of Holly (1999) do not match, it is worth something like a supernatural research on such similarities. When Prince took his last breath in seclusion where he was doping himself with countless drugs to control anxiety and insomnia, Holly was in her 17, 18 years old, that is, a good part of her life under the strong influence of one of the greatest artists of the 20th century/ 21.

While Prince was born in Minnesota (US), Holly is from Grantham in the UK countryside. The curious thing is that, despite the disparity in sizes, both cities are remembered for their natural part, such as lakes and forests (no, I won’t mention here that Holly comes from the same village as Margaret Thatcher because this post should be fun).

And one more similarity: just like Holly, Prince has 3 siblings. Do you want another similarity? They both have first names with two last names: Holly Ffion Humberstone and Prince Rogers Nelson. Again, there’s no need to point out that the two decided to make their own names the artistic identity.

But so far we only have points in the biography of both that seem to match. From now on, let’s analyze how their work coincides, as well as what makes them so fucking special (as Thom Yorke – another Holly influence – would say).

Reason 1 – She understands his essence

Forget about Sinéad O’Connor. When it comes to a Prince cover, there’s nothing for anyone, except Holly. That’s because she turned the crazy-electric “I would die for you” (from the top album Purple Rain) into her own song, without disrespecting the essence of the original song.

Reason 2 – They keep things simple

At a certain point in his career, Prince began to adopt symbols as his artistic identity as an ironic protest against having become a product. Despite the pompous name, Holly’s current autograph no longer spells out her name and basically features her initial two H’s that eventually form a skull.

Reason 3 – They are not the “kiss-asses” types

Unlike all the other singers of her generation – Lorde, Gracie, Olivia, Sabrina … – Holly doesn’t have the need to ask divas like Taylor Swift for blessing to continue with her work. Which can usually impact her marketing, but absolutely nothing in the kind of art she produces. Just like Prince didn’t have the slightest intention of pleasing anyone and yet he was always called to headline festivals.

Reason 4 – They give prominence to women

In addition to having women instrumentalists on stage, Prince, who married twice, has always made a point of launching or supporting their work. Holly also has women in her backing band, the most frequent of which is drummer and super friend Loda from Carpark: “I think Holly’s music is amazing“, she says.

Reason 5 – The two owe much of their success to great visionaries

While Prince was launched by the great music producer Mo Ostin (who died in 2022), Holly has always had her manager Josh Sanger, who assists Holly in the most diverse ways possible, such as holding the hose in the set design of one of her first clips (“Deep end”). About Holly’s talent for creating songs, he is assertive: “she is phenomenal“.

Reason 6 – They love purple

Self-explanatory.

Reason 7 – They don’t have much relation with Brazil

Another reason that brings Prince and Holly closer is the number of concerts in Brazil. While Prince made a single presentation here at Rock in Rio in 1991, Holly has never been to Brazil until today, even if she already have a lot of fans here… Although the singer has become a fixture at worldwide festivals such as Primavera Sound, the Latin American editions announced so far do not feature her. Who knows we’ll be seeing her live in 2024 alongside Wolf Alice, another great band that never showed up around here?

Well, as you can see, there are many similarities between these two artists that might go unnoticed. But above all, what unites them is the fearless and sensual pop they make, regardless of labels.