If you’re a Gen Alpha or Gen Z’er, you’re probably well aware of Sombr. He’s a 20-year-old indie-rock singer whose songs have gone absolutely viral over the past year — you’ve probably heard “back to friends” or “undressed,” which are undeniable BANGERS.
And when I say he blew up fast, I mean it. Not only did his songs smash the Billboard Charts, but he’s also a top prediction to win Best New Artist at the 2026 Grammys. Sombr, whose real name is Shane Michael Boose, also had his debut album I Barely Know Her come out this summer — and ever since then, he’s been performing that album on his Late Nights & Young Romance tour.
As a huge fan of Sombr and his music, I was low-key sad I couldn’t attend his tour, which sold out almost instantly. But when 25-year-old TikToker @meganator__ shared her experience last week, it changed a lot of people’s opinions.
“I had one of the worst experiences of my life this weekend, and it feels like a disservice to the public to not share it,” she began, continuing to explain that she’d attended Sombr’s show. “I don’t really go to concerts that often unless I really love an artist. I was so excited to see this performance.”
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“FR, genuinely the worst concert I’ve ever been to in my life, for a multitude of reasons,” she said. “But I’m gonna explain to you why, if you’re over the age of 16, you should not spend your money on a Sombr concert.”
The TikToker, whose name is Meg, detailed her experience. She explained that the concert was full of “thousands” of tweens, “plowing through.” “It was genuinely a nightmare,” she said, dubbing it “the closest thing to a middle school dance I’ve ever seen.”
As for the show itself, she said he made a 6–7 joke (AKA a very Gen Alpha internet meme) within “the first 2 minutes,” along with many other “niche meme references for the 12–16 year-old age range.” Essentially, “it was, like, brain rot onstage.” The concert also included a “Sombr dating show” in which he called up three tween fans onstage to “call your toxic ex.”
“He would make, like, super niche references to 13-year-olds, but then he would also say super vulgar stuff…” she said. “So you know your audience is clearly 13, yet here you are…OK.”
“There was a moment in between songs where he literally just randomly went, ‘Bark for me.’ And you hear the arena of 13, 14, 15-year-old girls start barking.”
As for the music itself, she said that “he wasn’t even a good performer,” although he did say he had bronchitis. “Dancing was terrible, singing was terrible,” she said. She also joked that he danced like Napoleon Dynamite, and posted a follow-up video comparing his dancing to the titular character.
Meg’s initial video now has over 5.4 million views, and it has since evolved into a huge fan war. Although many people agreed with her — and thanked her for her honest review — she also went under huge fire from Sombr fans, allegedly even receiving death threats. It was absolutely everywhere on TikTok, X, you name it, and the opinions were numerous.
Then, on Oct. 19, Sombr himself responded in a TikTok with the caption “rant.” “It has just come to my attention that there’s a TikTok ‘drama’ going around,” he said, “because a 25-year-old attended my concert and was basically complaining that there are too many tweens there, I was making too many brain rot jokes, and she just thought it was a cringe concert.”
“And also, she was body-shaming me, and it’s kind of started a massive body-shaming hate train directed towards me,” he said, allegedly addressing the Napoleon Dynamite comparisons.
“I am a 20-year-old artist,” he said. “And if you’re 25 years old and you’re gonna come to my concert and not expect people younger than you to be there when I, the artist, am 5 years younger than you, it’s just a skill issue.”
“Also, like, the jokes thing… You had to have known about my online presence before coming to my concert. Anyone who knows me knows I’ve never uttered a serious word in my life. And also, I make jokes for 5 minutes of the concert and the rest is music. Like, live a little. Enjoy life.”
“You guys need to find problematic people to hate on, because I am just existing,” he continued, proceeding to show a clip of himself touching grass as a “quick tutorial.” He ended the video with: “Also, I just remembered that I had a fever and bronchitis at the show she went to, but the show goes on. I will not cancel unless I’m on my death bed.”
And if you thought all the heat would die down after that, you’re mistaken. A huge wave of people are now calling him out, especially for not addressing the whole “making sexual jokes in front of minors” part of it all.
At the same time, lots of Sombr fans are still coming to his defence:
So now, please tell me: What are your thoughts on this Sombr concert controversy? Tell me in the comments below!
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