Sombr’s concert received a negative feedback from a fan who shared her experience in a TikTok video. This sparked drama online, as many people joined the discussion.
Shane Michael Boose is a 20-year-old American artist known by the stage name Sombr. His singles “Back to Friends” and “Undressed” went viral this year. He gained a large audience, primarily among young people, as a result of his TikTok success.
One of his fans, named Meg, who attended his concert at Anthem in Washington, D.C., made a video on TikTok talking about her negative experience at the show. Initially, she was excited to go see him, but it ended up being “the worst experience of her life”.
Meg said that the concert was full of very young people, around 13-16 years old, and if you are older, you should not spend the money on his concert.
When Sombr got on stage, the first thing he did was a “6 7” joke. Meg says, “I have never had such immediate buyer’s remorse in my life.” She explains that Sombr was making jokes only his young fans understood, leaving the older fans confused.
About 30 minutes in, he cut the music off and made a “Sombr Dating Show”. Fans would go on stage and call their exes. Meg says that she never had such secondhand embarrassment for someone and felt such a deep cringe.
Another issue with his performance was his sexual comments and inappropriate jokes directed at his young audience, like telling them to “bark for him”.
Meg said, “All of that, and he wasn’t even a good performer and sounded bad.” She ended up leaving early and called it “the most egotistical performance of her life.”
Her video went viral on TikTok, and Sombr responded to it. He said, “I am freshly 20, and if you are 25 years old and you are going to come to my concert and not expect people younger than you to be there, when I am the artist 5 years younger than you, it’s just a skill issue.”
About the jokes, he said, “I have never uttered a serious word in my life, and it’s also just for five minutes, and the rest is music.” And he also added that everyone is welcome at his concerts despite their age, race, gender and sexuality.
He didn’t comment on inappropriate behavior towards his young audience, which many people saw as the main issue.
Now people online are discussing whether it is appropriate to act like this, given the audience’s age.
Many people on TikTok called his behaviour predatory and creepy. Others say that he is young and still learning how to perform.
People also found it strange that he chose to respond to Meg’s video at all. His response created more drama, sent hate to her account and didn’t address the real concern about his behaviour.
Featured image: Bryce Glenn / Warner Records
First year Journalism student