Sombr’s TikTok drama may not be something you know about, but your kids probably do

By CNN Newsource

Published October 21, 2025 7:01 AM

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

(CNN) — A social media standout-turned-music-star has some drama brewing on TikTok, and for those who are not chronically online, we’re here to explain.

Shane Boose is 20-year-old a singer who performs under the stage name Sombr. His singles “Back to Friends” and “Undressed” went viral earlier this year, and he’s amassed quite the fan base on and off social media.

One of those fans is a TikTok user named Meg, whose scathing review of Sombr’s show at the The Anthem in Washington, DC has lit up the comment section and prompted a response from the singer.

Calling it “one of the worst experiences of my life,” Meg, who says she is 25 years old, explained that she was excited to see Sombr’s The Late Nights & Young Romance Tour, but it ended up being “by far, genuinely, the worst concert I’ve been to in my life, for a multitude of reasons.”

She went on to explain that the show, which she attended with her boyfriend, was filled with so many young people that it was “the closest to a middle school dance I’ve ever been since I was in middle school at a dance.”

“The only adults in the room were the parents (of the young concert goers) and then my boyfriend and I,” she said.

Meg said she tried to stick it out so she could hear her favorite songs, but regretted it as the humor skewed immature – with Sombr making references to niche memes, including a 6-7 joke – and, at one point, did a bit called the “Sombr dating show,” where he was solicited participants from the tween-skewing crowd to call their “toxic ex” while on stage.

Calling the scene “cringe,” Meg also alleged that the artist made jokes that were inappropriate given the average age of the audience. She said she ended up leaving early.

Boose seemingly responded to her post in his own video, referring to the situation as a “TikTok drama.”

“I am a 20-year-old artist – freshly 20 – 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 five years younger than you, it’s just a skill issue,” he said.

He also took umbrage with being attacked for the tone of his jokes, noting that anyone who has followed him online knows that he has “never uttered a serious word in my life.”

“And, also, I make jokes for 5 minutes of the concert and the rest is music,” Boose said. “Like, live a little, enjoy life.”

To underscore his latter point, toward the end of his video, he touched what appeared to be some fake grass as a “tutorial.” Telling someone to “touch grass” is a common social media diss.

Meg later responded, saying that even though she has often posted political content that could cause division, she’s never received as much “hate” as she did after posting her Sombr concert review video.

CNN has reached out to both Meg and a representative for Sombr for comment.