Shane Michael Boose, who is better known as Sombr, is a 20-year-old musician making waves on TikTok. And not just for his music. The singer-songwriter is wrapped up in TikTok drama and therefore, is making a name for millennials like me. During a performance on Sombr's The Late Nights & Young Romance tour on October 13, the singer received rather poor reviews. A TikTok user, 25-year-old @meganator___, posted a video about her time at the concert, saying: "This is going to be a little different from my typical content, but 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."
The TikTok post, which has since garnered over six and a half million views and 850,000 likes, described the concert as 'a middle school dance.' She continued: " The only adults in the room are the parents (of the young concertgoers) and then my boyfriend and I." The audience was a bit shocking to @meganator___ because of the alleged inappropriateness of Sombr's onstage antics.
Sombr only fueled the flame of the viral video when he responded with a TikTok video of his own. He told his 4.2 million followers: "I totally respect people having opinions, but 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."
So, for my fellow millennials – and those older – who is Sombr? And why should we care about him?
© Getty ImagesSombr was born in NYC
Shane Michael Boose was born on July 5, 2005 in New York City. His dad, Andy Boose, is the founder of AAB – a company that organizes some of the biggest fundraising and luxury events in the world. Sombr's mom is Bennah Serfaty. She works as the Senior Director of Communications for amfAR.
© Getty ImagesThe musician went to a very famous high school
While growing up in New York City, Sombr attended LaGuardia High School. Yes, the LaGuardia High School. The 1980 film Fame is set in the high school and follows students studying performing arts. The school is known for educating some of Hollywood's biggest stars. Celebrities like Jennifer Aniston, Nicki Minaj, Robert De Niro, Liza Minnelli, and Timothee Chalamet attended LaGuardia.
While Sombr was a vocal major, he dropped out of the school during his junior year just after releasing his 2022 song "Caroline."
© Getty ImagesSombr learned about music on his MacBook
As a kid, Sombr got into music like many children of the early oughts did – through GarageBand. He was introduced to the music app in elementary school and started layering tracks and harmonies. Sombr then moved onto Logic Pro X, another music mixing platform. When he started at LaGuardia, he was a skilled producer.
© Getty ImagesHe became Sombr in 2021
When the singer released his debut single "Nothing left to Say" in 2021, he also adopted his stage name. "Sombr" incorporates the initials of his name (SMB), and reflected his somber emotions at the time.
© Getty ImagesSombr released his first album in 2025
2025 has been a big year for the singer. Not only did Sombr release his first studio album, I Barely Know Her, he was also featured on Billboard's 21 Under 21 list alongside the girl band KATSEYE and he collaborated with pop queen Addison Rae on his music video for "12 to 12."
