Following a summer of mainstream attention, alternative indie artist Sombr is balancing on the turntable of success and finding his place in the groves with his 2025 North America and Europe run: “The Late Nights and Young Romance Tour.”
Sombr, known affectionately as Shane Boose to his family and “OG” fans, as they are often called in modern fan culture, personifies not only what it looks like to be a musician in 2025, but also to be a 20-year-old in the music industry creating the soundtrack for fellow young people.
Sombr attended LaGuardia High School in New York, the prestigious school of the Performing Arts that produced stars like Timotheé Chalamet and Nicki Minaj, where he majored in vocals and received classical training.
In 2022, at just 16 years old, Sombr’s song “Caroline,” a melancholy ballad detailing the sorrows of teen romance, went viral on TikTok. Once put out on streaming platforms, the recorded rendition, featuring Sombr’s young voice and the echoes from his childhood bedroom, quickly amassed vast popularity, currently approaching 60 million streams.
While his time at LaGuardia was cut short by his sudden TikTok hit, Sombr accredits much of his vocal ability to his alma mater and continued to perk ears with the release of “in another life,” a six song EP published a mere two months after he turned 18.
While “Caroline” welcomed many young people aboard Sombr’s growing train of popularity, it wasn’t until March of 2025 that Sombr was back in the headlines.
His mainstream hit “back to friends,” a lean into electronic sound and vocal variety, debuted at #90 on the Billboard Hot 100 and eventually reached #1 on the Billboard Global 200 and U.S. Spotify charts.
Since his springtime bloom into the limelight, Sombr has been no stranger to attention with additional songs “undressed” and “12 to 12” achieving success, the latter included in a MTV Video Music Awards performance where he took home the moonman for Best Alternative Video.
On Oct. 2, 2025, Sombr brought his first headline tour to Illinois at Radius Chicago music venue, where fans with VIP passes rushed to the stage to catch a glimpse of the teen superstar up close and personal.
In addition to getting special access to his soundcheck, which included acoustic renditions of “Caroline” and a cover of Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You,” fans waited intently as Sombr picked from a little black chest filled with questions submitted by fans.
Among them were inquiries about the star’s favorite artists and pre-gig “hype songs,” to which he answered it was currently “Bitsweet Symphony” by The Verve.
When I asked what has been the most surreal, surprising, or unexpected part about attracting a fan base, releasing more music and becoming a hot commodity in the music scene, the star’s response was as explicit and enthusiastic as himself.
“The best thing is being able to travel the world and play shows for the most amazing fans in the f—— world. My favorite thing to do is tour; I am depressed when there is an evening where I’m not playing a show or not songwriting. It’s all I ever want to do with my life,” Sombr said.
“The most unexpected part: there are just so many more annoying [work] things that people want me to do, […] there’s a lot more responsibilities,” Sombr said, acknowledging not all aspects of fame and early success are appealing.
Yet, if the comicbook-like visual of Sombr hanging from the stage set during his Nov. 8 performance on Saturday Night Live showed you anything, it’s that his road to stardom thus far has not been conventional.
In fact, one of the most anticipated parts of the night at The Late Nights and Young Romance Tour is when Sombr picks someone from the crowd to join him on stage in what the star deems his “dating show,” where he chats with the audience member’s ex-significant other via phone call and “determines who’s the problem.”
While Sombr’s journey as a Gen-Z star may not be traditional for others his age, he is making music for fans experiencing the same coming-of-age tales he is navigating, as well as anyone who wants to tune in to the soundtrack of the next generation.
