Sombr Gets Torched on TikTok for ‘Brainrot’ Live Performance Resembling a ‘Middle School Dance’

Sombr’s live show is struck with criticism online for “brainrot” antics reminiscent of a “middle school dance.” But the 20-year-old is making waves in pop music this year.

Sombr (@sombr on TikTok; Shane Michael Boose in real life) is one of the biggest viral pop acts of 2025, but his live performances make use of a lot of internet lingo-laden antics that might leave older fans feeling alienated. That’s the sentiment going around on TikTok after the 20-year-old New Yorker responded to an eight-minute video by a content creator who detailed attending the musician’s show in Washington, D.C., last week.

To put it bluntly, TikTok creator Meg (@meganator__) described the concert as “one of the worst experiences of my life.” Meg said the crowd was “the closest I’ve ever been to a middle school dance since I was in middle school at a dance.” She criticized Sombr’s use of “brainrot” internet lingo onstage, as well as a gag he does at each show in which he FaceTime’s a fan’s “toxic ex” to confront them.

“If you are not over the age of 16, you should not spend your money on a Sombr concert,” she warned viewers. “I had to leave because it was the most egotistical performance I’ve ever seen in my life.”

On Sunday, Sombr posted his own TikTok in response: “I thought I was chronically online, but it’s just come to my attention that there’s a TikTok drama going around because a 25-year-old attended my concert and was basically complaining that there were too many tweens there. I was making too many ‘brainrot’ jokes, and she just thought it was a cringe concert.”

The musician posited that a 25-year-old should “expect people younger than you” to be at a concert when the artist in question is “freshly 20.” He also said that anyone who attends his shows should be familiar with his online presence, and that “I’ve never uttered a serious word in my life.” He also accused Meg of body-shaming him—she compared him to Napoleon Dynamite and referred to internet hoax-turned-horror icon Slender Man—and of her video “starting a massive body-shaming hate train.”

While it makes sense that one shouldn’t bother attending the shows of artists whose live performances simply don’t appeal, such a response also begs the question of whether young artists, “chronically online” or not, should have PR training. The “online stan culture” has led to a misconception that if you got your start online, and now everyone knows your name, they must know how you behave online.

But the act of following a creator online—musician or otherwise—doesn’t equate to digging into everything they’ve ever posted. Indeed, if you’re a musician, there’s a good chance that there are people attending your shows who aren’t up on all the memes you reference on TikTok. Most artists can only dream of having a fanbase as voracious as Taylor Swift’s, who look for Easter eggs in everything she posts or releases.

To his credit, Sombr ended his video by stating that “every age, sex, sexuality, gender, race, everyone is welcome at my concert, and I mean everyone.” So don’t worry—25-year-olds can still go to a Sombr show. Just keep in mind that if you’re over the age of 20 and expecting not to see teenagers at a concert, Sombr might not be for you.

On the other hand, the artist is one of the biggest up-and-coming acts of 2025. He’s playing sold-out shows throughout his tour, which runs through November. Sombr performed two hits from his debut album, I Barely Know Her, live at the VMAs earlier this year. He’s also slated as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live with host Nikki Glaser on November 8.