A Gen Z pop star broke music’s unspoken rule and ignited a debate about fame

The trouble started when a 25-year-old TikToker named Meg made a video to discuss how a recent concert she attended was “one of the worst experiences of my life.” In the video, which has been viewed over 6 million times at the time of this writing, Meg said she wanted to warn people over the age of 16 against seeing Sombr, an emerging pop star, perform live because he’s catering to a much younger demographic with “brainrot jokes” and other antics she found unseemly. Meg didn’t hold back — she called Sombr “cringe,” which is about the worst insult you can sling at a pop star — and even likened him to the unnaturally tall and thin internet legend Slenderman.

Meg compared the vibe of the audience to that of a middle school dance, and at the same time, mused about whether Sombr’s onstage behavior was appropriate given some of his vulgar stage banter. These types of concert dispatches aren’t unusual, but what Sombr did next certainly was. He responded directly.

In his own video captioned “rant” that has racked up more than 8.8 million views thus far, Sombr addressed the “TikTok drama” and accused Meg of starting a “massive body-shaming hate train” against him (seemingly a reference to her Slenderman comparison). He said that he respects “people having opinions,” but implied that Meg probably shouldn’t have gone to that concert at all.

“And if you’re 25 years old and you’re going to 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,” Sombr says, punctuating his point with more internet slang.

The fact that one of the biggest emerging pop stars of the year responded to a single post from a fan turned critic is bizarre. It’s a testament to the ever-evolving nature of fame in 2025, and a clear indication of the symbiotic but contentious relationship that artists can increasingly have with their own supporters.

Wait, who is this guy and why is he fighting with fans?

It’s hard for a male pop star to break out these days — Harry Styles is one of the only true singing, dancing pop phenoms — but Sombr is one of the few to make real headway. The 20-year-old, whose real name is Shane Michael Boose, first gained traction on TikTok and earlier this year landed a coveted performance spot at the MTV Video Music Awards. His pensive songs about relationships had recently begun to climb the ranks of the alternative and pop charts.

In a sign of his momentum, Taylor Swift recently shouted him out as an “amazing” artist, and until the Meg debacle, his post about receiving a handwritten note from Swift was his most recent TikTok. In it, he spoke with the energy of a baby deer too big for his limbs and the choppy cadence of a teenager raised by algorithms.

Sombr’s public response to a concert attendee’s critique immediately ignited backlash. Artists, especially those so close to becoming household names, don’t usually break the fourth wall and single out fans. While many pop stars have infamous online armies of supporters that wage war on the artist’s behalf, musicians and their teams like to project the image that they’re above the fray. Sombr erased that illusion when he climbed down into the muck himself.

To some, it was a baffling move that risks alienating would-be fans and makes him appear alarmingly thin-skinned. Ron Roecker, a brand strategist who was once the vice president of communications for the Recording Academy, tells Yahoo that Sombr “clapped back because he is a young kid who got humiliated in front of his besties and got his feelings hurt.”

Part of Sombr’s reaction may have been motivated by the fact that he came of age and got his first taste of fame online, where it’s normal to turn your camera on and just start talking. Early fans tend to reward that kind of authentic engagement.

“He didn’t think of the ramifications of his actions because when you get famous on a social media platform, you still are somewhat isolated and protected by the screen,” Roecker says. “Online stars get such adulation from a targeted fan base, they think they can do or say just about anything. The reality is you have to be smart about handling critics.”

Authenticity is a double-edged sword

As an artist starts gaining more clout, being so off-the-cuff can be risky given that the music industry is still volatile. Artists can go on tour and deliver impressive performances, but they mostly have to pray that social media and streaming algorithms cast their favor upon them. Roecker says that the smallest interaction, be it with a fan, a server at a restaurant or a totally random person, could swing public opinion against Sombr’s favor.

“He needs to define what his personal brand is and what kind of artist he wants to be,” Roecker says. “Once he figures that out, gets a little time under his belt and hopefully hires a strategic team that he trusts will give him good advice … then the rest usually works itself out.”

Sombr isn’t the first deeply online artist to wade into such treacherous waters with fans. When Chappell Roan, who had an active and outspoken social media presence before reaching pop star status in 2024, directly admonished fans for “abuse, harassment, [and] stalking,” she was criticized for being unkind.

Shortly thereafter and following similar controversies, Roan stopped posting so prolifically. Now she’s more guarded, using her social media presence to promote new music or share performances. That could happen to Sombr too. Music labels have a lot riding on these artists, and so much of their success lies in the ways fans perceive them.

Sombr could become an outspoken and authentic Gen Z hero, or be dismissed as a combative young person not used to his own fame. Does he want to be known as the artist who fights with his own fans? It would certainly make him a new kind of pop star.