Sombr is one of the biggest and most successful of the young pop stars. His big breakthrough, “Back to Friends,” was on the charts throughout 2025, and one of his 2026 singles, “Homewrecker,” is another terrific earworm. He’s only 21, although he looks about 16 years old. Looks-wise, he reminds me of my other too-young crush, Dominic Sessa, who was in The Holdovers and will soon be seen in the Anthony Bourdain bio-pic. They could be brothers! Anyway, I’ve had my eye on Sombr for a minute, and he currently has a big Variety profile, meaning the industry is keeping their eye on him too. In the Variety profile, Sombr chatted about how his love life is still struggling since his breakthrough.

Sombr is opening up about the difficulties of dating in the spotlight. Life has certainly changed for the “12 to 12” singer, 21, since his breakout success in the music world — and he’s well aware that he’s now on the radar of most of the people in his dating pool, for better or worse.

Sombr (real name Shane Boose) told Variety that he’s become more “hesitant” when it comes to romance, as many people his age already know who he is before they meet him.

“Since my recent success, I haven’t really been able to get out there and get on the market,” he told the outlet. “It’s definitely weird, and I’m figuring it out. I don’t want to date someone who wants to date me for the wrong reasons.”

The Grammy-nominated star clarified that he hasn’t “stopped” dating, but is instead now taking a “different approach.”

“I’m still getting that inspiration,” he added.

On the In Your Dreams with Owen Thiele podcast in December, Sombr opened up about the qualities he was looking for in a girlfriend, saying he hoped to find “a very talented creative.”

“I’m very attracted to very talented people that I can look up to and has a sense of humor,” he said.

Sombr previously told Nylon in April that he was “very single,” and was still getting used to life as a rock star. “[I have] to accept that I don’t have privacy, which is not something I’ll ever complain about because this is what I wanted,” he said. “But I have to always act like I’m being watched. Because I am.”

He also revealed that his hit song “Homewrecker,” about reconnecting with an ex who’s since moved on, was based on a true story.

[From People]

One of the things I enjoy most about his music is the very specific and old-school male yearning of his songs. Male pop stars truly used to write songs about wanting to be with a girl but she didn’t love him, or wanting their guy friend’s girlfriend, or not knowing how to play the game when they really loved someone. I love all of that, and it’s been missing from pop music for a while. His song “Homewrecker” is such an amazing twist on that too – he’s hanging out with a girl who has a boyfriend and begging her to dump the guy because he doesn’t want to just be a cheating partner, he doesn’t want to be a homewrecker. It’s amazing. I’m including my two favorite Sombr songs below!!

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.