Shortly after its launch, TikTok became one of the hottest music discovery apps on the market. The social media platform has launched many careers and revitalized others. One example of an artist finding their niche is the story of sombr, who posted his first song, “Caroline,” to the app after writing it in high school.
“The first song that changed my life is this song, ‘Caroline.’ I made it when I was in high school, and I got bullied for doing music, and then I posted that song… I was like, ‘This is the best song I made.’ I made a video and I posted it one night and just went to bed,” Sombr told People magazine. “The next morning, my life was changed. Every record label was in my email inbox,” he continues, adding that “when it worked for me, I definitely felt like some people started hating me.”
His path has continued since then with his latest single, “Back to Friends,” hitting number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was released on his debut album, “I Barely Know Her,” in December 2024. However, Billboard reports that it gained significant traction in March, primarily due to its popularity on TikTok. At the time, it was reportedly used as the soundtrack to more than 240,000 videos on the platform.
The indie rock anthem is in Db, which is an unusual key for most guitar-driven songs. It also has an interesting chord progression that begins on the IV chord, Gb. This device creates a gentle unease with every phrase that is ultimately resolved to Db. That sense of tension is perfect for the song’s lyrical content.
“I’d say the huge thing that really gets me is when you see someone that you’ve been through so much with — like you’ve seen their most vulnerable parts, they’ve seen my most vulnerable parts, and seeing them after things end — and they look at you like they don’t know you anymore,” he said of the song’s creation.
“Back to Friends” is personal to sombr in more ways than one. Aside from writing it from his own experiences, the singer wrote and produced the entire song on his own at his home studio in Los Angeles, California.
He may have brought the entire song to life on his own, but he has been bringing it to the masses with a band featuring Sam Everett on bass and keys, Mitch Prewitt on drums, and Sal Suriano on guitar. Sombr continues to deliver incredible performances because he still connects deeply with the song.
“Every night when I play it, I relive everything I was feeling that night when I wrote it,” he told Rolling Stone. “All the emotions come back. That song saved me in a way, and being able to end my show with it… It’s just, like, full circle every night.”
Check out sombr and his band playing “Back to Friends” at Audiotree Live in the video above, then follow along with the sheet music to create your own version:
