Sombr made his MTV Video Music Awards debut on Sunday night (Sept. 7) with a medley of two hits from his recently released debut album I Barely Know Her.
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Introduced by a gushing-if-somewhat-off-kilter Megan Statler, the alt-rock singer-songwriter began his performance singing inside a photo booth, before coming out to what looked a dingy New York rock club backing. He performed the first verses and choruses to breakout hit “Back to Friends” with his band, before disappearing back into the booth.
When he re-emerged, he was in full strut for a rendition of latest single “12 to 12.” “This one’s for the girls that get it,” he began the performance. And there were plenty of (presumably) such girls present on stage for his performance, one of which licked him from chest to face, and several of which swarmed him during the song’s instrumental breakdown section, as the rest of the stage went full disco. It was an eye-opening performance for the first-timer, showing an impressive amount of star power for a relatively new performer.
“Back to Friends” marked Sombr’s first Billboard Hot 100 hit, reaching No. 30 on the chart so far. “12 to 12” hit a new peak of No. 60 on the listing this week, with the release of the full I Barely Know Her, which debuted at No. 14 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Sombr was nominated for three awards at this year’s VMAs, winning best alternative for “Back to Friends” — his first such win on the show.
