Back to Friends

For the Lauren Spencer Smith song, see Lauren Spencer Smith.

"Back to Friends"
Single by Sombr
from the album I Barely Know Her
Released	December 27, 2024 (2024-12-27)
Genre	Indie pop [1]
Length	3:19
Label	SMB Warner
Songwriter(s)	Shane Boose
Producer(s)	Sombr
Sombr singles chronology
"Makes Me Want You" (2024) "Back to Friends" (2024) "All I Ever Asked" (remix) (2025)
Music video
"Back to Friends" on YouTube

"Back to Friends" is a song by American singer-songwriter Sombr, solely written and produced by him. ^[2] Released on December 27, 2024, through Warner Records and Sombr's own imprint SMB, it serves as the lead single from his debut studio album I Barely Know Her (2025). ^[3]

The single became a global hit and Sombr's breakout song, alongside his 2025 single "Undressed", both of which entered multiple song charts concurrently after going viral on the video-sharing app TikTok. In his home country, "Back to Friends" marked his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 25. Outside the United States, the song reached the top five in Australia, Austria, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Lithuania, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, and Switzerland, and the top ten in Greece, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

"Back to Friends" has been certified platinum or higher in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Portugal, and has accumulated over 800 million streams on Spotify. Its music video, released on April 3, 2025, won Best Alternative Video at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards, marking Sombr's first award win.

Composition and lyrics

"Back to Friends" is solely written and produced by Sombr himself. Lyrically, the song captures the melodrama of teenage love. The song is composed in the key of C-sharp major with a time signature of ⁴
₄, and has a tempo of 93 beats per minute. ^[4]

Reception

In June 2025, Rolling Stone named "Back to Friends" one of the year's best songs so far, highlighting Sombr's ability to channel the nostalgic 2014 Tumblr grunge aesthetic era. The magazine also wrote that "the indie pop record plays out like an impassioned conversation that bleeds through the walls and captures the melodrama of teenage love". ^[5]

Commercial performance

Chart performance

"Back to Friends" experienced a significant increase in on-demand streams in March 2025 following viral popularity on the video-sharing platform TikTok. ^[2] The song subsequently debuted at number 140 on the Billboard Global 200 chart for the week ending April 5, 2025, becoming Sombr's first entry on the chart. ^[6] In its tenth week, it entered the top 10 at number nine, ^[7] and later peaked at number six, ^[8] maintaining the position for three non-consecutive weeks. ^{[9] [10]}

In the United States, "Back to Friends" debuted at number eight on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart dated April 5, 2025. ^[11] The following week, the song entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 90, marking Sombr's first appearance on the chart. ^[2] In its ninth week, it jumped 26 spots from number 62 to enter the top 40 at number 36. ^[12] The song then remained within the range of numbers 30 to 42 for the next 14 weeks before climbing to a new peak of number 25 in its 24th week, for the week ending September 20, 2025. ^[13] The song also charted on several rock and alternative charts, ^[14] including a peak at number three on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs. ^[15] In addition to rising streams, the song gained increased radio airplay, leading to its debut on the Alternative Airplay chart in the same week it entered the Hot 100, ^[2] eventually peaking at number one. ^{[16] [17]} It also entered the Rock & Alternative Airplay chart on the issue date April 26, 2025, ^[18] later peaking at number six in its eleventh week. ^[19] In Canada, the song debuted at number 74 on the Canadian Hot 100 for the week of April 12, 2025, ^[20] and has since reached number 20 in its 25th week. ^[21] It has been certified double platinum by Music Canada. ^[22]

In the United Kingdom, "Back to Friends" debuted at number 97 on the UK Singles Chart for the week of March 14, 2025. In its thirteenth week, it reached a peak of number seven. ^{[23] [24]} In Ireland, the song debuted at number 33 on the Irish Singles Chart for the week of March 28, 2025, and reached its peak of number four in its fourteenth week, becoming Sombr's second top-five song in the country, following "Undressed". ^{[23] [25]} Elsewhere in Europe, the song achieved top five positions in Austria (#5), ^[26] the Czech Republic (#4), ^[27] Lithuania (#4), ^[28] and Switzerland (#3), ^[29] and entered the top ten in Greece (#8), ^[30] Luxembourg (#8), ^[31] and Sweden (#7). ^[32]

In Australia, "Back to Friends" debuted at number 39 on the ARIA Singles Chart dated April 14, 2025, ^[33] and peaked at number three in its seventh week. ^[34] In New Zealand, the song debuted at number 36 for the week beginning April 4, 2025, ^[35] and peaked at number four in its ninth week. ^[36] It has been certified double platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association and single platinum by the Recorded Music NZ. ^{[37] [38]} Meanwhile, in Southeast Asia, "Back to Friends" reached the top five in the Philippines and Singapore, ^{[39] [40]} the top ten in Malaysia, ^[41] and the top 20 in Indonesia. ^[42]

Streaming

On April 19, 2025, "Back to Friends" surpassed 100 million streams on Spotify, becoming Sombr's first song to reach the milestone. A month later, on May 19, the number exceeded 200 million. It has since accumulated over 800 million streams. ^[43] The song reached the top of the Global and US Spotify Daily Chart. ^{[44] [45]} For the week ending July 10, it topped the Global Weekly Chart with over 36 million streams. ^[46]

Music video

The music video, directed by Gus Black, was released on April 3, 2025, and features model Charlotte D'Alessio. ^[47] It won Best Alternative Video at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards. ^{[48] [49]}

Live performances

On May 20, 2025, Sombr performed "Back to Friends" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon , marking his television performance debut. ^[50] On September 2, he performed the song as part of his recognition as MTV's Global Push Artist for the month. ^[51] Sombr later performed the song again, along with "12 to 12", at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards, which took place on September 7. ^[49]

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. ^[52]

Sombr – vocals, bass guitar, drums, guitar, keyboards, piano, recording engineer Kane Ritchotte – drums Mason Stoops – guitar Benny Bock – keyboards, piano Shawn Everett – mastering engineer, mixing engineer

Luca Pretolesi – mastering engineer Rich Costey – mixing engineer Will Maclellan – recording engineer Gregg White – recording engineer

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for "Back to Friends" Chart (2025) Peak position Australia (ARIA) [34] 3 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [26] 5 Canada (Canadian Hot 100) [21] 20 Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100) [27] 4 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) [53] 42 France (SNEP) [54] 103 Germany (GfK) [55] 18 Global 200 ( Billboard ) [8] 6 Greece International (IFPI) [30] 8 Iceland (Tónlistinn) [56] 26 India International (IMI) [57] 5 Indonesia (IFPI) [42] 13 Ireland (IRMA) [25] 4 Israel International Airplay (Media Forest) [58] 5 Italy (FIMI) [59] 50 Japan Hot Overseas ( Billboard Japan ) [60] 4 Latvia Airplay (LaIPA) [61] 20 Latvia Streaming (LaIPA) [62] 2 Lithuania (AGATA) [28] 4 Lithuania Airplay (TopHit) [63] 37 Luxembourg ( Billboard ) [31] 8 Malaysia (IFPI) [41] 8 Malaysia International (RIM) [64] 4 Middle East and North Africa (IFPI) [65] 19 Netherlands (Single Top 100) [66] 23 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [36] 4 Norway (VG-lista) [67] 15 Philippines (IFPI) [39] 2 Philippines (Philippines Hot 100) [68] 2 Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100) [69] 18 Portugal (AFP) [70] 24 San Marino Airplay (SMRTV Top 50) [71] 27 Singapore (RIAS) [40] 4 Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100) [72] 12 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [32] 7 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [29] 3 United Arab Emirates (IFPI) [73] 11 UK Singles (OCC) [24] 7 US Billboard Hot 100 [13] 25 US Adult Pop Airplay ( Billboard ) [74] 27 US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs ( Billboard ) [15] 3 US Pop Airplay ( Billboard ) [75] 28 US Rock & Alternative Airplay ( Billboard ) [19] 7

Monthly charts Monthly chart performance for "Back to Friends" Chart (2025) Peak position Lithuania Airplay (TopHit) [76] 64

Certifications

Certifications for "Back to Friends"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [37]	2× Platinum	140,000‡
Austria (IFPI Austria) [77]	Gold	15,000‡
Canada (Music Canada) [22]	2× Platinum	160,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ) [38]	Platinum	30,000‡
Portugal (AFP) [78]	Platinum	25,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI) [79]	Gold	400,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Back to Friends"

Region	Date	Format	Label	Ref.
Various	December 27, 2024	Digital download streaming	SMB Warner	[80]
Italy	April 11, 2025	Radio airplay	Warner Music Italy	[81]
Various	November 7, 2025	7-inch single	SMB Warner	[82]

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