"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 30. 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 700 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] It later reached number 31 on June 28, 2025, and remained within the range of numbers 33 to 42 for the next six weeks before climbing to a new peak of number 30 in its 19th week, for the week ending August 16, 2025.[12] The song also charted on several rock and alternative charts,[13] including a peak at number three on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs.[14] 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.[15][16] It also entered the Rock & Alternative Airplay chart on the issue date April 26, 2025,[17] later peaking at number six in its eleventh week.[18] In Canada, the song debuted at number 74 on the Canadian Hot 100 for the week of April 12, 2025,[19] and has since peaked at number 26.[20] It has been certified double platinum by Music Canada.[21]
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.[22][23] 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".[22][24] Elsewhere in Europe, the song achieved top five positions in Austria,[25] the Czech Republic,[26] Lithuania,[27] and Switzerland,[28] and entered the top ten in Greece,[29] Luxembourg,[30] and Sweden.[31]
In Australia, "Back to Friends" debuted at number 39 on the ARIA Singles Chart dated April 14, 2025,[32] and peaked at number three in its seventh week.[33] In New Zealand, the song debuted at number 36 for the week beginning April 4, 2025,[34] and peaked at number four in its ninth week.[35] It has been certified double platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association and single platinum by the Recorded Music NZ.[36][37] Meanwhile, in Southeast Asia, "Back to Friends" reached the top five in the Philippines and Singapore,[38][39] the top ten in Malaysia,[40] and the top 20 in Indonesia.[41]
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 700 million streams.[42] The song reached the top of the Global and US Spotify Daily Chart.[43][44] For the week ending July 10, it topped the Global Weekly Chart with over 36 million streams.[45]
On May 20, 2025, Sombr performed "Back to Friends" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, marking his television performance debut.[49] On September 2, he performed the song as part of his recognition as MTV's Global Push Artist for the month.[50] Sombr later performed the song again, along with "12 to 12", at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards, which took place on September 7.[48]
^ ab"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 35. týden 2025 in the date selector. Retrieved September 1, 2025.
^"מדיה פורסט – המצעד הבינלאומי השבועי – Week 31 – 27/07 – 02/08/2025" [Media Forest – International Weekly Chart – Week 31 – 27/07 – 02/08/2025] (Select the year 2025 and the option "31 27-07-25 02-08-25" from the stretched lists, then click "שירים מובילים - רדיו - בינלאומי" to see the chart.) (in Hebrew). Media Forest. August 3, 2025. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 34. týden 2025 in the date selector. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
