Sombr has been reflecting on the experience of being asked by Taylor Swift to perform two of her songs at her Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony earlier this month.
To begin with, the singer-songwriter says that he was both surprised and delighted to be asked.
“It was crazy,” he told Jimmy Fallon on the Tonight Show. “I mean, it was really her night, and she wanted me, out of all the people she could have asked, to perform two songs to help induct her.”
Asked by Fallon if the songs he sang were given to him or were his choices, Sombr said that he had free rein.
“So, basically I was like, ‘Taylor, what songs do you want me to sing? You know, this is your night.’ And she was like, ‘No, you choose.’ So I was like, ‘Seriously?’ So that really put the pressure on – she has such a vast discography of so many hits.
“So, I went through, I picked two songs, and I suggested them to her and she was like, ‘Perfect.’ So, I was like, ‘OK.’”
Sombr says that Dear John and Cardigan, the songs in question, are two of his favourite Taylor tunes, and Swift has also been very complimentary about his music in the past.
In fact, Fallon read Sombr something that Swift previously said about him: "His writing is so exceptional that it makes me actually envious. He's going to be the top of my Spotify Wrapped this year, guaranteed. Sombr is the future."
Looking slightly sheepish, Sombr responded by saying, “I'm so grateful for her. That's really such an honour.”
Of course, given that he was appearing on a talk show, Sombr also had something of his own to promote, and that something is a new single, My Body Isn’t Ready, which he talked about and then performed.
“This song I wrote about something I've been struggling with my whole life, which is issues with my body image,” he explained. “I feel like, growing up, feeling like I look different from the other kids in school, I always wanted a song that talked about that. So I just made it, first of all, to express myself, but to also have a song for anyone who struggles with their body image to know they're not alone.”
