Songfacts®:

• On "Potential" Sombr looks back on a relationship that ended before it had the chance to become what he believed it could be. The song revolves around his feelings toward this past romance, which he regrets ended too soon, fixating on how much "potential" they had as a couple while hinting that the person it's about may not feel the same way. Across the track he spirals on the wordplay between "potential" and "mental," sounding less angry than trapped in a mental loop of replayed possibilities.
• In the second verse, Sombr reveals that the breakup behind "Potential" also fueled the earlier songs that "got [him] famous," a nod to how much of his debut album, I Barely Know Her, drew on a single serious relationship. While this provides a bittersweet silver lining, acknowledging that his heartbreak served as the raw material for his professional breakthrough, Sombr makes it clear he isn't sure the fame was worth the loss. Consequently, "Potential" functions as a more serious, reflective sequel to the crushes and "situationships" explored on tracks like "Back To Friends" and "Undressed."
• Sombr wrote the song himself and co-produced it with Tony Berg, the key architect of the sound of I Barely Know Her. Berg also plays guitar on the track. The other musicians are:
  
  Benny Bock: keyboards
  Gabe Noel: bass
  Harrison Whitford: guitar
  Kane Ritchotte: drums and percussion
  
  The track continues the now familiar Sombr "studio family": Gabe Noel, Kane Ritchotte and Benny Bock all played on I Barely Know Her.
• Sombr unveiled "Potential" live at Coachella, premiering it during his April 11, 2026 set at the Empire Polo Club in Indio before releasing the studio version and video.
• The music video, directed by Gus Black (who also directed the Western movie-set clip for "Homewrecker"), stars Sombr alongside influencer Madeline Argy and actor Gavin Casalegno, best known for playing Jeremiah Fisher in the Amazon Prime series The Summer I Turned Pretty, backed by a troupe of ballerinas. The storyline follows an increasingly tense, ultimately ill-fated museum heist, visually echoing the song's central idea of a planned connection that doesn't quite pay off.