Screams from hundreds of fans waving glowing pink orbs grew louder as one member of Boy Throb appeared on stage at Irving Plaza in New York City earlier this month. Singer Darshan Magdum was not there in person – he was calling from India while his visa application to enter the United States remained in limbo. With his face projected across a large screen, he told the crowd: “I’m so sad that I can’t be there with you all tonight.” “Hell yeah, Darshan!” someone yelled. At one point, chants of “Visa! Visa! Visa!” rippled through the crowd.
“When Darshan was on screen, I needed to, like, spiritually send him love,” said Kenzie, 30, who went to the show with a few of her friends.
The people’s boy band
Boy Throb formed last fall, choosing their name from fan suggestions and posting their rise on TikTok. The members are Evan Papier, Anthony Key and Zachary Sobania, who all live in Los Angeles, and Magdum, who lives in India. Dressed in matching pink sweatsuits evocative of Amy Poehler’s “cool mom” character in Mean Girls, they began posting videos explaining the dilemma of their fourth band member being stuck in India.
Magdum submitted his application for an O-1 visa, designated for people with extraordinary abilities, in December. Internet personalities have increasingly applied for the visa as social media has shifted the nature of fame. One of Boy Throb’s first goals was to reach a million followers to support his application. In early videos, they sang covers of familiar pop hits, replacing lyrics to persuade the US government to approve Magdum’s visa. They also protested outside a local television station in Los Angeles, chanting: “Hey, hey, ho, ho, write about our Indian bro.” Within a month, they had a million followers on TikTok.
Not satire
When video of their first gig performing at a nursing home surfaced last year, some commenters wondered if it was all just a gag. The band responded in a social media post that they had received some unkind messages asking if they were “satire”. Though their videos could be silly and fun, they were earnestly trying to make it as artists, they said.
Papier and Key have both previously auditioned for American Idol, while Sobania studied guitar and music production at the Berklee College of Music. Magdum already has a large following for his falsetto covers of songs from PinkPantheress and Lady Gaga. “We’re not going to let this negativity stop us, in fact we’ve been actively using it as fuel to prove the haters wrong, which is why we’re currently in the process of creating ORIGINAL music!” they wrote.
Kesha and the Rehearsal Tour
By the night of their New York show, they had released several original songs, including “Can’t Stop the Throb”, “Number One Boy” and “DJ Turn It Down” featuring Kesha. The pop star signed Boy Throb to her independent label, Kesha Records, and brought them on stage at the Bonnaroo music festival in June. “These boys have stolen my heart,” she told the crowd.
Ever the optimists, Boy Throb called their three-stop tour the Rehearsal Tour, considering it a practice run before Magdum joins them in the US. The night of the show, fans Rose and Alley were debating which merch to purchase before the concert began. Among the items for sale were the band’s signature pink sweatsuits for $119 as well as T-shirts that read “Not Satire” and “Boy Throb Is Real”.
Visa fight and legal help
While some on Reddit have theorized that the comedian Nathan Fielder is behind Boy Throb, others have dismissed this. But whether there is a more elaborate comedy bit behind the group hardly seems to matter any more, said fans at the show. “Either way, it’s a good cause. Get Darshan his visa,” said Rose, 26. “I feel like they’ve proven they’re a legitimate band. Look at all the people here.” “And low-key their songs are good,” added her friend Alley, 27.
In March, Boy Throb shared with fans that the government had requested more information to support Magdum’s application. “Begging for press solely to improve an immigration beneficiary request is not indicative of an organization or an establishment that has a distinguished reputation,” the letter said. Later, Boy Throb connected with Jonathan Grode, an immigration lawyer based in Pennsylvania, who submitted additional paperwork to support Magdum’s visa application. “This case really caught my attention because they knew that they had people with talent, they knew they had people with an idea, but they let the fame come before the recognition of the ability,” said Grode. “It fundamentally begs the question of: how is fame created?”
Winning over the crowd
Even as Magdum remains in India, his status remains a point of levity. Before the concert began, there was already a life-size cutout of Magdum smiling in his pink tracksuit on stage. Papier, Key and Sobania kicked off the show with an a capella version of the national anthem, holding their right hands on their hearts as an image of the American flag waved behind them. As patriotism and American flags have become increasingly associated with the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign and protectionist policies, Boy Throb offers people a different way to celebrate both the country and the value of immigration – all through a bubble-gum-pop lens. “We’re living in a unique hell right now and I love this subversion of it,” said one fan after the show.
While the one million followers was one of their first achievements, the Irving Plaza show revealed the confidence they’ve gained as performers in recent months. The choreography was spirited, their vocals strong and the playful use of props and pop-ins from Magdum added to the fun of the show. “I’m really proud of them. I think part of following boy bands is just seeing how they grow more successful over time,” said Zyn, 31. “They’ve always been genuine. It’s more just convincing other people that they’re genuine,” added her friend Hannah, 26.
While their catalogue of songs is still limited, the packed venue didn’t stop cheering from their opening medley of songs about New York City through covers of Chappell Roan’s Pink Pony Club and their original singles. They wrapped up the night performing an unreleased song about being your squeaky-clean boy, playfully swinging bath towels between their legs to more whoops from the audience. “If they can get the crowd going like that, they’re real,” said Eric, 31. “It was very infectious and fun. I am fully on board.”
As fans spilled out onto the street after the show, the merch table was nearly cleaned out. Both the Boy Throb Is Real and Not Satire shirts were sold out.
