There’s a new boy band on the scene, but there’s just one problem – they’ve never all performed together in person.
Boy Throb have been campaigning to get one million followers on TikTok so fourth member Darshan Magdum can secure a US visa.
He’s currently, in his words, “stuck in India”.
They’ve been building up a worldwide fan base with their videos, including a viral recording of their first gig at a Hollywood retirement home last month.
Maybe it was the group’s choreography in their signature pink velour tracksuits and bright yellow trainers.
Or maybe it was Darshan, hitting the high notes via a Zoom call from a laptop beside his bandmates.
Whatever it was, it stopped people in their tracks, and Boy Throb smashed their follower target in just one month.
Now, they tell BBC Newsbeat, their two main goals are to win a Grammy and “get Darshan his visa”.
But they can’t escape the comments asking if it’s all one big joke.
Boy Throb’s members – Evan Papier, Darshan, Anthony Key and Zachary Sobania – met online, but Evan and Anthony first connected after unsuccessful auditions for US singing competition American Idol.
Anthony tried to impress judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie with his cover of Dynamite by K-pop band BTS in 2021, during season 19 of the show.
And Evan, who auditioned a year later, failed to win Katy over with a rendition of her own song, ET, but the tape never aired.
Refusing to let rejection hold him back, Evan gathered a dedicated TikTok following before joining forces with the rest of Boy Throb.
“We all wanted to get a band together that wasn’t just a carbon copy, everybody looks the same, they sound the same,” Anthony tells Newsbeat.
“We’re all different, very different backgrounds, you can never confuse us.”
There’s certainly no mistaking Boy Throb for any other acts.
Between their baby pink uniform and quick cut videos – usually featuring Darshan superimposed via green screen – their style is definitely unique.
And then there’s the lyrics, which often re-work hit pop songs so the lyrics describe the band’s visa battle.
Their version of Manchild, by Sabrina Carpenter, goes: “Oh I’d like Darshan in the USA, oh I need him here by New Year’s Day.”
Oh, and their fans, who encouraged the group to change their name from @boyband2026, are known as “Throbbers” or, collectively, the “Throb Mob”.
When you add it all together it could feel a bit… unserious.
But when Newsbeat asks if Boy Throb are sincere, band member Evan insists they are.
“People love to say something is satirical and people are just having fun, people love to just throw that word around,” he says.
The band have also uploaded posts pushing back at “haters”, something Evan says only makes them more determined to succeed.
“Honestly, I’m not even fazed because it’s just people’s opinions. We’re doing it seriously,” he says.
He recognises that their approach is an unusual route to breaking through, but says: “If parody is what people love, then we’ll keep them coming”.
Throbbers are asking what is next now that the group has reached their one million follower target.
At the moment it’s Darshan and his green screen against the world, but Evan says they hope he will join them in the US in the spring if his visa application is approved.
He is applying for a O-1 US visa which is reserved for individuals with “extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics”.
The group have said an immigration lawyer advised them that securing one million followers will help their application.
“Our number one goal is to get Darshan’s visa and get him into America so he can perform with us, and to get all those accolades that all these artists we love and know have,” Evan says.
The pop-star hopefuls are staying tight-lipped, but Evan says they hope to give their fans “something to smile about”.
“We also just want to spread joy,” he says.
“I think that’s something that has been really hard in the times we’re in right now.
“And I think if we’re able to spread the joy that we have through TikTok and Instagram and social the way we have the past few months, that feels like we’re doing something right.”
