Inside the Throbmob
The Boys of Boythrob get Real
Darshan is “stuck in India,” and Boythrob needs YOU to pay attention so they can help him get his visa, and also win a Grammy.
This is the central premise of Boythrob, a boyband composed of Evan Papier, Darshan, Anthony Key, and Zachary Sobania. In a technopessimistic landscape shaped by AI Slop, recycled memes, and clickbait, Boythrob is a splinter in the heel—an uncanny valley boyband in pink velour tracksuits with an openly gay ethos and an aesthetic so earnest it comes off as satire. They’re known for making covers of Top 100 hits where the lyrics are all about how badly they need A. Darshan and B. A Grammy. From their songs to their band name to their video editing (in a nifty solve Darshan is greenscreened into most videos), veritas be damned, Boythrob is mesmerizing.
Willing rube that I am, I interviewed them to see whether or not their shtick was real…or just a dull throb (Darshan couldn’t make it because of scheduling conflicts).
Nicolaia Rips: So, boys, how did this come to be?
Evan Papier: I did American Idol, and I saw Anthony was on the show, and I never got my audition to air, so I just wanted someone to vent about this process, because it’s a lot. We just started talking, and we really had a lot in common, and then we found our Darshan online, and then we were like, what base can complete the three of us together? Because we want to make sure we have all the vocal parts in our group. And we have our tenor, we have our baritone, we have our like, high tenor, and then we have a bass, and it’s like, it’s perfection in that way,
Anthony Key: We want to bring back that kind of old school style, like you can cut out all the music, cut out all the dancing, everything, and we can literally sing acapella. When we first got together, that’s exactly what we did, and it was like magic.
Papier: I remember me and Anthony and Zach sitting together on the couch in L.A. after Anthony had a little dance injury, and we just started singing, “Love yourself.” And it was just like the way we all just blended in that moment. I got chills, honestly. And I never give myself chills.
Do you all come from serious musical backgrounds?
Zachary Sobania: Yeah, I started violin when I was five, and have been playing guitar for almost as long. I went to Berkeley for four years. I’m serious about music stuff, but also having fun with it. I think we work really well together.
What’s your process like for how you select songs?
Papier: We all have different niches. I’m very top 40. But we want to do things that span different generations, like doing everything from Cindy Lauper to Taylor Swift to Kateseye.
What do you feel each of your roles is within the band?
Papier: I’m the diva. If you haven’t gotten that vibe yet. Anthony says he’s like Justin Timberlake and I’m the Rihanna, which is nice, because I don’t think there’s any bands that have a Rihanna and a Justin together.
Key: We also look at it as our vocal roles. Zach is our base, Darshan is our high end. Evan, you’re the baritone, I’m tenor and high tenor. I know it’s not really the popular mold of like, you know, who’s the bad boy, but as artists that’s where we fit as vocalists in this band. But, I mean, it’s really a question for the fans. I think they would have probably a better response, it’s always different.
Papier: There is consensus though that I’m the diva.
Key: Yes, you’re definitely the diva. But I’m saying, with other things, like this one is the lead singer, this one’s lead dancer, this one’s the main visual. We don’t really box ourselves into that.
What are your favorite boy bands?
Key: Oh, my favorite question. I was brought up very close to Gary, Indiana, so of course, Michael Jackson and Jackson Five. That Northwest Indiana, polluted steel mill air just makes us want to moonwalk a little bit. I also was very inspired by Justin Timberlake when he was in NYSYNC. We take a lot of inspiration from K Pop, how they dance together. Zach, my friend, I know that you’re a big K Pop fan too.
Sobania: Yeah, I love K Pop.
Papier: I am more of a fan of the girl groups fan, the diva energy. Katseye, Little Mix. I want to bring that spice that Little Mix has into our group here. As an openly gay person, there’s no bands right now in the music world that have that gay open person performing, which sucks honestly. When I was younger there was nobody like I’m this gay heart throb or gay pop star. I think it’s just a matter of equality. Not to get political for a second, but people are starting to be so accepting of people being openly gay. It’s still a battle. Now I think that there is space for an openly gay member in a boy band, which is something if you told someone 15 years ago…. correct me if I’m wrong, I don’t think Lance Bass was out when he was in NYSYNC. It makes me happy that I’m allowed to be myself in this band, because I’m not going to cover up myself and my divaness to sell a certain brand of like, “we’re all these same looking straight people”, and it’s just like, I’m not that.
Talking about the political element of things, I know that you’re trying to get a visa for Darshan. Can you tell me a little bit about that process?
Key: Oh, man. It’s tough these days. It’s very tough to get somebody into the country. I mean, of course, a million followers is a great start, but we do need, you know, good press and hopefully some you know celebrity representation to do it. We’re not looking at the negatives. It’s going to happen.
I feel like so many people online think that it’s all a joke, or that there’s this bit going on…
Papier: I don’t know if you’ve seen my content in the past or any of that, but as someone who has been through the ringer of that, of “Are you for real? Are you being serious?” It’s another day in the office honestly. We’re not taking ourselves too seriously in the covers and the parodies, but we’re serious in the music we do and when we sing, we’re serious about sounding good in our videos and dancing good in our videos. We don’t put anything out that doesn’t have some quality talent behind it, and talent can also be comedic at the same time. We’re having fun singing a song that sounds ridiculous, but also we have good vocals with it. What’s the harm in that? Like, people need to stop being so hateful these days.
Key: There’s that quick label. It’s like: Are they real, or are they satire? We are real. We are very much a real band. But I don’t think there’s any harm in cracking a little joke here and there. Parody songs are working, they’re bringing attention to our amazing fourth number, fourth boy band member, Darshan. But you know, when we have our debut single coming out, you’re going to get the real us.
Can you describe it for me?
Papier: This single is self empowerment. Middle finger up.
You guys wrote the lyrics and the music?
Papier: We had some help from Zach’s friend at Berkeley with finishing up on the instrumentals, because we did the melodies and the chords, and he really just helped tie together a whole instrumental and mix and master.
My last question is… who do you throb for right now?
Papier: I’m a huge Real Housewives of Salt Lake City fan right now. That’s what I throb for right now
Sobania: I throb for us, for what’s coming in the future, the single coming out, the album we’re going to try to make, trying to win A Grammy, going on tour.
Key: Same with me. I mean, I’m throbbing for our throbbers. We love our throbbers in the throb mob!