Happy Thursday! 

I went to the Boy Throb concert—aka Throbchella—on Tuesday and had a blast. Sponsored by Air HQ, a creator-focused software company, the boy band had their first—and free!—live show at the Bowery Ballroom. 

Throbchella was serious business. If this concert was supposed to be a testament to how real Boy Throb is as a band, I think they accomplished their goal. Their fans do not play about them, which I quickly came to realize at the show and also when looking at the response to it online. 

Today, I’m bringing you a play-by-play of the night, which was pretty thrilling. Although people discount their abilities, they sounded great! 

There are also some more links and news and all those good things below. One last housekeeping note: Yap Year will be OOO from May 25 to June 11. Consider it my summer break (and my first since starting this newsletter). Woo!

Let me give you a recap on Boy Throb before we get into this. If you’ll recall, Boy Throb is a four piece boy band that first rose to fame last November. At the time, I interviewed the boys—Anthony Key, Evan Papier, Zach Sobania, and Darshan Magdum—for Teen Vogue about their viral quest to 1) get Darshan, who is based in India, an O-1 visa and 2) their comedic approach to marketing themselves, which has caused people to question whether they are “real.”

They assured me they are 100% real—which I believed at the time and still firmly do. Each has had their own long journeys trying to make it in the music industry and this has been the most successful way to grow their fanbase. But just as everyone online questioned their authenticity, so too did the U.S. government, which has been far more restrictive in the visa process since President Donald Trump came back into power.

Since November, they have been trying to get Darshan a visa so that they can work as a full group, growing their TikTok account to 1 million followers to show his “extrodinary ability.” However, they ran into issues in March when they were sent a further Request for Evidence from the government. 

As for why they chose New York for their show, Evan explained, “This is where Ellis Island is. There’s a symbolic thing there.”

Despite the delay, they are still trying their hardest to get Darshan to the U.S. and pursue their dreams of winning a Grammy. Throbchella, which was held at the Bowery Ballroom on May 12, was an attempt to show proof of how real they actually are. And considering the genuine commitment and love from fans—the most devoted of them waited in line starting at 2 p.m. that afternoon—I do think it’s pretty good evidence.

“I got teary-eyed,” the usually stoic Zach told me after the show. Evan replied, “You never get teary-eyed!”

Here’s the rundown of the two-hour show.

I approached the venue about 10 minutes before the show was scheduled to start. To my surprise, the line stretched down the block and around the corner. This is when I knew I was in for an experience.

Standing next to a Darshan cutout, DJ Truth was spinning 2010s bangers—from Kesha (foreshadowing!) to Katy Perry to One Direction—to open the show. The crowd was vibing to it. I observed some cute signs, with one saying “It’s finally Throb O’Clock!” Other people had homemade merch, including one person whose shirt read “Not Satire.” 

The room was absolutely packed. I’m not even sure everyone that lined up actually got in. The Bowery Ballroom isn’t huge, holding just under 600 people, but it was still an impressive and passionate turnout. 

Boy Throb finally comes on stage. They sang the national anthem. Then, they exited again, throwing it over to their manager.