Fictional pop stars and their fans, in stories of love and dangerous obsession, inspired by icons of the 2000s. Collins created two fictional musical groups exclusively for this publication. Through a narrative fiction of unsettling realism, Collins explores themes such as identity and mental health.
This book is a cinematic journey through the lives of its performers, seen through the eyes of their fans and stalkers. Images of performances, rescues, and confrontations are interspersed with letters, conversations, and diary entries. Its five chapters follow the story of Ashley, a solo star, and Siren8, a teenage idol group designed for the most immediate appeal of commercial pop.
Ashley, once an artistic and reserved student, is discovered during a school performance and pushed toward pop stardom. At first, she appears sincere and delicate, but fame ends up distorting her identity. Manipulated, isolated, and dissociated, she becomes an almost ghostly figure to those who knew her before she disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
Siren8 serves as a counterpoint to Ashley’s image, that “dreamy girl next door.” The group tours with her before an unexplained breakup. Vuyu, Ashley’s best friend, quiet and protective, knew the real Ashley and reappears on anonymous forums to correct misinformation. Momo, an unconditional Ashley fan and obsessive researcher, creates a viral thread with a timeline that ends up functioning as a monument to Ashley’s symbolic disappearance. B, a lonely girl from Ashley’s school, becomes obsessed with her as a symbol of truth. She writes dozens of letters, convinced she is protecting her, in an obsession that gradually turns violent.
