What are the Subgenres of Pop Music?

This article is a collaborative effort, crafted and edited by a team of dedicated professionals.

Contributors: Andranick Tanguiane, Fred Lerdahl,

Contents

Introduction
What is Pop Music?
- The Origins of Pop Music
- The Development of Pop Music
The Subgenres of Pop Music
Conclusion

What are the Subgenres of Pop Music?

We all know that pop music is huge and diverse genre, but what many people don’t realize is that there are actually quite a few subgenres within pop. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at some of the most popular subgenres of pop music, and see how they differ from one another.

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Introduction

What is Pop Music?

The Origins of Pop Music

Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form in the United States and United Kingdom during the mid-1950s. The terms “popular music” and “pop music” are often used interchangeably, although the former describes all music that is popular and includes many diverse styles.Popular music is eclectic, and often borrows elements from other styles such as urban, dance, rock, Latin, and country. Identifying factors include generally short to medium-length songs written in a basic format (often the verse-chorus structure), as well as common use of repeated choruses, melodic tunes, and hooks.Grammatically, pop songs tend to have simple structures and focus on matters of personal significance (“love, longing, heartache”). According to Simon Frith pop music is produced “as a matter of enterprise not art”, is “designed to appeal to everyone” and “doesn’t come from any particular place or mark off any particular taste”. It is “anthems for solitude” written by people who are aware that they will never be alone saying something nobody else is saying or has said before concerning matters of great importance to them.

The Development of Pop Music

Pop music is eclectic, and often borrows elements from other styles such as urban, dance, rock, Latin, and country. Identifying factors include generally short to medium-length songs written in a basic format (often the verse-chorus structure), as well as common use of repeated choruses, melodic tunes, and hooks. Dave Marsh of Rolling Stone magazine in 1969 wrote that “…At its best, Pop floats on top of other sounds… dismissing or ignoring them but at its worst it simply drowns them out.”

The main elements of pop music are synthesizers, drum machines, samplers and sequencers. Other supporting instruments include guitars, bass guitars, pianos and horns. Pop songs may contain elements of rock, hip hop, disco , R&B , Funk or Jazz. English singer-songwriter Petula Clark was a pioneer of pop music in the early 1960s.

The Subgenres of Pop Music

Bubblegum Pop

Bubblegum pop (also known as bubblegum music or simply bubblegum) is a subgenre of pop music with an uptempo melody and catchy hooks, as well as lyrics that focus on teenage love and other themes typically associated with pop music.

The genre gets its name from the chewing gum brand Bubble Yum.

Bubblegum pop was at its peak of popularity in the late 1960s and early 1970s, with artists such as The Archies, The Jackson 5, The Osmonds, and ABBA.

The genre declined in popularity in the late 1970s, but experienced a resurgence in the 1990s and 2000s with artists such as Britney Spears, Aaron Carter, Christina Aguilera, and NSYNC.

Dance-Pop

Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danced to. Dance-pop includes influences from electronic dance music and hip hop.

The term “dance-pop” was first used in 1981 by the British music magazine Smash Hits. It was later adopted by Billboard in 1982 when it created its first dedicated dance chart.

Dance-pop songs are melodic, with catchy hooks and easy-to-sing choruses. They typically have a simple structure and are usually between three and five minutes long.

The earliest examples of dance-pop include Madonna’s “Holiday” (1983) and Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” (1984). In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Hi-NRG songs became popular, with producers like Stock Aitken Waterman crafting hits for artists such as Kylie Minogue, Rick Astley and Bananarama.

In the mid-1990s, teen pop acts like the Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys and NSYNC brought dance-pop back to prominence. In the 2000s, stars like Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake continued to fuse elements of dance music with pop sensibilities.

Today, dance-pop is still going strong with hitmakers like Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Justin Bieber regularly topping the charts with their catchy club anthems.

Electropop

Electropop is a subgenre of pop music that combines electronic and pop music. This type of music often has a synthesizer, drum machine, and/or computer as the main instrument. The vocals are often sung in a style that is similar to pop music. The lyrics are usually about love, relationships, or partying.

Some well-known electropop artists include:
-Lady Gaga
-Katy Perry
-Britney Spears
-Justin Timberlake

Hip Hop

Hip hop is a style of pop music that originally developed in the United States in the 1970s. It is characterized by a heavy use of rhythm and bass, as well as elements of rap and spoken word. Hip hop has come to be one of the most popular and influential genres of pop music, with artists such as Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, and Drake finding mainstream success.

House

House is a subgenre of pop music that originated in the 1980s. It is characterized by a repetitive four-on-the-floor beat, synth instruments, and a straightforward musical structure. House music is often played in nightclubs and has a strong danceable beat. House music tracks typically have a duration of six to eight minutes.

K-Pop

K-Pop is a subgenre of pop music that originates from South Korea. It is characterized by a mix of electronic, hip hop, and pop music. K-Pop is often known for its catchy melodies, attractive performers, and its incorporation of social media.

Latin Pop

Latin pop music is a popular genre that includes music with Spanish or Portuguese lyrics. This type of pop music is often influenced by traditional Latin American music, such as Mariachi, Ranchera, and Bolero. Some well-known Latin pop artists include Ricky Martin, Shakira, and Gloria Estefan.

New Jack Swing

New Jack Swing is a subgenre of pop music that arose in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It combines elements of hip-hop, R&B, soul, and pop music, and is often regarded as a precursor to the more modern genre of neo-soul. New Jack Swing was spearheaded by artists such as Teddy Riley, Guy, and Bobby Brown.

Pop Punk

Pop punk is a genre of rock music that combines influences of pop music with punk rock. Pop-influenced punk rock first emerged in the mid-1970s with bands such as the Ramones, the Buzzcocks, and the Clash. By the 1980s, bands such as Bad Religion, the Descendents, and Rancid were leading a new wave of pop punk. In the 1990s and 2000s, bands such as Blink-182, Sum 41, and Green Day helped bring mainstream attention to the genre. Pop punk typically features fast tempos, power chord changes, and hooks.

The genre is generally characterized by a heavier sound than traditional pop music, as well as often dealing with personal or emotional topics. Pop punk lyrics are often about relationships, anxiety, heartbreak, and other personal themes. The genre can be traced back to acts such as the Ramones and the Buzzcocks in the 1970s. In 1977, The Damned released Damned Damned Damned, which is often considered the first true pop punk album. In 1980–1981, Bad Religion released their debut album How Could Hell Be Any Worse?, which helped shape much of the sound and style of modern pop punk.

Synth-Pop

Synth-pop (also known as technopop) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. Synth-pop developed as a distinct style in Japan and the United Kingdom in the post-punk era as part of the new wave movement of the late-1970s to early-1980s.

The earliest synth-pop hits came from Japan, where Yellow Magic Orchestra’s self-titled debut album and subsequent hit singles “Computer Game” and “Firecracker” helped pave the way for an explosion of Japanese synth-pop bands in the early 1980s. In Britain, whereas new wave acts like The Clash and Sex Pistols rejected disco’s commercial values, synth-pop bands such as Ultravox, Human League, Yazoo, and Duran Duran accepted disco’s style but injected it with a punk sensibility and DIY ethic.

By the mid-1980s, synth-pop had been adopted by mainstream pop music and was often used interchangeably with new wave. By 1984, British label Mute Records (home to Depeche Mode) was using “new pop” to describe their roster of primarily British synth-pop acts. In October 1985, Billboard magazine published a special issue devoted to synth-pop which included interviews with Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Howard Jones, Tears for Fears, Depeche Mode, Simple Minds, Thompson Twins’ Tom Bailey— who said that while he did not particularly like being lumped in with synth pop bands his label Clockwork Orange were happy to be part of it because “they know they will sell more records because of it”—and Erasure. As rock music continued its commercial decline throughout most of the decade, labels increasingly turned to more profitable genres such as synth pop—along with new jack swing—to move product.

Conclusion

There are many different subgenres of pop music. These subgenres include but are not limited to:
-Alternative pop
-Chillwave
-EDM
-Indie pop
-K-pop
-Latin pop
-New jack swing
-Pop rap
-Soft rock

What are the Subgenres of Pop Music?

Introduction