| Electropop | |
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| Cultural origins | Mid 1980s |
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Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with outstanding heavy emphasis on its electronic sound.[3] The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a revival of popularity and influence in the late 2000s.[3]
During the early 1980s, British artists such as Gary Numan, Depeche Mode, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, The Human League, Soft Cell, John Foxx and Visage helped pioneer a new synth-pop style that drew more heavily from electronic music and emphasized primary usage of synthesizers.[4]
Some fascinating new music began arriving on these shores; it was dubbed electropop, because electronic instrumentation — mainly synthesizers and syndrums — was used to craft pop songs. "Pop Muzik" by M was one of the first. There was a gradual accumulation of worthy electropop discs, though they were still mostly heard only in rock discos. But in 1981, the floodgates opened, and "new music" at last made a mighty splash. The breakthrough song was "Don't You Want Me" by the Human League.
Britney Spears' highly influential fifth studio album Blackout (2007) is credited for bringing the genre to mainstream prominence. The media in 2009 ran articles proclaiming a new era of different electropop stars, and indeed the times saw a rise in popularity of several electropop artists. In the Sound of 2009 poll of 130 music experts conducted for the BBC, ten of the top fifteen artists named were of the electropop genre.[6] Lady Gaga had major commercial success from 2008 with her debut album The Fame. Music writer Simon Reynolds noted that "Everything about Gaga came from electroclash, except the music, which wasn't particularly 1980s".[7] The Korean pop music scene has also become dominated and influenced by electropop, particularly with boy bands and girl groups such as Super Junior, SHINee, f(x) and Girls' Generation.[8]
Singer Michael Angelakos of Passion Pit said in a 2009 interview that while playing electropop was not his intention, the limitations of dorm life made the genre more accessible.[9]
In 2009, The Guardian quoted James Oldham—head of artists and repertoireatA&M Records—as saying "All A&R departments have been saying to managers and lawyers: 'Don't give us any more bands because we're not going to sign them and they're not going to sell records.' So everything we've been put on to is electronic in nature."[10][11]
In 2019, Kenneth Womack wrote that singer and songwriter Billie Eilish had "staked her claim as the reigning queen of electropop" with her critical and commercial hit album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?.[12]
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