Hyperpop

live at Rock am Ring 2022. The duo has been credited with popularizing hyperpop in the early 2020s.|left Hyperpop artists embody an exaggerated, eclectic, and self-referential approach to pop music and typically employ elements such as brash synth melodies, Auto-Tuned "earworm" vocals, and excessive compression and distortion, as well as surrealist or nostalgic references to 2000s Internet culture and the Web 2.0 era. Common features include vocals that are heavily processed; metallic, melodic percussion sounds; pitch-shifted synths; catchy choruses; short song lengths; and "shiny, cutesy aesthetics" juxtaposed with angst-ridden or ironic lyricism. According to Vice journalist Eli Enis, hyperpop is not so much about following music rules, but "a shared ethos of transcending genre altogether, while still operating within the context of pop". The movement is often associated with the LGBTQ+ community, drawing primary influences from queer culture. The microgenre's emphasis on vocal modulation has allowed artists to experiment with gender presentation and androgyny in their voices, Joe Vitagliano, writing for American Songwriter, said hyperpop is an "exciting, bombastic, and iconoclastic genre – if it can even be called a 'genre and has "saw synths, auto-tuned vocals, glitch-inspired percussion and a distinctive late-capitalism-dystopia vibe". According to Kieran Press-Reynolds writing for Pitchfork, artists in this style mix the avant-garde and pop music, often balancing between being addictively fun and a bit too much. He added that in 2024, hyperpop had become a "Frankensteinian macro-genre". The Atlantic said the genre "swirls together and speeds up Top 40 tricks of present and past: a Janet Jackson drum slam here, a Depeche Mode synth squeal there, the overblown pep of novelty jingles throughout," but also said "the genre's zest for punk's brattiness, hip-hop's boastfulness, and metal's noise". According to Rolling Stone magazine, collectives such as Novagang and Helix Tears "feature artists of variously different styles and sounds, but find community with each other in their shared rejection of stylistic limits." == Etymology ==

The earliest known use of the term "hyperpop" was made in October 1988 by writer Don Shewey in an article about the Scottish dream pop band Cocteau Twins, stating that England in the 1980s had "nurtured the simultaneous phenomena of hyperpop and antipop". In the late 2000s, the term "hyperpop" was sometimes used as a genre descriptor in the nightcore scene and later associated with the artists surrounding the London-based PC Music record label and art collective in the early 2010s. == Background ==

Precursors Various artists acted as influential precursors to hyperpop, helping in shaping and developing the genre, as Will Pritchard of the Independent explains, "to some, the ground covered by hyperpop won't seem all that new". Followed by, ''AllMusic's'' Heather Phares claiming Sleigh Bells' music "foreshadowed hyperpop". Journalist Aliya Chaudhury believes 3OH!3 "created the main blueprint for hyperpop" with their "ability to parody pop and take it to bewildering extremes," using "blown-out synths, and modulated vocals". Other sources suggest the work of London musician Max Tundra as a direct influence on, and/or progenitor of, the hyperpop genre. Additionally, mainstream pop artists such as Kesha were credited by writers like Eilish Gilligan from Junkee as influential precursors, writing: "[Kesha's] grating, half-spoken vocal featured in Blow and all of her early work, in fact, feel reminiscent of a lot of the intense vocals in hyperpop today". This was followed by a mention of Britney Spears, stating: "2011 dancefloor fillers 'Till The World Ends', 'Hold It Against Me' and 'I Wanna Go' all share the same pounding beats that populate modern hyperpop". Influences Hyperpop initially emerged from the artists surrounding the PC Music record label and art collective in London and was inspired by bubblegum pop, Eurohouse, hip hop, trance, J-pop, K-pop, emo, and nu-metal. and emo, as well as production and musical styles lifted from traditional and contemporary hip-hop like emo rap, cloud rap and lo-fi trap, contemporaneous movements like digicore and glitchcore became primary influences, as both scenes were sometimes conflated with hyperpop due to overlapping artists. == History ==

2010s: Origins (left) and A. G. Cook (right) are considered progenitors of hyperpopHyperpop originally emerged from the PC Music record label and art collective in the early 2010s. while Charli XCX was described as "queen" of the style by Vice, her 2016 EP Vroom Vroom and 2017 mixtape Pop 2 set a template for its sound, featuring "outré" production by AG Cook, Sophie, Umru, and Easyfun as well as "a titular mission to give pop – sonically, spiritually, aesthetically – a facelift for the modern age". Late 2010s–2020s: First wave and their debut album led to Spotify launching a dedicated permanent hyperpop playlist. According to Vice and the Face, a second wave of hyperpop following the original PC Music scene emerged in 2019, spearheaded by hyperpop duo 100 gecs, whose viral hit "Money Machine" helped reinvent and popularize the genre. In May 2019, they released their debut album 1000 gecs, which amassed millions of listens on streaming services. The Independent described 100 gecs as taking hyperpop, "to its most extreme, and extremely catchy, conclusions: stadium-sized trap beats processed and distorted to near-destruction, overwrought emo vocals and cascades of ravey arpeggios". Szabo and her colleagues landed on the name for the playlist after stumbling upon it on the platform's metadata, which drew from the site Every Noise at Once, ran by data analyst and Spotify employee Glenn McDonald, who was credited with adding the term in 2018. In November, Cook added non-hyperpop artists such as J Dilla, Nicki Minaj, Lil Uzi Vert and Kate Bush to the playlist, which caused controversy due to these additions pushing out smaller hyperpop artists who relied upon the playlist for their earnings. In 2020, the microgenre began to see a greater rise in popularity, which was linked to the COVID-19 lockdowns, particularly "Alt TikTok", which Rolling Stone described as "one of the main countercultures on the app". Pitchfork noted that musician Ayesha Erotica's work had become popular on TikTok, while every "hyperpop explainer" video was met with comments regarding the erasure of her influence on the genre. In July 2021, Hyperpop artist ElyOtto's song "SugarCrash!" became one of the most popular songs in TikTok history, and was used in over 5 million videos on the platform. Underscores, another significant contributor to the microgenre, stated that it was "officially dead". Other sources cited online streaming algorithms as pigeon-holing the genre into conventions that led to a decline in further developments and innovation. Charli XCX and mainstream popularity performing during the Brat Tour in November 2024 The genre achieved a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single in Sam Smith and Kim Petras's "Unholy" and a hit album in Charli XCX's 2024 hyperpop album Brat. In 2025, Google also displayed a Google Doodle celebrating the hyperpop genre for pride month. Regional scenes Nylons Ben Jolley cited Putochinomaricón as one of the "biggest names in the scene". Hyperpop also began to spread in Asia, starting in the early 2020's. Artists Effie and 4s4ki have been named as influential in the scene by publications Billboard and Dazed. == Related genres ==

Bubblegum bass Bubblegum bass (also known as PC Music) is an experimental style of electronic music associated with the British record label and art collective PC Music, founded by A. G. Cook in London in 2013. The style draws influences from 1990s and 2000s electronic music scenes, the early internet, and bloghouse-related genres. It has been credited as hyperpop's first "era" by Pitchfork, as well as establishing the sound that would later "morph into hyperpop". Digicore Digicore (originally known as draincore) is a microgenre that developed alongside hyperpop (sometimes characterised as a subgenre) during the late 2010s to early 2020s. The beginnings of digicore are rooted in internet culture and many popular producers from the microgenre are between the ages of 15 and 18. Glitchcore Glitchcore is a microgenre that originally developed alongside hyperpop referring to the exaggerated vocals, distortions, glitch noises, and other pop elements present within glitchcore. Artists such as 100 gecs, Bladee and his collective Drain Gang played a key role in the development of the genre. Stef, a producer of the popular hyperpop and glitchcore collective Helix Tears stated that there certainly is a difference between the two microgenres, saying, "Hyperpop is more melodic and poppy whereas glitchcore is indescribable". TikTok played a key role in popularising glitchcore, through video edits to two viral glitchcore songs "NEVER MET!" by CMTEN and Glitch Gum and "Pressure" by David Shawty and Yungster Jack. Dariacore Dariacore (also known as hyperflip) is an Internet microgenre of electronic dance music. It is sometimes conflated as a subgenre of hyperpop. It was described by Raphael Helfand of the Fader as "an entire genre in and of itself, taking hyperpop's silliest tendencies to their logical conclusions". By the mid-2020s, Dariacore had gained a cult following in Japan through the netlabel Lost Frog Productions. Founder Haruo Ishihara attributes the style's popularity in Japan partly to the country's established song remix and OtoMAD meme culture, as well as the frequent sampling of familiar anime and J-pop hits. Hyper-rock Hyper-rock is a fusion genre that fuses rock music and hyperpop. It is characterized by a guitar-centric foundation combined with processed vocals, glitchy textures, and experimental sound design, resulting in a sound that differs from folktronica, indietronica, or digital hardcore. The term hyper-rock was coined by Stereogum journalist James Rettig. He introduced the term in a "tongue-in-cheek parenthetical" while reviewing Feeble Little Horse's album, Girl with Fish. Hyper-rock, as a distinct musical style, is considered to have emerged in the late 2010s and early 2020s, although its foundational elements and experimental precursors date back further. Early sonic experiments in the 2000s laid the groundwork for the genre. Known forerunners include Sweet Trip's Velocity : Design : Comfort (2003) is considered a significant record for the genre, blending IDM, glitch, and shoegaze. Tracks such as "Fruitcake and Cookies" and "To All the Dancers of the World, a Round Form of Fantasy" illustrate the progression from fragmented electronic textures to euphoric, guitar-driven soundscapes, elements later associated with hyper-rock. Hyper-rock is primarily built around rock guitars, which may range from dense, reverb-soaked layers reminiscent of shoegaze to harsher, evolving riffs influenced by black metal. Vocals are often heavily processed, employing techniques such as pitch shifting and the use of Auto-Tune. The style also incorporates glitched-out production and electronic elements, including programmed drums, synth textures, and fragmented soundscapes. The genre reflects a fusion of influences from a wide array of musical styles. Shoegaze contributes atmospheric textures and layered guitar sounds, while hyperpop informs its high-energy, glitch-oriented approach and vocal processing. IDM, glitch, and digicore provide jittery electronic elements and fragmented sound design. Some artists integrate aspects of heavy metal, trance, electronic dance, vaporwave, and pop. == See also ==