Emo pop (also known as emo pop punk and pop-emo) is a fusion genre combining emo with the melodies of

pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti- suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other p ...

and/or

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describ ...

. Emo pop features a music style with more concise songs and

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...

-filled choruses. Emo pop began in the 1990s with bands like Jimmy Eat World, the Get Up Kids, Weezer and

the Promise Ring The Promise Ring was an American rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that is recognized as part of the second wave of emo. Among various other EPs and singles, the band released four studio albums during their initial run: ''30° Everywh ...

. The genre became mainstream in the early 2000s with Jimmy Eat World's album '' Bleed American'', including the album's song " The Middle". In the 2000s, other emo pop bands that achieved mainstream success included

Fall Out Boy Fall Out Boy is an American rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurley. ...

the All-American Rejects The All-American Rejects is an American rock band from Stillwater, Oklahoma, formed in 1999.My Chemical Romance, Panic! at the Disco and Paramore. The popularity of emo pop declined in the 2010s, with some prominent artists in the genre either disbanding or abandoning the emo pop style.

Characteristics

Emo pop is a fusion between emo and pop punk.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

describes emo pop as blending "youthful angst" with "slick production" and mainstream appeal, using "high-pitched melodies,

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed ...

ic guitars, and confessional lyrics concerning

adolescence Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with t ...

, relationships, and heartbreak." MasterClass describes emo pop as featuring "soaring vocals and upbeat songs with melancholy lyrics." During the 2000s, emo pop artists would fuse the "lyrical and visual elements of emo with radio-friendly sonics of pop punk." Emo pop music is notably more commercially viable than other styles of emo due to its minimal influences from

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

and

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier pu ...

, and less extreme use of loud/soft dynamics. This has resulted in a sound comparable to

boy band A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Ma ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

History

Origins (1990s)

Emo pop was influenced by emo and pop punk bands in the early 1990s such as California's Samiam and New York's

Jawbreaker Jawbreaker may refer to: * Gobstopper, a hard candy with multiple layers Arts and entertainment * ''Jawbreakers'' (album), an album by Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and Harry "Sweets" Edison * Jawbreaker (band), an American rock band * Jawbreakers (duo) ...

. Jawbreaker has influenced future mainstream emo pop bands like

and My Chemical Romance.Greenwald, p. 26.Kelley, p. 82. Pop punk band

Blink-182 Blink-182 (stylized as blink-182) is an American rock band formed in Poway, California in 1992. Their current lineup consists of bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though their sound has ...

has been a very big influence on emo pop bands. The new generation of emo fans view the Blink-182 sound as "hugely influential," with James Montgomery writing, " ..without them, there'd be no Fall Out Boy, no Paramore, or no Fueled by Ramen Records." TGUK Bowry

Emo pop truly began during the mid-late 1990s with bands like Jimmy Eat World, The Get Up Kids, Weezer and

The Promise Ring The Promise Ring was an American rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that is recognized as part of the second wave of emo. Among various other EPs and singles, the band released four studio albums during their initial run: ''30° Everywh ...

. Weezer's ''

Pinkerton Pinkerton may refer to: Places * Pinkerton, Ontario, named after surveyor and early settler Matthew Pinkerton * Pinkerton's Landing Bridge, railroad bridge in Pennsylvania People * Allan Pinkerton (18191884), Scottish detective and spy * Bill ...

'' (1996) is viewed by '' Spin'' as "a groundbreaking record for all the emo-pop that would follow" and went number 19 on the US

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artist ...

chart upon release. Jimmy Eat World made an early emo pop sound off their album ''

Clarity Clarity may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Clarity, a magic spell in the online game '' EverQuest'' * Clarity, a fictional drug from the film '' Minority Report'' Music Albums * ''Clarity'' (Jimmy Eat World album) ...

'' (1999). Both albums were very influential on later emo and emo pop bands. According to Nicole Keiper of CMJ, Sense Field's ''

Building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and funct ...

'' (1996) pushed the band "into the emo-pop camp with the likes of the Get Up Kids and Jejune". Emo pop began to have independent success in the late 1990s. The Get Up Kids had sold over 15,000 copies of their debut album '' Four Minute Mile'' (1997) before signing to

Vagrant Records Vagrant Records is an American record label based in California. It was founded in 1995 by Rich Egan and Jon Cohen. The label focuses on rock, but features artists in a variety of other genres including folk, soul, electronic, and pop. It is ho ...

, who promoted the band strongly and put them on tours opening for famous pop punk acts like

Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a ...

and Weezer. Their album '' Something to Write Home About'' (1999) was a major success, reaching No. 31 on '' Billboards

Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...

chart.

Mainstream popularity (2000s)

. .

credits the birth of the mainstream success of emo pop to the 2001 release by Jimmy Eat World, '' Bleed American'', and the success of that album's single " The Middle." Weezer's second self-titled album received major commercial success in 2001 reaching number 4 on the US Billboard 200 chart. The same year, post-hardcore band

Thursday Thursday is the day of the week between Wednesday and Friday. According to the ISO 8601 international standard, it is the fourth day of the week. In countries which adopt the "Sunday-first" convention, it is the fifth day of the week. Name ''Se ...

released their sophomore album '' Full Collapse'' and reached 178 on the Billboard 200 charts. The album featured screaming and more aggression separating them from other emo pop bands.

The All-American Rejects The All-American Rejects is an American rock band from Stillwater, Oklahoma, formed in 1999.self-titled An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

debut album. The album sold over a million copies in the US alone. The album contained their hit song " Swing, Swing".

Dashboard Confessional Dashboard Confessional is an American rock band from Boca Raton, Florida, led by singer Chris Carrabba. The name of the band is derived from the songThe Sharp Hint of New Tears off their debut album, '' The Swiss Army Romance''. History Early ...

became a big player in the emo pop scene with their debut album '' The Swiss Army Romance'' (2000). The band would later receive commercial success with their albums '' A Mark, a Mission, a Brand, a Scar'' (2003) and '' Dusk and Summer'' (2006). Both albums were released under

which also released music by emo pop bands Saves The Day, the Get Up Kids, the Anniversary,

Hey Mercedes Hey Mercedes was an alternative rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois, United States, formed after the dissolution of Braid by its former members Bob Nanna, Todd Bell, and Damon Atkinson. History Early years and ''Everyn ...

, Hot Rod Circuit and Alkaline Trio. In 2004,

Avril Lavigne Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. At age 16, she signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records. Her debut studio album, '' Let Go'' (2002), is the best-selling album of the 21 ...

released her second album ''Under My Skin'', which is considered one of the works that anticipated the emotional intensity and theatrical aesthetics of

emo-pop Emo pop (also known as emo pop punk and pop-emo) is a fusion genre combining emo with the melodies of pop punk and/or pop music. Emo pop features a music style with more concise songs and hook-filled choruses. Emo pop began in the 1990s with ban ...

music in the mainstream. As the genre coalesced, the record label Fueled by Ramen became a center of the movement, releasing

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

selling albums from bands like Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco and Paramore. Two main regional scenes developed in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

, pioneered by label Fueled by Ramen, and in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. ...

, promoted by Pete Wentz of the Illinois band Fall Out Boy, which rose to the front of the style in the mid-2000s after the single " Sugar, We're Goin Down" received heavy airplay, climbing to number eight on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 music charts. Plain White T's was another Illinois emo pop band that received major mainstream success. Their album '' Every Second Counts'' (2006) went number 10 on the Billboard 200 charts and featured their number one single " Hey There Delilah". New Jersey band My Chemical Romance was one of the faces of emo pop during the 2000s. MCR's albums ''

Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge ''Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge'' (often shortened to ''Three Cheers'' or ''Revenge'') is the second studio album by American rock band My Chemical Romance, released on June 8, 2004, by Reprise Records. With this album, the band produced a cleaner ...

'' (2004) and ''

The Black Parade ''The Black Parade'' is the third studio album by American rock band My Chemical Romance. Released in Europe on October 20, 2006, through Reprise Records, it was produced by the band with Rob Cavallo, known for having produced multiple albums ...

'' (2006) both sold more than 3 million copies in the US alone. The latter of the albums debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200 charts. The album's lead single " Welcome to the Black Parade" topped the US

Alternative Songs Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

chart and reached number 9 on the Billboard hot 100. Taking Back Sunday's third album ''

Louder Now ''Louder Now'' is the third studio album by American rock band Taking Back Sunday. In April 2005, the group had begun writing material for the album. Two months later, they signed with Warner Bros. Records and contributed a song to the ''Fanta ...

'' (2006) debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200 charts. Hawthorne Heights's sophomore album '' If Only You Were Lonely'' (2006) reached number 3 on the Billboard 200, achieving mainstream success outside of the

scene unlike some of their contemporaries.

We the Kings We the Kings is an American rock band from Bradenton, Florida. The band's eponymous full-length debut album, released in 2007, included the platinum single " Check Yes Juliet", and went on to sell over 250,000 copies in the US. The group's sec ...

released their debut

self-titled An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

studio album which had an emo pop sound. The lead single on the album " Check Yes Juliet" went certified Platinum in the United States. The emo pop band

Metro Station A metro station or subway station is a station for a rapid transit system, which as a whole is usually called a "metro" or "subway". A station provides a means for passengers to purchase tickets, board trains, and evacuate the system in the ...

fused emo aesthetics with

and

electronic music Electronic music is a Music genre, genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or electronics, circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromech ...

on their 2007

album. The band's single " Shake It" went number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Also in 2008,

You Me at Six You Me at Six are an English rock band from Weybridge, Surrey. The band consists of lead singer Josh Franceschi, guitarists Max Helyer and Chris Miller, bassist Matt Barnes and drummer Daniel Flint. Formed in 2004, the name for the group orig ...

released their debut album '' Take Off Your Colours'', which had been described by AllMusic's Jon O'Brien as "follow ngthe "emo-pop for dummies"' handbook word-for-word." The album would later be certified gold in the UK. In 2009

All Time Low All Time Low is an American rock band from Towson, Maryland, formed in 2003. Consisting of lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist Alex Gaskarth, lead guitarist Jack Barakat, bassist/backing vocalist Zack Merrick, and drummer Rian Dawson, the band to ...

released their third studio album '' Nothing Personal'' which debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200 charts. AllMusic states that the album "helped make All Time Low one of the top emo-pop acts in the business".

Decline in popularity (2010s)

Since the early 2010s, emo pop has seen a decrease in mainstream success. While many 2000s emo pop bands are still popular, some of them have ventured on to different sounds and aesthetics outside of the genre. Emo pop bands

, The Academy Is...,

Good Charlotte Good Charlotte is an American rock band from Waldorf, Maryland that formed in 1996. Since 2005, the band's lineup has consisted of twin brothers Joel Madden (lead vocals) and Benji Madden (guitar and vocals), Paul Thomas (bass), Billy Martin ...

Hey Monday Hey Monday was an American rock band from West Palm Beach, Florida, formed in 2008. They released their debut album '' Hold On Tight'' in 2008, which produced the singles "Homecoming" and "How You Love Me Now". The album was followed up with th ...

, Forever the Sickest Kids and My Chemical Romance disbanded or went on hiatus during the early 2010s. The emo pop band Panic! at the Disco's 2013 album ''

Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die! ''Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die!'' is the fourth studio album by American pop rock band Panic! at the Disco. The album was released on October 8, 2013 on Decaydance and Fueled by Ramen. Recorded as a trio, the album was produced by Butch Wa ...

'' abandons their emo pop sound which is heard primarily on ''

A Fever You Can't Sweat Out ''A Fever You Can't Sweat Out'' is the debut studio album by American pop rock band Panic! at the Disco. Produced by Matt Squire, the album was released on September 27, 2005, through Decaydance and Fueled by Ramen. The group formed in Las Vegas ...

'' and has many characteristics and influences from hip hop music,

new wave music New wave is a loosely defined music genre that encompasses pop-oriented styles from the late 1970s and the 1980s. It was originally used as a catch-all for the various styles of music that emerged after punk rock, including punk itself. Late ...

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a r ...

and

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

. The emo pop band Fall Out Boy went on hiatus from 2009 to 2013 but returned with a new sound on their album

Save Rock and Roll ''Save Rock and Roll'' is the fifth studio album by American rock band Fall Out Boy. It was produced by Butch Walker and released April 12, 2013, through Island Records. On October 15, the album was re-released with '' PAX AM Days'', an extended ...

. The album has characteristics of

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, ear ...

and general pop punk. Paramore ventured away from their emo pop sound on their self-titled album (2013) which has some characteristics of

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and ...

, pop rock and new wave. Despite this decrease in popularity a number of emo pop bands have garnered fan bases in the 2010s including

Sorority Noise Sorority Noise was an American rock band from Hartford, Connecticut. The band consisted of members from the bands Old Gray (Boucher and Singer, and Ackerman), Prawn (McKenna), Small Circle (Boucher, Singer, and Ackerman), and En Route (Singer) ...

, Real Friends,

Boston Manor Boston Manor is an English Jacobean manor house built in 1622 with internal alterations, intensively restored in later centuries and Boston Manor Park is the adjoining publicly owned green space including a lake. It was the manor house of ...

and

Moose Blood Moose Blood were an English emo band based in Canterbury, Kent. They formed in 2012 and were signed to Hopeless Records. History Moose Blood formed in August 2012 and published a self-released demo, ''Bukowski Demo (Summer '12)'', in the sam ...

References