Europop | en

Europop refers to a style of pop music that developed in Europe throughtout the 1970s which emphasized catchy beats, slick songs and fronty lyrics. Europop topped the charts throughtout the 1980s and '90s. Some Europop stars came from France, Germany, Italy, Ireland and the Netherlands; a large majority were Swedish in orgin. In the 1970s, such groups were primarily popular in continental countries, with the exception of the biggest Europop outfit ever, Swedish 4-piece ABBA, who achieved great success in the UK, where they scored a 19 top 10 singles and 9 chart-topping albums, and in North America and Australia. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Roxette and Ace of Base led Europop in American and British mainstream audiences. In the 1990s, pop groups like the Spice Girls and the Backstreet Boys were strongly influenced by Europop. One of the main differences between American and European pop is that Europop is generally more dance and trance oriented. In central Europe Italo disco (a.k.a '80s Eurodisco) and Euro House (a.k.a '90s Eurodance (later) are the preodominant attempts by young musicians to have a hit record in and beyond the borders of their own country. The use of the term Europop differs between the United States, United Kingdom and the rest of Europe. In the U.S., British and even Australian acts such as Kylie Minogue can be termed Europop, while in the United Kingdom the term is used exclusively for acts from Continental Europe. British groups Girls Aloud, Take That and Sugababes would never be referred to as "Europop" in their home country.

See also: German pop and French pop .