Europop

Europop refers to a style of pop music that first developed in today's form in Europe, throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and ?90s. Some Europop stars came from France, Germany, Italy, Ireland and the Netherlands; but most were Swedish in origin. 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 massive success in the UK, where they scored a phenomenal 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. By 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 predominant 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 United States, 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. For this wiki, we'll use the British definition.

In Continental Europe, the term "Europop" is used to describe non English language hits of the late 50s, 60s, and early 70s, mostly from France & Italy, before the 70s Euro disco era, popularised by Scopitone jukeboxes in France and Cinebox/Coilorama in Italy. Since the late 90s, the term has been more widely used to describe mainstream pop. This includes mainstream hits from all around Europe (influenced by 90s Eurodance, a.k.a. Euro-House), boy bands and girl bands (especially from UK, Germany and Sweden) and low-tempo pop ballads.

Examples of Europop:
 * A-ha
 * ABBA
 * Ace of Base
 * The Ark
 * Attack
 * Bearforce 1
 * Caramell
 * Dschinghis Khan
 * Eurovision Song Contest - Although, it's more of an example how WEIRD Europop can be.
 * Eiffel65
 * Günther