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 '80s and The '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. Continental Europop was made known to Great Britain largely through spoof-travelogue magazine show Eurotrash, in which the extremely French host Antoine de Caunes took delight in screening the most magnificently tacky or just downright strange European cultural manifestations. This invariably included at least one Europop star per show who was offered a chance to perform to a British audience.
Examples of Europop:
- 2 Brothers on the 4th Floor
- Two Unlimited
- ABBA
- Ace of Base
- a-ha
- Alexia
- Alphabeat
- Amber
- Amir
- Annie (born Anne Lilia Berge-Strand)
- Aqua
- The Ark
- ATC (later known as A Touch of Class)
- A-Teens
- Attack
- Baby Alice
- Bébé Lilly
- Baccara
- Basshunter
- Bearforce1
- Blå Øjne
- Boney M.
- Bosson
- Captain Jack
- Caramell
- Cascada
- Chess — a Europop Rock Opera.
- Chilly
- Alex Christensen
- Darin — a Swedish popstar of Kurdish origins and first runner up of the first edition of Swedish Idol
- DHT
- Double You
- Dschinghis Khan
- DYCE
- Eiffel 65, whose first album is the Trope Namer
- E-Type
- Eurovision Song Contest - although, it's more of an example how WEIRD Europop can be.
- Lara Fabian
- Fast Food Rockers
- Fragma
- Damae
- Groove Coverage
- Günther
- Haddaway
- Hege
- Ian van Dahl
- AnnaGrace
- Inna
- Gerard Joling
- Karma
- Kerli
- The Knife
- Lasgo
- Ann Lee (born in England, lives in Italy, also sings Eurobeat under various aliases. Her real name is Annerley Gordon, which she performs under as well.)
- Loco Loco
- Loreen
- Kim Lukas (like Ann Lee, an English expat in Italy)
- Petra Marklund (AKA September)
- Me & My
- Missing Heart
- M-Kids
- Mr. President
- Nathalie (AKA Joga, also Eurobeat)
- Novaspace
- O-Zone
- Pakito
- Pandora (AKA Anneli Magnusson)
- Sarina Paris — although born in Canada, she is of Italian descent and relocated there
- "Planet of the Bass" — a parody of the genre by American comedian Kyle Gordon under the stage name DJ Crazy Times
- Rednex
- Manuel Reuter
- R.I.O.
- Rollergirl
- Roxette
- Kate Ryan
- Secret Garden
- Smile.dk
- Starstylers
- Sylver
- T.H. Express
- Toy-Box
- Vengaboys
- VideoKids
- Jasmin Wagner (AKA Blümchen, also Happy Hardcore)
- Whigfield
