Euro-Pop

Euro-Pop refers to a style of pop music that developed in Europe throughout the 1970s which emphasized catchy beats, slick songs and frothy lyrics. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and 90s. Some Europop stars came from France, Germany, Italy, Ireland and the Netherlands; a large majority 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 Eurovision Song Contest has been heavily criticised in the past for the fact that many of its entries have been based on Europop, with only the occasional "serious" song. However, recently, this trend seems to be changing; the winner of the Contest in 2004, "Wild Dances", was an upbeat track incorporating drums and pyrotechnics, while in 2006, Lordi's heavy metal winning song was far from the old Europop stereotype. However, it has be argued that it is only due to their bright, loud stage appearance that they won votes, and not due to the actual quality of their songs.