Pop Punk

Pop punk (also known as punk pop and other names) is a form of rock music. It is recognised as a fusion genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees. Allmusic describes the genre as a strand of alternative rock, which typically merges pop melodies with speedy punk tempos, chord changes and loud guitars.

It is not clear when the term pop punk was first used, but pop-influenced punk rock had been around since the mid- to late-1970s, performed by bands such as the Ramones, Buzzcocks, The Jam, The Undertones, and Descendents. Bad Religion, who started in 1980, was another band that helped lay the groundwork for contemporary pop punk. In the mid-1990s, the Northern California-based pop punk bands Green Day and as well as the Southern California-based pop punk band Blink-182, achieved worldwide commercial success. About.com has described contemporary pop punk bands as having "a radio friendly sheen to their music, but still maintaining much of the speed and attitude of classic punk rock".

From the mid-1990s onwards, some bands associated with the genre have been described as "happy punk," "faux-punk," "mall punk," "pseudo-punk," "bubblegum punk," or "surf punk."