Pop/Rock » Europop » Euro-Pop

The term Euro-Pop came to be associated with a style of pop music that was deliberately lightweight, silly, and slickly produced; true to its name, much (though not quite all) of it originated on the European continent, although there were also occasional British or American acts influenced by the style. ABBA was the definitive Euro-Pop band, crafting effortless, compulsively catchy songs with bouncy dance beats and frothy lyrics. Since the lyrics weren't an important part of appreciating the music, it could easily spread to non-English-speaking countries as well; songs could also be recorded in the native languages of more localized markets without losing lyrical nuance. Although ABBA became worldwide superstars during the '70s, much Euro-Pop remained confined to continental Europe, especially France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Sweden. In the decades that followed, Sweden produced the vast majority of the Euro-Pop acts that made a splash in the English-speaking world, including Army of Lovers and Roxette in the '80s and Ace of Base and Robyn in the '90s. The '90s dance-pop revival spearheaded by groups like Take That, the Spice Girls, and the Backstreet Boys owed a great deal to the sound and style of Euro-Pop, while English-speaking artists who imitated the style for its incessant catchiness often added elements of irony and/or trashy camp.