Pop-punk

Pop-punk (also punk-pop, alternatively spelled without the hyphen) is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined by its fast-paced, energetic tempos, and emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes. It is distinguished from other punk-variant genres by drawing more heavily from 1960s bands such as the Beatles, the Kinks, and the Beach Boys. The genre has evolved throughout its history, absorbing elements from new wave, college rock, ska, hip hop, emo, boy band pop and even hardcore punk. It is sometimes considered interchangeable with power pop and skate punk.

Pop-punk emerged in the late 1970s with groups such as the Ramones, the Undertones, and the Buzzcocks setting the genre's groundwork. 1980s punk bands like Bad Religion, Descendents and the Misfits, while not necessarily pop-punk in and of themselves, were influential to pop-punk, and it expanded in the late 1980s and early 1990s by a host of bands signed to Lookout! Records, including Screeching Weasel, the Queers, and the Mr. T Experience. In the mid-1990s, the genre saw a widespread popularity increase and entered the mainstream with bands like Green Day and the Offspring. The genre experienced another wave popularized during the late 1990s and early 2000s led by Blink-182, and in their wake followed contemporary acts such as Sum 41, New Found Glory, Good Charlotte, and Avril Lavigne, while the Warped Tour played a crucial role in launching up-and-coming pop-punk artists.^[2]

Pop-punk's mainstream popularity continued in the mid-to-late 2000s, with artists such as Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, and Paramore achieving high levels of commercial success. By this point, pop-punk acts were largely indistinguishable from artists tagged as "emo", to the extent that emo crossover acts such as Fall Out Boy and Paramore popularized a pop-punk-influenced style dubbed emo pop. By the 2010s, pop-punk's mainstream popularity had waned, with rock bands and guitar-centric music becoming rare on dance-focused pop radio. During this period, however, a wave of underground artists defined a rawer and more emotional take on the genre, namely the Story so Far, the Wonder Years and Neck Deep. In the early 2020s, a new crop of pop-punk music began experiencing mainstream resurgence with various new acts such as Machine Gun Kelly, KennyHoopla and Yungblud.