The Song Planner

Digital Pop

tagStarted 2013Peak 2018-2023Last big hit still active

Located in 2 routes

Pop → Electropop / SynthpopElectronic / Dance → Electropop / Synthpop

Hyper-glossy, internet-native pop built from candy-bright synth presets, pitch-shifted and formant-warped vocals, sub-rattling 808s, and chrome-plated digital sheen. Production is intentionally artificial and maximalist: nightcore-sped hooks, gluey Auto-Tune, sugary sound-design that feels rendered rather than recorded, surreal and self-aware.

History

Coined around A.G. Cook's London label PC Music in 2013, Digital Pop grew from the 'bubblegum bass' of Cook, SOPHIE and Hannah Diamond, exaggerating Y2K pop into uncanny chrome. SOPHIE's 2018 LP and Charli XCX's PC Music collaborations pushed it overground; it later fed directly into the hyperpop wave that broke commercially around 2019-2020.

Defining artists

Essential listening

← Explore Pop

Sources

  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC_Music
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperpop
  • https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/hyperpop-100-gecs-glaive-pc-music-guide-feature/
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immaterial_(song)