Hyperpop
tagStarted 2019Peak 2019-2022Last big hit still active
Located in 3 routes
The flagship sound: pop hooks shoved through extreme distortion, with clipping bass, screaming supersaws, helium-pitched and Auto-Tuned vocals, abrupt beat switches, and a hard/soft whiplash between cuteness and noise. Loud, compressed, and gleefully overloaded, it treats the red-lining digital signal itself as the instrument.
History
The term crystallized around Spotify's 2019 "hyperpop" playlist and exploded after 100 gecs' "1000 gecs" (2019) made the maximalist style viral. Building on PC Music's bubblegum bass, it pulled in emo-rap and EDM, peaking during the 2020-2021 lockdowns as bedroom producers and Discord scenes flooded SoundCloud and TikTok with feed-native noise-pop.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperpop
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money_Machine_(song)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flamboyant_(album)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishmonger_(album)