{{genrebox|name=Pop music
|color=#87CEEB
|bgcolor=black
|stylistic_origins= Initially jazz, rock and roll, and R&B; then disco, dance music, and in the 2000s, reggae and hip hop.
|cultural_origins=1950s United States / 1950s United Kingdom
|instruments=Electric guitar, Bass guitar, Drum kit, Drum machine, Keyboard, Synthesizer, and, for hip hop-influenced pop, a Turntable
|popularity=Continuous worldwide from 1950s
|derivatives=
|subgenrelist=List of pop music genres
|subgenres=Bubblegum pop - dirty pop - Traditional pop music
|fusiongenres=Country pop - Dance pop - Electropop/Technopop - Pop rap - Power pop - Arabic pop - Death pop - Pop folk - pop rock - Synth pop
|regional_scenes=Asia: J-pop, K-pop, Persian pop, Cantopop, Mandarin pop, Arabic Pop, Indi-pop, String (Thai pop) - Europe: Europop, Modern Laika, Austropop, Britpop, Nederpop - Americas: United States, Música Popular Brasileira, Latin America - Oceania: Australia
|other_topics=Pop culture - Boy band - Girl group
}}

Pop music (or "pop") is a subgenre of contemporary popular music that typically has a dance-along rhythm or beat, simple melodies and a repeating structure. Pop song lyrics are often emotional, commonly relating to love, loss, emotion, or dancing. The term does not refer to a single genre or sound, and its meaning is different depending on the time and place.

Pop music is distinguished from classical (or art music) and from folk musicFrith, Simon (2001). Nobody likes pop, especially me. ''The Cambridge Companion to Pop and Rock'', p.94. ISBN 0-521-55660-0 .). Pop songs are often written by songwriters, unlike other popular music genres, such as rock and hip hop, where singers often write their own songs.

Pop is distributed by major record companies as part of a global music market through mass marketing through radio, television.In the recorded music era, the single (a single song) and the album (a collection of songs) are the usual methods of distributing pop music. Pop has been distributed in many formats included vinyl records, cassette tapes, compact discs, and Internet downloads.

Sound and themes

Pop music generally uses a simple, memorable melody and emphasizes the rhythm, often with syncopation, and stripped down to a basic riff or loop which repeats throughout much of the song. Pop songs usually have a verse and a chorus, each with different musical material, well as a bridge connecting them in many cases. The lyrics often concern romance and relationships.

The vocal style found in much pop music has been heavily influenced by African American musical traditions such as rhythm and blues (R&B), soul music, and gospel. The rhythms and the sound of pop music have been heavily influenced by swing jazz, rock and roll, reggae, funk, disco, and is currently influenced by hip hop in many cases.

Music videos and live performances are often used for exposure in the media, and artists may have extravagant stage shows and use choreographed dance routines. Videos take on a particularly important role in this type of music since it is the most commercially successful one, and videos are an important means of reaching wider audiences.

Demographics of pop music

As records, CDs and DVDs became cheaper, the ''age'' of the average consumer of pop music dropped dramatically. In the early years of recordings, artists like Frank Sinatra sang about affairs, champagne and night clubs; lyrics that appealed to investors, business, and "classy" market.As records became cheaper, teenagers were able to influence the market, especially during the promotion of the worldwide Beatles tours. In recent years, children have become one of the largest music markets, reducing the age of the average consumer of pop music drastically.

Young people have always been interested in fashion, and spend their money on new artists. Whereas the previous generation tend to keep to their favorite artists, young people conform more to peer-pressure. This conforming creates waves of commercial support for particular artists, and establishes pop music as an important mediator of youth culture. Because of this, pop music has historically been the source of numerous moral panics; parents viewing explicit and suggestive lyrics as gateways to immorality and blaming pop music for perceived increases in objectionable behavior within youth culture.

1930s and 1940s

este-American communities (for example: electric guitar Blues in Chicago and Texas), and Country coming also from "hillbilly music" of poor folk, white and black (Sun Records in Tennessee), which blended to become Rockabilly. The most important ingredient in early Rock n' Roll was, however, the type of Jump blues / R&B led by Louis Jordan who occasionally broke through into the pop charts. The music later on was mixed with gospel handclaps, boogie woogie and larger emphasis on backbeat, by artists such as The Treniers, which created Rock 'n' Roll.
The rise of the crying and emotional singers in the late 1940s such as Mario Lanza began the pop music vocal style.

1950s

Early Western Pop music artists include Tommy Steele, Marty Wilde, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bobbejaan Schoepen, and Peggy Lee, but other artists like Bill Haley and his Comets, James Brown, Ray Conniff, Ray Charles, Everly Brothers, Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley became popular with the younger generation. In Australia there was Johnny O'Keefe, Col Joy and Bobby Darin. Italian singers such as Mario Lanza sang tunes people could identify and sing along to.

1970s

Bee Gees, ABBA and the piano-based pop of Billy Joel and Elton John become famous in these years. Other important musicians included Carole King, The Jackson Five, Olivia Newton-John, Michael Jackson with his 20 million selling album Off the Wall and Donna Summer.

During the 1970s in Britain, New Wave and Punk brought bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees, Talking Heads, Ian Dury, Elvis Costello, The Police and The Stranglers into the pop charts. A mod revival spearheaded by The Jam and Madness followed and opened the way for The Specials, UB40 and Dexys Midnight Runners.

1980s

Highlights for pop music in the 1980s are Michael Jackson's second ''Epic'' label release, ''Thriller'', which went on to become the best-selling album of all time. Jackson was the most successful artist of the 80s, spanning nine #1 singles in the United States alone during that decade, and selling over 136 million copies with only two albums — ''Thriller'', and its follow-up ''Bad''. Since the early nineties, Jackson has been often referred to and regarded as the "King of Pop".

Another important artist in the 1980s was Madonna. Considered the "Queen of Pop", Madonna had a unique mix of pop music with other musical genres, including electronic, Dance and R&B. Madonna has sold 250 million copies worldwide and has seventeen albums clasified as Platinum in United States, apart from two certified Diamond (Like a Virgin, The Inmaculate Collection).

Prince also made a popular impact in the 1980s, and he was particularly adored by music critics. A large number of his albums and singles topped or held prominent positions on the yearly Village Voice Pazz and Jop Poll including albums ''1999'', ''Purple Rain'', and ''Sign "o" the Times''. Songs like "When Doves Cry" and "U Got the Look" were hits for Prince, as were songs he penned for others such as "Manic Monday" (performed by the Bangles) or "I Feel for You" (performed by Chaka Kahn).

Other top-selling artists included Cher, Tiffany, Janet Jackson, Huey Lewis & The News, Cyndi Lauper, U2, Simply Red, Whitney Houston, and George Michael (and Wham). Pop music in the 1980s was heavily influenced by an electronic sound with synthesizers and drum machines, and dance type music.

1990s

Among the most successful pop acts of the 1990s were R&B-influenced pop acts such as Salt N Pepa, MC Hammer, and C&C Music Factory. Non-R&B artists such as Cher , Jewel, pop country singer Shania Twain, and Alanis Morissette were also successful. Mariah Carey became a popular artist of the 1990's, with many hits.

Boy bands and girl groups such as New Kids on the Block and the Backstreet Boys , Hanson, *NSYNC, and the Spice Girls. The late ninetys saw a resurgence of female bubble gum divas, most noticeably Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera.

Australia had Savage Garden and Kylie Minogue. The Latin pop explosion with Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, and Shakira. The 1990s also saw the beginnings of a surgence in pop into the Asian market, known as J-pop, as originated from Japan.

2000s

In the 2000s, pop music chart-toppers included Black Eyed Peas, Justin Timberlake,Usher,Jessica Simpson and Ashlee Simpson. Robbie Williams recorded the biggest sales worldwide for a male artist, though with limited success in North America. Well established artists who continued to have success include Madonna, Mariah Carey and Michael Jackson. Other trends included Teen pop singers such as Disney Channel stars Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan. Pop punk acts such as Simple Plan and Fall Out Boy have become increasingly popular, as well as pop rock acts such as P!nk and Avril Lavigne.

The popular American reality program American Idol has produced many successful Pop artists, most notably Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Katharine McPhee, Chris Daughtry, R&B pop artist Elliott Yamin, and country pop artists Carrie Underwood and Kellie Pickler. In Latin America, multi-platinum pop group RBD has achieved a great commercial success becoming the best-selling Latin act on the 2000s. R&B and pop music blended in music from Nelly Furtado and the Pussycat Dolls.