what the hyperpop?

asking what is hyperpop has been one of the most common and unanswered questions within the community and outside of it, and that's because there's no real cookie-cutter definition that can tightly pack everything about the genre. i have multiple answers i try to convince myself. i feel as though the word is relative, an album or artist can be hyperpop at one point, but then it changes or evolves over time and it no longer is hyperpop, or until 10-20 articles or video essay later it becomes a quintessential piece of history for the genre. maybe its a less of a genre and more of an adjective to describe a movement of creative minds, a piece of work dominated by maximalism and self-idenity. when researching, especially when watching video essays and documentaries, a lot of them preface that the topic of defining and labeling things as "hyperpop" is a very tricky topic.

the word itself has even sparked debate if it properly represents the genre. according to wikipedia, it is described as "a maximalist or exaggerated take on popular music, and artists within the microgenre typically integrate pop and avant-garde sensibilities while drawing on elements commonly found in electronic, hip hop, and dance music," but even then, i find there to be a couple flaws within that definition. i don't think its a take on popular music, at least not anymore, as i feel that this a better definition for pc music. It doesn’t help that the people often associated with the genre often try to stand out of the genre and even often reject it outright, often most of them tend to shift away from the label, and in the case of charli xcx, has outright announced the supposed “death” of the genre.

whatever the word means, there's no doubt of its existentce and it's impact in music. there's no denying the genre is still new, fresh, constantly changing, fluid and inclusive to all corners of the internet (and people of different backgrounds and identities) developing their sound, mostly in the comfort of their own space without any real restrictions from the music industry that has arguably, become more stale in the pop realm.

my goal throughout writing this entire blog is serve as a guide (for you and me) on how to better identity hyperpop, understand the people and sound they make and develop, and understand the possible greater meaning it has over the years, all through giving a basic 101 lesson to the history rather than throw all of this information at you at once. this website might grow into something much larger (which is what i want to happen), but i will still have a more laid-back, almost "dumbed-down" explanation, because i want to be welcoming to a genre that is so chaotic and often all over the place on purpose. i hope this serves as a friendly introduction to the genre and allows you to further explore the genre.

the hyperpop label itself made its grand coronation with the spotify playlist back in 2019 (which we will get back into much later) the genre can be traced back to the dawn of the 2010s, and even then a lot of its influences can trace back years before then. for better understanding, we shall start in the 2010s, where the internet was truly breaking through in terms of virality, community, and turning regular people into celebrities in their own niche corners.

the prime and fast-growing community where hyperpop would thrive in the early days was without a doubt soundcloud. in general, soundcloud was THE place to find songs and other micro-genres that were uploaded by small, homemade, and DIY artists, as well as groups and labels that collaborated with each other. this is where one of the pioneers of the genre, a.g cook, alongside friend danny l harle, would begin uploading songs under the collaborative name dux content. around this time, cook would start working and collabing with other groups that were formed with expermenting how far can pop music go, and the influences of rave, club, and internet culture via nightcore and anime.

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