Emo
{{Short description|Music genre derivative of punk rock music}}
{{about|the style of music|other uses|4=the subculture|5=Emo subculture}}
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{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2016}}
{{Infobox music genre
| name = Emo
| other_names = {{hlist|Emotional hardcore|emocore}}
| stylistic_origins =
;Original:
{{hlist|Post-hardcore|hardcore punk}}
;Subsequent:
{{hlist|Alternative rock|indie rock|pop-punk}}
| cultural_origins = ;Original:
{{hlist|Mid-1980s|Washington, D.C.}}
;Subsequent
{{hlist|Early- to mid-1990s|New York|Western United States|Midwestern United States}}
| subgenres = * Screamo
| fusiongenres = * Emo pop
| regional_scenes = * Washington, D.C.
| other_topics = Scene
}}
Emo ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|iː|m|oʊ}}) is a music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of hardcore punk and {{nowrap|post-hardcore}} from the {{nowrap|mid-1980s}} Washington, D.C., hardcore scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore. The bands Rites of Spring and Embrace, among others, pioneered the genre. In the early-to-mid 1990s, emo was adopted and reinvented by alternative rock, indie rock, punk rock, and pop-punk bands, including Sunny Day Real Estate, Jawbreaker, Cap'n Jazz, Mineral, and Jimmy Eat World. By the {{nowrap|mid-1990s,}} Braid, the Promise Ring, and the Get Up Kids emerged from Midwest emo, and several independent record labels began to specialize in the genre. Meanwhile, screamo, a more aggressive style of emo using screamed vocals, also emerged, pioneered by the San Diego bands Heroin and Antioch Arrow. Screamo achieved mainstream success in the 2000s with bands like Hawthorne Heights, Silverstein, Story of the Year, Thursday, the Used, and Underoath.
Often seen as a subculture, emo also signifies a specific relationship between fans and artists and certain aspects of fashion, culture, and behavior. Emo fashion includes skinny jeans, black eyeliner, tight {{nowrap|t-shirt}}s with band names, studded belts, and flat, straight, jet-black hair with long bangs. Since the early-to-mid 2000s, fans of emo music who dress like this are referred to as "emo kids" or "emos". The emo subculture was stereotypically associated with social alienation, sensitivity, misanthropy, introversion, and angst. Purported links to depression, {{nowrap|self-harm}}, and suicide, combined with its rise in popularity in the early 2000s, inspired a backlash against emo, with some bands, including My Chemical Romance and Panic! at the Disco, rejecting the emo label because of the social stigma and controversy surrounding it. There has long been controversy over which bands are labeled "emo", especially for bands that started outside traditional emo scenes; a viral website, Is This Band Emo?, was created to address one fan's opinion on this question.{{cite web |title=Meet the Man Trying to Move Emo Beyond Its “Hair Metal” Past |url=https://www.theringer.com/2022/07/26/music/is-this-band-emo-tom-mullen-interview-washed-up-emo |website=www.theringer.com |language=en |date=26 July 2022}}
Emo and its subgenre emo pop entered mainstream culture in the early 2000s with the success of Jimmy Eat World and Dashboard Confessional, and many artists signed contracts with major record labels. Bands such as My Chemical Romance, AFI, Fall Out Boy, and The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus continued the genre's popularity during the rest of the decade. By the early 2010s, emo's popularity had declined, with some emo bands changing their sound and others disbanding. Meanwhile, however, a mainly underground emo revival emerged, with some bands, such as the World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die and Modern Baseball, drawing on the sound and aesthetic of 1990s emo. During the late 2010s, a fusion genre called emo rap became mainstream; its most famous artists included Lil Peep, XXXTentacion, and Juice Wrld.
Characteristics
Emo originated in hardcore punk{{Cite web |title=Emo |url=https://www.allmusic.com/style/emo-ma0000004447 |website=AllMusic |access-date=April 21, 2020 |archive-date=May 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200514163729/https://www.allmusic.com/style/emo-ma0000004447 |url-status=live }}{{sfn|Bryant|2014|p=134}} and is considered a form of {{nowrap|post-hardcore.{{Cite web |last=Cooper |first=Ryan |title=Post-Hardcore – A Definition |url=http://punkmusic.about.com/od/punktionary/g/posthardcore.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304063251/http://punkmusic.about.com/od/punktionary/g/posthardcore.htm |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |access-date=July 12, 2016 |publisher=About.com |quote=all emo is post-hardcore, but not all post-hardcore is emo.}}}} Early emo bands used melody and emotional or introspective lyrics and that were less structured than regular hardcore punk, making early emo bands different from the aggression, anger, and {{nowrap|verse-chorus-verse}} structures of traditional hardcore punk. According to Ryan De Freitas of Kerrang, "Emo in the '90s was about scrappy, emotionally fuelled imperfection."{{Cite web |date=2020-05-12 |title=The 20 best pre-2000s emo albums |url=https://www.kerrang.com/early-emo-albums-best-american-football-saves-the-day |access-date=2025-04-19 |website=Kerrang! |language=en}}
According to Chris Payne, author of Where Are Your Boys Tonight?: The Oral History of Emo's Mainstream Explosion, emo is "often more melodic, more vulnerable [than traditional hardcore] — and often really over the top. [There are also] really performative aspects in emo."{{Cite web |title=5 things we learned about the legacy of emo music from author Chris Payne |url=https://www.cbc.ca/arts/commotion/5-things-we-learned-about-the-legacy-of-emo-music-from-author-chris-payne-1.6881146 |work=CBC News |last=Eqbal |first=Amelia |date=June 19, 2023 |access-date=March 31, 2025}} Sandra Song of CNN describes emo as a "softer approach to hardcore punk, with warbly vocals and evocative lyrics that have other bands derisively calling it the sound of 'teen angst.'"{{Cite web |last=Song |first=Sandra |date=December 29, 2023 |title=In photos: The angsty era of emo music |url=https://www.cnn.com/style/emo-music-bands-negatives-photos/index.html |access-date=March 28, 2025 |website=CNN}} Em Casalena of American Songwriter stated that the genre is characterized by an "angsty yet kind of miserable vibe."{{Cite web |date=2025-04-18 |title=Em Casalena |url=https://americansongwriter.com/author/em-casalena/ |access-date=2025-04-18 |website=American Songwriter |language=en-US}}
Despite being rooted in hardcore punk, emo has also been associated with other related genres, such as alternative rock,{{sfn|Hansen|2009}} indie rock,{{sfn|Shuker|2017}} punk rock,{{Cite web |url=https://www.masterclass.com/articles/emo-music-guide#what-is-emo-music |title=Emo Music Guide: A Look at the Bands and Sounds of the Genre - 2021 - MasterClass |access-date=October 28, 2021 |archive-date=October 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028031546/https://www.masterclass.com/articles/emo-music-guide#what-is-emo-music |url-status=live }} and pop punk.{{Cite web |last=Green |first=Stuart |date=January 1, 2006 |title=The Get Up Kids...It's A Whole New Emo |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/get_up_kidsits_whole_new_emo |access-date=July 21, 2018 |website=Exclaim! |archive-date=July 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721221740/https://exclaim.ca/music/article/get_up_kidsits_whole_new_emo |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Crane |first=Matt |date=April 17, 2014 |title=The 5 great eras of pop-punk, from the '70s to today |url=http://www.altpress.com/features/entry/the_5_great_eras_of_pop_punk_from_the_70s_to_today |website=Alternative Press |access-date=June 6, 2016 |archive-date=May 21, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160521023610/http://www.altpress.com/features/entry/the_5_great_eras_of_pop_punk_from_the_70s_to_today |url-status=live }} Andrew Sacher of Brooklyn Vegan has expressed his belief that the year 2001 was something of a crossroads for the genre, saying that "emo came in a lot of different varieties" during this time that year. He explained: "There were bands who were still playing the style of second wave emo that was prominent in the 1990s, as well as bands beginning to define the sound of the third wave. Some bands leaned more towards post-hardcore, others more towards pop punk, others towards indie rock, and others towards softer, acoustic guitar and piano-based music."{{Cite web |last=Sacher |first=Andrew |title=The Year That Emo Broke: The 20 Best Emo Albums of 2001 |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/the-year-that-emo-broke-the-20-best-emo-albums-of-2001/ |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=BrooklynVegan |language=en-US}} The New York Times described emo as "emotional punk or {{nowrap|post-hardcore}} or {{nowrap|pop-punk.}} That is, punk that wears its heart on its sleeve and tries a little tenderness to leaven its sonic attack. If it helps, imagine Ricky Nelson singing in the Sex Pistols."{{Cite news |last=La Gorce |first=Tammy |date=August 14, 2007 |title=Finding Emo |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/14/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/14njCOVER.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503191539/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/14/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/14njCOVER.html |archive-date=May 3, 2015 |access-date=October 20, 2007 |work=The New York Times}} Author Matt Diehl called emo a "more sensitive interpolation of punk's mission".{{sfn|Diehl|2013|p=82}}
Emo guitar dynamics use both the softness and loudness of punk rock music.{{Cite web |last=Kuipers |first=Dean |date=July 7, 2002 |title=Oh the Angst. Oh the Sales. |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-jul-07-ca-kuipers7-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170726022009/http://articles.latimes.com/2002/jul/07/entertainment/ca-kuipers7 |archive-date=July 26, 2017 |access-date=April 21, 2020 |website=Los Angeles Times}} According to AllMusic, most 1990s emo bands "borrowed from some combination of Fugazi, Sunny Day Real Estate, and Weezer". Some emo leans toward the characteristics of progressive music with the genre's use of complex guitar work, unorthodox song structures, and extreme dynamic shifts.
Lyrics, a focus in emo music, are typically personal and confessional, or according to Merriam-Webster, "introspective and emotionally fraught."{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Emo |encyclopedia=Merriam-Webster |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emo |access-date=January 5, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170323103927/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emo |archive-date=March 23, 2017}} Themes usually deal with topics such as failed romance,{{sfn|Diehl|2013|p=82}} self-loathing, pain, insecurity, suicidal thoughts, love, and relationships. AllMusic described emo lyrics as "usually either {{nowrap|free-associative}} poetry or intimate confessionals". According toThe New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians: "In its most basic sense, the term “emo” is short for emotional, an indication that the music had left behind punk’s heavily politicized public protest for more private and reflective concerns. Musically, this new emotional sense was best captured in the nostalgic and poetic lyrics of the Rites of Spring singer Guy Picciotto and his cracked, almost distraught, intense vocal style."{{Cite web |title=The Wikipedia Library |url=https://wikipedialibrary.wmflabs.org/?next_url=/ezproxy/r/ezp.2aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cub3hmb3JkbXVzaWNvbmxpbmUuY29tL2dyb3ZlbXVzaWMvZGlzcGxheS8xMC4xMDkzL2dtby85NzgxNTYxNTkyNjMwLjAwMS4wMDAxL29tby05NzgxNTYxNTkyNjMwLWUtMTAwMjI0MDgwMz9yc2tleT1pSklZeUkmcmVzdWx0PTE- |access-date=2025-05-01 |website=wikipedialibrary.wmflabs.org |language=en |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-1002240803?rskey=ijiyyi&result=1| doi-broken-date=May 1, 2025 }}
Etymology
{{Quotebox
| quote = Emo means different things to different people. Actually, that's a massive understatement. Emo seems to solely mean different things to different people − like pig latin or books by Thomas Pynchon, confusion is one of its hallmark traits. [...] The word has survived and flourished in three decades, two milleniums, and two Bush administrations. [...] It's older than most of its fans. It's been a source of pride, a target of derision, a mark of confusion, and a sign of the times. It's been the next big thing twice, [and] the current big thing once. And yet, not only can no one agree on what it means, [but] there is not now, nor has there ever been, a single major band that admits to being emo. Not one.
| source = Music critic Andy Greenwald in the book Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and Emo. (published November 15, 2003). St. Martins Griffin. pp. 1-2.
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The term "emo" has been the subject of debate and disagreement amongst artists, critics, and fans alike. Some find the label to be loosely defined{{Cite web |title=The 'Emo Revival' Drudges Up a Genre Debate {{!}} 34th Street Magazine |url=https://www.34st.com/article/2019/10/emo-revival-fall-out-boy-panic-at-the-disco-my-chemical-romance-dashboard-confessional-jimmy-eat-world |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031042606/https://www.34st.com/article/2019/10/emo-revival-fall-out-boy-panic-at-the-disco-my-chemical-romance-dashboard-confessional-jimmy-eat-world |archive-date=October 31, 2021 |access-date=October 31, 2021}} with the term at times being used to describe any music that expresses emotion.{{Cite web |date=August 15, 2018 |title=In its fourth wave, emo is revived and thriving |url=https://fansided.com/2018/08/15/fourth-wave-emo-revival-bands-tours-definition-music-songs/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031042600/https://fansided.com/2018/08/15/fourth-wave-emo-revival-bands-tours-definition-music-songs/ |archive-date=October 31, 2021 |access-date=October 31, 2021}} "The mainstream success of emo and its related subculture caused the term to be conflated with other genres.{{Cite web |date=February 13, 2020 |title=100 Best Emo Songs of All Time |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/best-emo-songs.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200213181251/https://www.vulture.com/article/best-emo-songs.html |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |access-date=October 31, 2021}} Additionally, fans of traditional emo music have expressed distaste for the genre's expanding definition, and what they perceive as "commercialization" of the genre.{{Cite web |last=Song |first=Sandra |date=December 29, 2023 |title=In photos: The angsty era of emo music |url=https://www.cnn.com/style/emo-music-bands-negatives-photos/index.html |access-date=March 29, 2025 |website=CNN}}
Chris Payne, author of Where Are Your Boys Tonight?: The Oral History of Emo's Mainstream Explosion, assessed: "Emo has a lot of different definitions for different people. For me, it can be like the old DIY stuff, like Cap'n Jazz [and] American Football, and then also the more popular stuff like … My Chemical Romance, Paramore and even the emo-rap stuff like Lil Peep."{{Cite web |title=5 things we learned about the legacy of emo music from author Chris Payne |url=https://www.cbc.ca/arts/commotion/5-things-we-learned-about-the-legacy-of-emo-music-from-author-chris-payne-1.6881146 |website=CBC Arts |last=Eqbal |first=Amelia |date=June 19, 2023 |access-date=May 5, 2025}}
Many bands labeled as emo rejected the emo label.{{Cite web |last=Hickie |first=James |title=9 bands commonly mistaken as emo who really aren't |url=https://www.altpress.com/bands-mistaken-as-emo/ |access-date=March 29, 2025 |website=Alternative Press Magazine |language=en-US}} In Chris Payne's book Where Are Your Boys Tonight? (2023), Bayside vocalist Anthony Raneri stated that he believed emo became "a dirty word" around the time of its mainstream success in the 2000s. He explains this derogatory use of the word derived from hipsters adopting the term to demean rock artists they saw as being "not as cool as" the popular indie rock groups of the time, namely the Strokes.{{cite book |last1=Payne |first1=Chris |title=Where Are Your Boys Tonight? The Oral History of Emo's Mainstream Explosion 1999-2008 |date=2023 |publisher=Dey Street Books |isbn=9780063251281 |page=109 |quote=Our scene was all honesty and grit and basements and connection. And that scene was, like, drugs, and sort of the revival of glam rock. They were like rock stars. They wore ripped clothes; they were selling what we were doing. But they weren't living it, you know? That's where "emo" as a dirty word I feel comes from, from hipsters, because it’s not as cool as the Strokes. Nothing's as cool as the Strokes, though, you know what I mean? The Strokes are like, the coolest band. They just sell cool. To this day, so many people try to fight off that emo tag. It's because of those early 2000s hipsters thinking it's not cool.}} My Chemical Romance singer Gerard Way said in 2007 that emo is "a pile of shit [...] I think there are bands that we get lumped in with that are considered emo and, by default, that starts to make us emo. All I can say is that anyone actually listening to the records, putting the records next to each other and listening to them, [would know there are] actually no similarities."{{Cite web |date=September 20, 2007 |title=My Chemical Romance brand emo 'shit' |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/my-chemical-romance-165-1342656 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200327004114/https://www.nme.com/news/music/my-chemical-romance-165-1342656 |archive-date=March 27, 2020 |access-date=April 21, 2020 |website=NME}} Additionally, Quinn Villarreal of SiriusXM stated that "having 'feelings' in the 2000s and 2010s wasn’t 'cool.' So, the term 'emo' became a pejorative, which is why it’s oftentimes rejected by bands and fans."{{Cite web |last=Villarreal |first=Quinn |title=Emo Through the Years: Explore the Ever-Evolving Genre |url=https://www.siriusxm.com/blog/emo-day-genre-evolution |access-date=2025-05-01 |website=SiriusXM |language=en}}
Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco said : "It's ignorant! The stereotype is guys that are weak and have failing relationships write about how sad they are. If you listen to our songs, not one of them has that tone."{{Cite web |date=October 18, 2006 |title=Panic! At The Disco declare emo "Bullshit!" The band reject "weak" stereotype |url=https://www.nme.com/news/nme/24758 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101228145612/http://www.nme.com/news/nme/24758 |archive-date=December 28, 2010 |access-date=August 10, 2008 |website=NME}} Adam Lazzara of Taking Back Sunday said he always considered his band rock and roll instead of emo.{{cite web |date=August 21, 2019 |title=Adam Lazzara On Taking Back Sunday Being Classified As Emo "I Never Considered Us An Emo Band" |work=Rock Sound Magazine |url=https://www.rocksound.tv/news/read/adam-lazarra-on-taking-back-sunday-on-being-classified-as-emo-i-never-consi |accessdate=August 24, 2022 |publisher=Rock Sound}} Guitarist of the Get Up Kids, Jim Suptic, noted the differences between the 2000s mainstream acts when compared to the emo bands of the 1990s, saying, “The punk scene we came out of and the punk scene now are completely different. It's like glam rock now. We played the Bamboozle fests this year and we felt really out of place... If this is the world we helped create, then I apologise.”{{Cite web |title="If this is the world we helped create, then I apologise." the Get up Kids, Get Back / In Depth // Drowned in Sound |url=http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4137393-if-this-is-the-world-we-helped-create-then-i-apologise-the-get-up-kids-get-back |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191103124934/http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4137393-if-this-is-the-world-we-helped-create-then-i-apologise-the-get-up-kids-get-back |archive-date=November 3, 2019 |access-date=October 31, 2021}} Vocalist of AFI, Davey Havok, described emo as “such a strange and meaningless word.”{{Cite web |date=January 31, 2017 |title=Davey Havok on the "Insulting" Term "Emo" and Why AFI Will Probably Stay Together 'Til They're as Old as the Rolling Stones |url=https://musicfeeds.com.au/features/davey-havok-insulting-term-emo-afi-will-probably-stay-together-til-theyre-old-rolling-stones/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180825143400/http://musicfeeds.com.au/features/davey-havok-insulting-term-emo-afi-will-probably-stay-together-til-theyre-old-rolling-stones/ |archive-date=August 25, 2018 |access-date=October 31, 2021}} Early emo musicians also have rejected the label. Guy Picciotto, the vocalist of Rites of Spring, said he considers the emo label "retarded" and always considered Rites of Spring a punk rock band: "The reason I think it's so stupid is that - what, like the Bad Brains weren't emotional? What - they were robots or something? It just doesn't make any sense to me."{{cite web |last=Prindle |first=Mark |title=Guy Picciotto interview |url=http://www.markprindle.com/picciotto-i.htm |accessdate=August 24, 2022}} Ian MacKaye, after an article in Thrasher magazine referring to Embrace and other Washington, D.C., bands as "emo-core", he called it "the stupidest fucking thing I've ever heard in my entire life" during a live performance.{{Cite web |last=Khanna |first=Vish |date=February 2007 |title=Timeline: Ian MacKaye – Out of Step |url=http://exclaim.ca/articles/timeline.aspx?csid1=107 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130110112243/http://exclaim.ca/articles/timeline.aspx?csid1=107 |archive-date=January 10, 2013 |access-date=April 19, 2009 |publisher=Exclaim.ca}} Sunny Day Real Estate's members said they consider themselves simply a rock band, and said that back in the early days, the word "emocore" was an insult: "While I don't disrespect anyone for using the term emo-core, or rock, or anything, but back in the day, emo-core was just about the worst dis that you could throw on a band."{{cite web |date=November 12, 1998 |title=Sunny Day Real Estate Talks About the "Emo-Core" Tag |url=https://www.mtv.com/news/8hasoc/sunny-day-real-estate-talks-about-the-emo-core-tag |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220806031219/https://www.mtv.com/news/8hasoc/sunny-day-real-estate-talks-about-the-emo-core-tag |archive-date=August 6, 2022 |accessdate=August 24, 2022 |publisher=MTV}}
The term “mall emo” has been used to separate mainstream bands like Paramore, Hawthorne Heights, My Chemical Romance, Panic! at the Disco, and Fall Out Boy from the less commercially viable bands that proceeded and succeeded them.{{Cite web |title=Oh So Emo - Panel |url=https://www.mopop.org/programs-plus-education/programs/pop-conference/programs/oh-so-emo-panel/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031042551/https://www.mopop.org/programs-plus-education/programs/pop-conference/programs/oh-so-emo-panel/ |archive-date=October 31, 2021 |access-date=October 31, 2021}}{{Cite web |title=Sellout: The Major Label Feeding Frenzy That Swept Punk, Emo and Hardcore 1994-2007, by Dan Ozzi, 377 PGS. - Razorcake |url=https://razorcake.org/sellout-the-major-label-feeding-frenzy-that-swept-punk-emo-and-hardcore-1994-2007-by-dan-ozzi-377-pgs/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031042552/https://razorcake.org/sellout-the-major-label-feeding-frenzy-that-swept-punk-emo-and-hardcore-1994-2007-by-dan-ozzi-377-pgs/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sellout-the-major-label-feeding-frenzy-that-swept-punk-emo-and-hardcore-1994-2007-by-dan-ozzi-377-pgs |archive-date=October 31, 2021 |access-date=October 31, 2021}}{{Cite web |date=April 30, 2018 |title=The beginner's guide to the evolution of emo |url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/emo-wave-guide-evolution-2302802 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813075941/https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/emo-wave-guide-evolution-2302802 |archive-date=August 13, 2018 |access-date=August 13, 2018 |website=NME}} The term "mall emo" dates back to around 2002, when many emo fans did not like the change emo was going through at the time when the genre became mainstream.
Tom Mullen, editor of the Anthology of Emo book, created the website Washed Up Emo in 2007 in response to the mainstream perceptions of the genre, intending to impart information about the genre's history.{{cite web |last=Sayles |first=Justin |date=July 26, 2022 |title=Meet the Man Trying to Move Emo Beyond Its "Hair Metal" Past |url=https://www.theringer.com/music/2022/7/26/23278064/is-this-band-emo-tom-mullen-interview-washed-up-emo |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220726103205/https://www.theringer.com/music/2022/7/26/23278064/is-this-band-emo-tom-mullen-interview-washed-up-emo |archive-date=July 26, 2022 |access-date=February 6, 2024 |website=The Ringer}} He later created the website Is This Band Emo? in 2014, which explains whether various bands are classified under the genre alongside humorous responses.{{cite web |last=Sayles |first=Justin |date=July 25, 2022 |title=The (Slightly Abridged) Dictionary of Emo |url=https://www.theringer.com/music/2022/7/25/23276713/emo-dictionary-definition-emo-subculture-genre-fifth-wave |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220725150540/https://www.theringer.com/music/2022/7/25/23276713/emo-dictionary-definition-emo-subculture-genre-fifth-wave |archive-date=July 25, 2022 |access-date=February 6, 2024 |website=The Ringer}}{{cite web |last=Coplan |first=Chris |date=January 22, 2015 |title=Is your favorite band emo? This website has the answer |url=https://consequence.net/2015/01/is-your-favorite-band-emo-this-website-has-the-answer/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150123110256/https://consequenceofsound.net/2015/01/is-your-favorite-band-emo-this-website-has-the-answer/ |archive-date=January 23, 2015 |access-date=February 6, 2024 |website=Consequence}}
History
=Predecessors=
According to music writer Luke Britton, "it's generally accepted that the genre's pioneers" came later in the 1980s.{{Cite news |last=Britton |first=Luke Morgan |date=May 30, 2018 |title=Emo never dies: How the genre influenced an entire new generation |work=BBC Online |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1tM7yZdRsNn2qZth0WMCRBs/emo-never-dies-how-the-genre-influenced-an-entire-new-generation |access-date=August 9, 2018 |archive-date=August 13, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813010046/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1tM7yZdRsNn2qZth0WMCRBs/emo-never-dies-how-the-genre-influenced-an-entire-new-generation |url-status=live }} During the decade, many hardcore punk and post-hardcore bands formed in Washington, D.C. Post-hardcore, an experimental offshoot of hardcore punk, was inspired by {{nowrap|post-punk}}.{{Cite web |title=Post-Hardcore |url=https://www.allmusic.com/style/post-hardcore-ma0000012125 |website=AllMusic |access-date=April 21, 2020 |archive-date=May 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200514162611/https://www.allmusic.com/style/post-hardcore-ma0000012125 |url-status=live }} Hardcore punk bands and post-hardcore bands who influenced early emo bands include Minor Threat,{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=12}} Black Flag and Hüsker Dü.{{Cite web |title=Rites of Spring {{!}} Biography |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/rites-of-spring-mn0000282800/biography |website=AllMusic |access-date=April 21, 2020 |archive-date=July 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731010459/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/rites-of-spring-mn0000282800/biography |url-status=live }}
=1984–1991: Origins=
{{main article|Revolution Summer (music)}}{{Quotebox
| quote = The one fact that no one seems to debate − or at least debate that loudly − is that emo emerged from hardcore.
| source = Music critic Andy Greenwald, in the book Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and Emo (2003) Greenwald, Andy. Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and Emo. (published November 15, 2003) St. Martins Griffin. pp. 9.
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Emo, which began as a post-hardcore subgenre, was part of the 1980s hardcore punk scene in Washington, D.C., as something different from the violent part of the Washington, D.C., hardcore scene.{{Cite web |last=Cooper |first=Ryan |title=The Subgenres of Punk Rock |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/subgenres-of-punk-rock-2803348 |access-date=August 9, 2018 |publisher=ThoughtCo |archive-date=June 13, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613234248/https://www.thoughtco.com/subgenres-of-punk-rock-2803348 |url-status=live }}{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|pp=9–11}}{{sfn|Blush|2001|p=157}} Minor Threat fan Guy Picciotto formed Rites of Spring in 1984, using the musical style of hardcore punk and combining the musical style with melodic guitars, varied rhythms, and personal, emotional lyrics.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=12}} Many of the band's themes, including nostalgia, romantic bitterness and poetic desperation, became familiar tropes of later emo music.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|pp=12–13}} Its performances were public, emotional purges where audience members sometimes wept.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=13}} Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat became a Rites of Spring fan (recording their only album and being their roadie) and formed the emo band Embrace, which explored similar themes of self-searching and emotional release.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=14}} Similar bands followed in connection with the "Revolution Summer” of 1985, an attempt by members of the Washington scene to break from the usual characteristics of hardcore punk to a hardcore punk style with different characteristics.{{sfn|Blush|2001|p=157}} Bands such as Gray Matter, Beefeater, Fire Party, Dag Nasty, and Soulside were associated with the movement.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=14}}{{sfn|Blush|2001|p=157}}
{{Listen
| filename = Rites of Spring - Remainder.ogg
| title = "Remainder" by Rites of Spring (1985)
| description = The melodic guitars, varied rhythms and personal lyrics of Rites of Spring changed the hardcore punk scene and helped launch the "emotional hardcore" or "emocore" style in the 1980s.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|pp=9–11}}
}}
Although the origins of the word "emo" are uncertain, evidence shows that the word "emo" was coined in the mid-1980s, specifically 1985. According to Andy Greenwald, author of Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and Emo, "The origins of the term 'emo' are shrouded in mystery ... but it first came into common practice in 1985. If Minor Threat was hardcore, then Rites of Spring, with its altered focus, was emotional hardcore or emocore."{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=14}} Michael Azerrad, author of Our Band Could Be Your Life, also traces the word's origins to the mid-1980s: "The style was soon dubbed 'emo-core,' a term everyone involved bitterly detested".{{sfn|Azerrad|2001|p=380}} Other accounts attribute the word to an audience member at an Embrace show, who shouted as an insult that the band was "emocore".{{Cite web |last=DePasquale |first=Ron |title=Embrace: Biography |url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p12874|pure_url=yes}} |access-date=April 21, 2009 |website=AllMusic}}{{Cite web |last=Popkin |first=Helen |date=March 26, 2006 |title=What Exactly Is 'Emo,' Anyway? |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/what-exactly-emo-anyway-wbna11720603 |access-date=April 21, 2009 |website=Today.com |archive-date=August 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807164925/http://www.today.com/popculture/what-exactly-emo-anyway-wbna11720603 |url-status=live }} Others have said that MacKaye coined the word when he used it self-mockingly in a magazine, or that it originated with Rites of Spring. The "emocore" label quickly spread through the DC punk scene, and was associated with many bands associated with Ian MacKaye's Dischord Records. Although many of the bands rejected the term, it stayed. Jenny Toomey recalled, "The only people who used it at first were the ones that were jealous over how big and fanatical a scene it was. [Rites of Spring] existed well before the term did and they hated it. But there was this weird moment, like when people started calling music 'grunge,' where you were using the term even though you hated it."{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|pp=14–15}} The Washington, D.C., emo scene lasted only a few years, and by 1986, most of emo's major bands (including Rites of Spring, Embrace, Gray Matter and Beefeater) had broken up.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=15}} However, its ideas and aesthetics spread quickly across the country through a network of homemade zines, vinyl records and hearsay.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|pp=15–17}} According to Greenwald, the Washington, D.C., scene laid the groundwork for emo's subsequent incarnations:
{{blockquote|What had happened in D.C. in the mid-eighties—the shift from anger to action, from extroverted rage to internal turmoil, from an individualized mass to a mass of individuals—was in many ways a test case for the transformation of the national punk scene over the next two decades. The imagery, the power of the music, the way people responded to it, and the way the bands burned out instead of fading away—all have their origins in those first few performances by Rites of Spring. The roots of emo were laid, however unintentionally, by fifty or so people in the nation's capital. And in some ways, it was never as good and surely never as pure again. Certainly, the Washington scene was the only time "emocore" had any consensus definition as a genre.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|pp=15–16}}}}
=1991–1994: Reinvention=
As the Washington, D.C., emo movement spread across the United States, local bands began to emulate its style.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=18}} Emo combined the fatalism, theatricality and isolation of The Smiths with hardcore punk's uncompromising, dramatic worldview.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=18}} Despite the number of bands and the variety of locales, emocore's late-1980s aesthetics remained more-or-less the same: "over-the-top lyrics about feelings wedded to dramatic but decidedly punk music."{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=18}} During the early–mid 1990s, several new bands reinvented emo,{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=19}} making emo expand by becoming a subgenre of genres like indie rock and pop punk. Chief among them were Jawbreaker and Sunny Day Real Estate, who inspired cult followings, redefined emo and brought it a step closer to the mainstream.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=19}} In the wake of the 1991 success of Nirvana's Nevermind and the associated rise of grunge, underground music and subcultures were widely noticed in the United States, with record labels seeking to find the next big rock subgenre. New distribution networks emerged, touring routes were codified, and regional and independent acts accessed the national stage.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=19}} Young people across the country became fans of independent music, and punk culture became mainstream.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=19}}
{{Listen
| filename = Jawbreaker - Kiss the Bottle.ogg
| title = "Kiss the Bottle" by Jawbreaker (1992)
| description = "Kiss the Bottle" is considered one of Jawbreaker's definitive and {{nowrap|most-appreciated}} songs.{{Cite AV media notes |title=Etc. |title-link=Etc. (album) |others=Jawbreaker |year=2002 |type=CD booklet |publisher=Blackball Records |id=BB-003-CD |location=San Francisco}}
}}
File:Sunny Day Real Estate 2010.jpg performing in 2010]]
Emerging from the late 1980s and early 1990s San Francisco punk rock scene and forming in New York City, Jawbreaker combined pop punk with emotional and personal lyrics.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=21}}{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=20}}{{Cite web |last=Monger |first=James Christopher |title=Jawbreaker {{!}} Biography & History |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jawbreaker-mn0000808944/biography |website=AllMusic |access-date=April 21, 2020 |archive-date=July 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731015020/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jawbreaker-mn0000808944/biography |url-status=live }} Singer-guitarist Blake Schwarzenbach focused his lyrics on personal, immediate topics often taken from his journal.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=21}} Often obscure and cloaked in metaphors, their relationship to Schwarzenbach's concerns gave his words a bitterness and frustration which made them universal and attractive to audiences.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|pp=21–22}} Schwarzenbach became emo's first idol, as listeners related to the singer even more than to his songs.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|pp=21–22}} Jawbreaker's 1994 album, 24 Hour Revenge Therapy, was popular with fans and is a touchstone of mid-1990s emo.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|pp=24–25}} Although Jawbreaker signed with Geffen Records and toured with mainstream bands Nirvana and Green Day, Jawbreaker's 1995 album Dear You did not achieve mainstream success. Jawbreaker broke up soon afterwards, with Schwarzenbach forming emo band Jets to Brazil.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|pp=25–26}}
Sunny Day Real Estate formed in Seattle at the height of the early 1990s grunge boom, which was also primarily associated with that city.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=28}} The music video for "Seven", lead track of the band's debut album Diary (1994), was played on MTV, giving the band more attention.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=29–31}}
=1994–1997: Underground popularity=
The American punk and indie rock movements, which had been largely underground since the early 1980s, became part of mainstream culture during the mid-1990s. With Nirvana's success, major record labels capitalized on the popularity of alternative rock and other underground music by signing and promoting independent bands.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=33}}
In 1994, the same year that Jawbreaker's 24 Hour Revenge Therapy and Sunny Day Real Estate's Diary were released, punk rock bands Green Day and the Offspring broke into the mainstream with diamond album Dookie{{Certification Cite Ref|title=Dookie|artist=Green Day|region=United States|type=album}} and multi-platinum album Smash,{{Certification Cite Ref|title=Smash|artist=Offspring|region=United States|type=album}} respectively. After underground music went mainstream, emo retreated and reformed as a national subculture over the next few years.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=33}} A number of emo bands emerged in the underground around this time, the most famous of which was the Arizona band Jimmy Eat World, which issued its debut album in 1994 and was influenced by {{nowrap|pop punk}} bands such as the Mr. T Experience and Horace Pinker.Book Your Own Fuckin' Life #3: Do-It-Yourself Resource Guide. San Francisco, CA: Maximum Rocknroll, 1994; pg. 3. Jimmy Eat World released its self-titled debut album in 1994.{{Cite web |last=Leahey |first=Andrew |title=Jimmy Eat World {{!}} Biography & History |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jimmy-eat-world-mn0000852688/biography |website=AllMusic |access-date=April 21, 2020 |archive-date=October 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201012073143/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jimmy-eat-world-mn0000852688/biography |url-status=live }} As they rose to fame, Jimmy Eat World toured with a number of peer bands, including Mineral, another key group during this era with a more melodic sound.{{cite web |last1=Garland |first1=Emma |title=The Reunion of Mineral Isn't a Nostalgia Trip, It's a Band Finally Getting Their Dues 20 Years Later |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/talking-about-reunions-love-and-comic-sans-with-mineral/ |website=VICE |date=20 March 2015}} California's Weezer is another band sometimes considered to be emo which rose to fame during this period,{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Rich |date=June 1, 2016 |title=A Grown-Up Emo Kid Braces for the Coming Wave of Emo Nostalgia |url=https://www.thestranger.com/music/2016/06/01/24144980/a-grown-up-emo-kid-braces-for-the-coming-wave-of-emo-nostalgia |access-date=July 21, 2018 |website=The Stranger |archive-date=July 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721221906/https://www.thestranger.com/music/2016/06/01/24144980/a-grown-up-emo-kid-braces-for-the-coming-wave-of-emo-nostalgia |url-status=live }}, though Weezer's membership in the emo genre is debated.{{cite web | url=https://www.altpress.com/bands-mistaken-as-emo-the-used-weezer/ | title=9 bands commonly mistaken as emo who really aren't | website=Alternative Press | date=March 29, 2022 }}{{sfn|Greenwald|2003}}
Inspired by Jawbreaker, Drive Like Jehu and Fugazi, 1990s emo abandoned the elements of hardcore punk and used elements of indie rock, with punk rock's do-it-yourself work ethic but smoother songs and emotional vocals.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|pp=34–35}} According to Theo Cateforis of Grove Music Dictionary: "These groups portrayed a sense of emotional volatility in their music by using extended song forms that oscillated between straight and double time and clean guitar timbres and bursts of distortion. Vocalists deliberately avoided punk’s shouted style and sang melodic lines in a breathy head voice, often straining at the top of their range, which contributed to the music’s sense of emotional urgency."{{Cite web |title=The Wikipedia Library |url=https://wikipedialibrary.wmflabs.org/?next_url=/ezproxy/r/ezp.2aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cub3hmb3JkbXVzaWNvbmxpbmUuY29tL2dyb3ZlbXVzaWMvZGlzcGxheS8xMC4xMDkzL2dtby85NzgxNTYxNTkyNjMwLjAwMS4wMDAxL29tby05NzgxNTYxNTkyNjMwLWUtMTAwMjI0MDgwMw-- |access-date=2025-05-01 |website=wikipedialibrary.wmflabs.org | date=2013 |language=en |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.A2240803 | last1=Cateforis | first1=Theo }}
Many 1990s emo bands, such as Cap'n Jazz, Braid, Christie Front Drive, Mineral, Jimmy Eat World, the Get Up Kids and the Promise Ring, originated in the central U.S.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=34}} Many of the bands had a distinct vocal style and guitar melodies, which was later called Midwest emo.{{Cite web |last=Galil |first=Leor |date=August 5, 2013 |title=Midwestern emo catches its second wind |url=https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/emo-twiabp-topshelf-swerp-capn-jazz-midwestern-braid-reflex/Content?oid=10550897 |access-date=July 5, 2017 |website=The Chicago Reader |archive-date=August 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810183206/https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/emo-twiabp-topshelf-swerp-capn-jazz-midwestern-braid-reflex/Content?oid=10550897 |url-status=live }} According to Andy Greenwald, "this was the period when emo earned many, if not all, of the stereotypes that have lasted to this day: boy-driven, glasses-wearing, overly sensitive, overly brainy, chiming-guitar-driven college music."{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|pp=34–35}} Emo band Texas Is the Reason bridged the gap between indie rock and emo in their three-year lifespan on the East Coast, melding Sunny Day Real Estate's melodies and punk musicianship and singing directly to the listener.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|pp=38–39}} In New Jersey, the band Lifetime played shows in fans' basements.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|pp=121–122}} Lifetime's 1995 album, Hello Bastards on Jade Tree Records, fused hardcore punk with emo and eschewed cynicism and irony in favor of love songs.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|pp=121–122}} The album sold tens of thousands of copies,{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=122}} and Lifetime paved the way for New Jersey and Long Island emo bands Brand New, Midtown,{{Cite web |last=Rashbaum |first=Alyssa |date=March 24, 2006 |title=A Lifetime of Rock |url=https://www.spin.com/2006/03/lifetime-rock/ |access-date=March 28, 2009 |website=Spin |archive-date=August 11, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811032804/https://www.spin.com/2006/03/lifetime-rock/ |url-status=live }} The Movielife, My Chemical Romance, Saves the Day,{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=80}} Senses Fail, Taking Back Sunday{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=122}} and Thursday.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=152}}
The Promise Ring's music took a slower, smoother, pop punk approach to riffs, blending them with singer Davey von Bohlen's imagist lyrics delivered in a froggy croon and pronounced lisp and playing shows in basements and VFW halls.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|pp=35–36}} Jade Tree released their debut album, 30° Everywhere, in 1996; it sold tens of thousands of copies and was successful by independent standards.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=36}} Greenwald describes the album as "like being hit in the head with cotton candy."{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=37}} Other bands, such as Karate, the Van Pelt, Joan of Arc and the Shyness Clinic, played emo music with post-rock and noise rock influences.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=40}} Their common lyrical thread was "applying big questions to small scenarios."{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=40}} A cornerstone of mid-1990s emo was Weezer's 1996 album, Pinkerton.{{Cite magazine |last=Edwards |first=Gavin |date=December 9, 2001 |title=Review: Pinkerton |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/weezer/albums/album/301487/review/6635729/pinkerton |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061005045759/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/weezer/albums/album/301487/review/6635729/pinkerton |archive-date=October 5, 2006 |access-date=March 23, 2009 |magazine=Rolling Stone}} After the mainstream success of Weezer's self-titled debut album, Pinkerton showed a more dark and abrasive style.{{Cite web |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen |title=Allmusic: Pinkerton: Overview |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r241030|pure_url=yes}} |access-date=September 21, 2007 |website=AllMusic}}{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=50}} Frontman Rivers Cuomo's songs focused on messy, manipulative sex and his insecurity about dealing with celebrity.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=50}} A critical and commercial failure,{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=50}}{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p=206}} Rolling Stone called it the third-worst album of the year.{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p=137}} Cuomo retreated from the public eye,{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=50}} later referring to the album as "hideous" and "a hugely painful mistake".{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p=348}} However, Pinkerton found enduring appeal with young people who were discovering alternative rock and identified with its confessional lyrics and theme of rejection.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=51}} Sales grew steadily due to word of mouth, online message boards and Napster.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=51}} "Although no one was paying attention", writes Greenwald, "perhaps because no one was paying attention—Pinkerton became the most important emo album of the decade."{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=51}} In 2004, James Montgomery of MTV described Weezer as "the most important band of the last 10 years".{{Cite web |last=Montgomery |first=James |date=October 25, 2004 |title=The Argument: Weezer Are the Most Important Band of the Last 10 Years |url=http://www.mtv.com/bands/w/weezer/news_feature_102504/ |access-date=March 23, 2009 |publisher=MTV |archive-date=February 3, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060203092814/http://www.mtv.com/bands/w/weezer/news_feature_102504/ |url-status=dead }} Pinkerton{{'s}} success grew very gradually, being certified gold by the RIAA in July 2001 and eventually being certified platinum by the RIAA in September 2016.{{Certification Cite Ref|title=Pinkerton|artist=Weezer|type=album|region=United States}}
{{Listen
| filename = Mineral - If I Could.ogg
| title = "If I Could" by Mineral (1997)
| description = Andy Greenwald calls "If I Could" "the ultimate expression" of 1990s emo.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=41}}
}}
Mid-1990s emo was embodied by Mineral, whose The Power of Failing (1997) and EndSerenading (1998) encapsulated emo tropes: somber music, accompanied by a shy narrator singing seriously about mundane problems.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=41}} Greenwald calls "If I Could" "the ultimate expression" of 1990s emo, writing that "the song's short synopsis—she is beautiful, I am weak, dumb, and shy; I am alone but am surprisingly poetic when left alone — sums up everything that emo's adherents admired and its detractors detested."{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=41}} Another significant band was Braid, whose 1998 album Frame and Canvas and B-side song "Forever Got Shorter" blurred the line between band and listener; the group mirrored their audience in passion and sentiment, and sang in their fans' voice.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|pp=46–48}}
{{Listen
| filename = The Promise Ring - Why Did We Ever Meet.ogg
| title = "Why Did We Ever Meet" by The Promise Ring (1997)
| description = The Promise Ring's Nothing Feels Good achieved wide success with an effective blend of pop and punk.Greenwald, pp. 42–44.
}}
Although mid-1990s emo had thousands of young fans, it did not enter the national consciousness.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=42}} A few bands were offered contracts with major record labels, but most broke up before they could capitalize on the opportunity.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|pp=45–46}} Jimmy Eat World signed to Capitol Records in 1995 and developed a following with their album, Static Prevails, but did not break into the mainstream yet.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|pp=99–101}} The Promise Ring were the most commercially successful emo band of the time, with sales of their 1997 album Nothing Feels Good reaching the mid-five figures.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=42}} Greenwald calls the album "the pinnacle of its generation of emo: a convergence of pop and punk, of resignation and celebration, of the lure of girlfriends and the pull of friends, bandmates, and the road";{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=44}} mid-1990s emo was "the last subculture made of vinyl and paper instead of plastic and megabytes."{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=48}}
=1997–2002: Independent success=
Emo's popularity grew during the late 1990s, laying the foundation for mainstream success. Deep Elm Records released a series of eleven compilation albums, The Emo Diaries, from 1997 to 2007.{{Cite web |title=The Emo Diaries |url=http://www.deepelm.com/bands/index_emo.html#anchor1 |access-date=March 27, 2009 |publisher=Deep Elm Records |archive-date=February 6, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090206033551/http://deepelm.com/bands/index_emo.html#anchor1 |url-status=live }} Emphasizing unreleased music from many bands, the series included Jimmy Eat World, Further Seems Forever, Samiam and the Movielife. Jimmy Eat World's 1999 album, Clarity, was a touchstone for later emo bands.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=101}} In 2003, Andy Greenwald called Clarity "one of the most fiercely beloved rock 'n' roll records of the last decade."{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=101}} Despite a warm critical reception and the promotion of "Lucky Denver Mint" in the Drew Barrymore comedy Never Been Kissed, Clarity was commercially unsuccessful.{{Cite web |last=Vanderhoff |first=Mark |title=Clarity – Jimmy Eat World |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/clarity-mw0000602620 |access-date=March 26, 2009 |website=AllMusic |archive-date=October 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121005004651/http://www.allmusic.com/album/clarity-mw0000602620 |url-status=live }} Nevertheless, the album had steady word-of-mouth popularity and eventually sold over 70,000 copies.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|pp=102–205}} Jimmy Eat World self-financed their next album, Bleed American (2001), before signing with DreamWorks Records. The album sold 30,000 copies in its first week, went gold shortly afterwards and went platinum in 2002, making emo become mainstream.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|pp=104–108}} Drive-Thru Records developed a roster of primarily pop punk bands with emo characteristics, including Midtown, the Starting Line, the Movielife and Something Corporate.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|pp=126–132}} Drive-Thru's partnership with MCA Records enabled its brand of emo-inflected pop to reach a wider audience.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=127}} Drive-Thru's unabashedly populist, capitalist approach to music allowed its bands' albums and merchandise to sell in stores such as Hot Topic.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|pp=127–129}}
File:Saves the Day, Philadelphia, Electric Factory Nov 10, 2010 (5227723812).jpg
Independent label Vagrant Records signed several successful late-1990s and early-2000s emo bands. The Get Up Kids had sold over 15,000 copies of their debut album, Four Minute Mile (1997), before signing with Vagrant. The label promoted them aggressively, sending them on tours opening for Green Day and Weezer.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|pp=77–78}} Their 1999 album, Something to Write Home About, reaching number 31 on Billboard{{'s}} Top Heatseekers chart.{{Cite web |title=Heatseekers: Something to Write Home About |url=https://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=294&cfgn=Albums&cfn=Heatseekers&ci=3035794&cdi=7505634&cid=10%2F23%2F1999 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5hQJ6Cfvm?url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=294 |archive-date=June 10, 2009 |access-date=March 25, 2009 |publisher=Billboard charts }} Vagrant signed and recorded a number of other emo-related bands over the next two years, including the Anniversary, Reggie and the Full Effect, the New Amsterdams, Alkaline Trio, Saves the Day, Dashboard Confessional, Hey Mercedes and Hot Rod Circuit.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=79}} Saves the Day had developed a substantial East Coast following and sold almost 50,000 copies of their second album, Through Being Cool (1999),{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=80}} before signing with Vagrant and releasing Stay What You Are (2001). Stay What You Are sold 15,000 copies in its first week,{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=81}} reached number 100 on the Billboard 200{{Cite web |title=Artist Chart History – Saves the Day |url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=saves the day|chart=all}} |access-date=March 26, 2009 |publisher=Billboard charts}} and sold at least 120,000 copies in the United States.{{Cite magazine |last=Sheffield |first=Rob |date=March 28, 2002 |title=Punk From the Heart |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/newsarticle.asp?nid=15512&cf=10550 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040305034032/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/newsarticle.asp?nid=15512&cf=10550 |archive-date=March 5, 2004 |access-date=August 28, 2015 |url-status=dead |magazine=Rolling Stone}} Vagrant organized a national tour with every band on its label, sponsored by corporations including Microsoft and Coca-Cola, during the summer of 2001. Its populist approach and use of the internet as a marketing tool made it one of the country's most-successful independent labels and helped popularize the word "emo".{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|pp=81–88}} According to Greenwald, "More than any other event, it was Vagrant America that defined emo to masses—mainly because it had the gumption to hit the road and bring it to them."{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=81}}
=2002–2010: Mainstream success=
{{Listen
| filename = Jimmy Eat World - The Middle.ogg
| title = "The Middle" by Jimmy Eat World (2001)
| description = "The Middle" topped Billboard{{'s}} Modern Rock Tracks chart and helped Bleed American to go platinum.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=68}}
| filename2 =
| title2 = "21 Guns" by Green Day (2009)
| description2 = "21 Guns" was released to commercial and critical acclaim in May 2009. The song was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best Rock Song in 2010. The makeup of "21 Guns" represents an emotional rock ballad, as opposed to Green Day's usual pop-punk sound.
}}
File:Emo-hairstyle.jpg{{Quotebox
| quote = In the early [2000s], bands from cultural hinterlands—Boca Raton, Las Vegas, the suburbs of New Jersey and Illinois, Long Island—took their predecessors’ interest in private emotion and the legacy of punk and added a new ingredient: pop ambition. There was fast, percussive guitar strumming; earworm riffs; frenetic drumming; and melodies full of stadium-ready sing-along moments, delivered in a nasal style that flirted with whining and sometimes crossed over into yelling.
| source = Peter C. Baker of The New Yorker (July 28, 2023) [https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/when-emo-conquered-the-mainstream]
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Emo broke into the mainstream media during the summer of 2002. Andrew Sacher of BrookylynVegan explained, "Like when grunge broke into the mainstream a decade earlier, it was the culmination of a sound that had been building for over a decade, but once it did start to take off, it happened almost overnight. Bands quickly went from obscurity to MTV, and countless others followed in their footsteps."{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=68}}{{Cite web |last=Sacher |first=Andrew |title=The Year That Emo Broke: The 20 Best Emo Albums of 2001 |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/the-year-that-emo-broke-the-20-best-emo-albums-of-2001/ |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=BrooklynVegan |language=en-US}} During this time, many fans of emo music had an appearance of short, dyed black hair with bangs cut high on the forehead, glasses with thick and black frames, and thrift store clothes. This fashion then became a huge part of emo's identity.{{Cite news |date=July 26, 2002 |title=Emo-esque, huh? |work=News24 |url=https://www.news24.com/xArchive/Archive/Emo-esque-huh-20020726 |access-date=August 11, 2018 |archive-date=August 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180812053008/https://www.news24.com/xArchive/Archive/Emo-esque-huh-20020726 |url-status=live }} Jimmy Eat World's Bleed American album went platinum on the strength of "The Middle", which topped Billboard{{'s}} Alternative Songs chart.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=68}}{{Cite web |title=Jimmy Eat World singles chart history |url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=jimmy eat world|chart=all}} |access-date=March 23, 2009 |publisher=Billboard charts}}{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=94}} The mainstream success achieved by Jimmy Eat World paved the way for emo pop music that would appear during the rest of the 2000s, with emo pop becoming a very common style of emo music during the 2000s. The band Dashboard Confessional broke into the mainstream. Started by the band's guitarist and lead vocalist Chris Carrabba, Dashboard Confessional are known for sometimes creating acoustic songs. Dashboard Confessional originally was a side project, as Carrabba was also a member of the emo band Further Seems Forever, and Vacant Andys, a punk rock band Carraba helped start in 1995.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=196}} Dashboard Confessional's album The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most peaked at number 5 on the Independent Albums chart.{{Cite web |title=Dashboard Confessional albums chart history |url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=dashboard confessional|chart=all}} |access-date=March 23, 2009 |publisher=Billboard charts}} Dashboard Confessional was the first {{nowrap|non-platinum-selling}} artist to record an episode of MTV Unplugged.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=68}} The 2002 resulting live album and video long-form was certified platinum by the RIAA on May 22, 2003, topped the Independent Albums chart, and, as of October 19, 2007, sold 316,000 copies.{{Cite web |last=Leahey |first=Andrew |title=Dashboard Confessional {{!}} Biography & History |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dashboard-confessional-mn0000574102/biography |access-date=October 20, 2017 |website=AllMusic |archive-date=October 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171021111547/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dashboard-confessional-mn0000574102/biography |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Gold & Platinum (Dashboard Confessional) |url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&se=dashboard+confessional#search_section |access-date=August 11, 2018 |publisher=Recording Industry Association of America |archive-date=July 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730234946/https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&se=dashboard+confessional#search_section |url-status=live }} With Dashboard Confessional's mainstream success, Carrabba appeared on a cover of the magazine Spin and according to Jim DeRogatis, "has become the 'face of emo' the way that Moby was deemed the prime exponent of techno or Kurt Cobain became the unwilling crown prince of grunge."{{Cite web |last=DeRogatis |first=Jim |author-link=Jim DeRogatis |date=October 3, 2003 |title=True Confessional? |url=http://www.jimdero.com/News2003/Oct3LiveDashboard.htm |access-date=August 15, 2018 |archive-date=May 1, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501150556/http://www.jimdero.com/News2003/Oct3LiveDashboard.htm |url-status=live }} Three of Dashboard Confessional's studio albums, The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most (2001), A Mark, a Mission, a Brand, a Scar (2003), and Dusk and Summer (2006), all were certified gold by the RIAA during the mid-2000s. As of October 19, 2007, The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most has sold 599,000 copies. As of October 19, 2007, Dusk and Summer and A Mark, a Mission, a Brand, a Scar have sold 512,000 copies and 901,000 copies in the United States, respectively. As of October 19, 2007, Dashboard Confessional's 2000 debut album The Swiss Army Romance sold 338,000 copies.{{Cite magazine |last=Caulfield |first=Keith |date=October 19, 2007 |title=Ask Billboard |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1047889/ask-billboard |access-date=August 11, 2018 |magazine=Billboard |archive-date=August 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180812084603/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1047889/ask-billboard |url-status=live }} On August 10, 2003, The New York Times reported how, "from the three-chord laments of Alkaline Trio to the folky rants of Bright Eyes, from the erudite pop-punk of Brand New" to the entropic anthems of Thursday, much of the most exciting rock music" was appearing from the emo genre.{{Cite web |last=Sanneh |first=Kelefa |date=August 10, 2003 |title=Music; Sweet, Sentimental and Punk |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/10/arts/music-sweet-sentimental-and-punk.html |access-date=August 12, 2018 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=February 13, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180213043918/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/10/arts/music-sweet-sentimental-and-punk.html |url-status=live }}
Saves the Day toured with Green Day, Blink-182 and Weezer, playing in large arenas such as Madison Square Garden.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=67}} Saves the Day performed on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, appeared on the cover of Alternative Press and had music videos for "At Your Funeral" and "Freakish" in rotation on MTV2.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=81}}{{Cite web |last=Wilson |first=MacKenzie |title=Saves the Day Biography |url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p311722|pure_url=yes}} |access-date=March 26, 2009 |website=AllMusic}} Taking Back Sunday released their debut album, Tell All Your Friends, on Victory Records in 2002. The album gave the band a taste of success in the emo scene with singles such as "Cute Without the 'E' (Cut from the Team)" and "You're So Last Summer". Tell All Your Friends was eventually certified gold by the RIAA in 2005{{Certification Cite Ref|title=Tell All Your Friends|artist=Taking Back Sunday|type=album|region=United States}} and is considered one of emo's most-influential albums. As of May 8, 2009, Tell All Your Friends sold 790,000 copies.{{Cite magazine |last=Wood |first=Mikael |date=May 8, 2009 |title=Exclusive Video: Taking Back Sunday's Latest Epic |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/268678/exclusive-video-taking-back-sundays-latest-epic |access-date=August 11, 2018 |magazine=Billboard |archive-date=March 9, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170309060544/http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/268678/exclusive-video-taking-back-sundays-latest-epic |url-status=live }} Articles on Vagrant Records appeared in Time and Newsweek,{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=88}} and the word "emo" became a catchall term for non-mainstream pop music.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|pp=68–69}}
File:Taking Back Sunday live in Boston.jpg
In the wake of this success, many emo bands were signed to major record labels and the genre became marketable.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|pp=140–141}} According to DreamWorks Records senior A&R representative Luke Wood, "The industry really does look at emo as the new rap rock, or the new grunge. I don't think that anyone is listening to the music that's being made—they're thinking of how they're going to take advantage of the sound's popularity at retail."{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=142}} Emo's apolitical nature, catchy music and accessible themes had broad appeal for a young, mainstream audience. Emo bands that emerged or broke into the mainstream during this time were rejected by many fans of older emo music.{{Cite web |last=Connick |first=Tom |date=April 30, 2018 |title=The beginner's guide to the evolution of emo |url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/emo-wave-guide-evolution-2302802 |access-date=August 12, 2018 |website=NME |archive-date=August 13, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813075941/https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/emo-wave-guide-evolution-2302802 |url-status=live }} As emo continued to be mainstream, it became quite common for emo bands to have black hair and wear eyeliner. Taking Back Sunday had continued success in the next few years, with their 2004 album Where You Want To Be both reaching number three on the Billboard 200 and being certified gold by the RIAA in July 2005.{{Certification Cite Ref|title=Where You Want To Be|artist=Taking Back Sunday|type=album|region=United States}} The album, as of February 17, 2006, sold more than 700,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.{{Cite magazine |date=February 17, 2006 |title=Taking Back Sunday Plans Spring U.S. Tour |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/59665/taking-back-sunday-plans-spring-us-tour |access-date=August 11, 2018 |magazine=Billboard |archive-date=August 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180812001447/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/59665/taking-back-sunday-plans-spring-us-tour |url-status=live }} The band's 2006 album, Louder Now, reached number two on the Billboard 200, was certified gold by the RIAA a little less than two months after its release date,{{Certification Cite Ref|title=Louder Now|artist=Taking Back Sunday|type=album|region=United States}} and, as of May 8, 2009, sold 674,000 copies.
A darker, more aggressive style of emo was also becoming popular. New Jersey–based Thursday signed a multimillion-dollar, multi-album contract with Island Def Jam after their 2001 album, Full Collapse, reached number 178 on the Billboard 200.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|pp=149–150}} Their music was more political and lacked pop hooks and anthems, influenced instead by the Smiths, Joy Division, and the Cure. However, the band's accessibility, basement-show roots and touring with Saves the Day made them part of the emo movement.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|pp=153–155}} Thursday's 2003 album, War All the Time, reached number seven on the Billboard 200.[{{BillboardURLbyName|artist=thursday|chart=all}} "Artist Chart History – Thursday – Albums"] Billboard. Hawthorne Heights, Story of the Year, Underoath, and Alexisonfire, four bands frequently featured on MTV, have popularized screamo. Other screamo bands include Silverstein,{{Cite web |last=Lake |first=Dave |date=December 2, 2015 |title=Senses Fail Singer Buddy Nielsen Blames Apathy for Breeding "Garbage Like Donald Trump" |url=https://www.browardpalmbeach.com/music/senses-fail-singer-buddy-nielsen-blames-apathy-for-breeding-garbage-like-donald-trump-7430154 |access-date=July 21, 2018 |website=New Times Broward-Palm Beach |archive-date=July 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180722011344/https://www.browardpalmbeach.com/music/senses-fail-singer-buddy-nielsen-blames-apathy-for-breeding-garbage-like-donald-trump-7430154 |url-status=live }} Senses Fail{{Cite web |last=Alex Henderson |title=Let It Enfold You |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/let-it-enfold-you-r793934/review |access-date=December 9, 2011 |website=AllMusic}}{{Cite web |last=Andrew Leahey |title=Life Is Not a Waiting Room |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/life-is-not-a-waiting-room-r1432491/review |access-date=December 9, 2011 |website=AllMusic}} and Vendetta Red. Underoath's albums They're Only Chasing Safety (2004){{Certification Cite Ref|title=They're Only Chasing Safety|artist=Underoath|type=album|region=United States}} and Define the Great Line (2006){{Certification Cite Ref|title=Define the Great Line|artist=Underoath|type=album|region=United States}} both were certified gold by the RIAA. The Used's self-titled album (2002) was certified gold by the RIAA on July 21, 2003.{{Certification Cite Ref|title=The Used|artist=The Used|type=album|region=United States}} The Used's self-titled album, as of August 22, 2009, has sold 841,000 copies.{{Cite magazine |last=Leebove |first=Laura |date=August 22, 2009 |title=Guitar Heroes |magazine=Billboard |publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc. |volume=121 |page=31 |issn=0006-2510 |number=33}} The Used's album In Love and Death (2004) was certified gold by the RIAA on March 21, 2005.{{Certification Cite Ref|title=In Love and Death|artist=The Used|type=album|region=United States}} In Love and Death, as of January 2, 2007, sold 689,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.{{Cite magazine |last=Cohen |first=Jonathan |date=January 2, 2007 |title=Live CD/DVD To Precede New Used Album |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1063528/live-cddvd-to-precede-new-used-album |access-date=August 11, 2018 |magazine=Billboard |archive-date=August 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180809060607/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1063528/live-cddvd-to-precede-new-used-album |url-status=live }} Four Alexisonfire albums were certified gold or platinum in Canada.{{Certification Cite Ref|title=Alexisonfire|artist=Alexisonfire|type=album|region=Canada}}{{Certification Cite Ref|title=Watch Out!|artist=Alexisonfire|type=album|region=Canada}}{{Certification Cite Ref|title=Crisis|artist=Alexisonfire|type=album|region=Canada}}{{Certification Cite Ref|title=Old Crows / Young Cardinals|artist=Alexisonfire|type=album|region=Canada}} File:hawthorneheights.jpg in 2007]]
File:My Chemical Romance BDO Feb 4 07 1.jpg
Emo pop, a pop punk-oriented subgenre of emo with pop-influenced hooks, became the main emo style during the mid-to late 2000s, with many of these bands being signed by Fueled by Ramen Records and some adopting a goth-inspired look. My Chemical Romance broke into the mainstream with their 2004 album Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. My Chemical Romance is known for their goth-influenced emo appearance and creation of concept albums and rock operas.{{Cite magazine |last=Spanos |first=Brittany |date=July 21, 2016 |title=My Chemical Romance Plots 'Black Parade' Reissue for 10th Anniversary |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/my-chemical-romance-plots-black-parade-reissue-for-10th-anniversary-104098/ |access-date=August 12, 2018 |magazine=Rolling Stone |archive-date=August 13, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813075731/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/my-chemical-romance-plots-black-parade-reissue-for-10th-anniversary-104098/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Leahey |first=Andrew |title=My Chemical Romance {{!}} Biography & History |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/my-chemical-romance-mn0000520545/biography |access-date=August 12, 2018 |website=AllMusic |archive-date=July 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718030953/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/my-chemical-romance-mn0000520545/biography |url-status=live }} Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge was certified platinum by the RIAA in 2005.{{Certification Cite Ref|region=United States|type=album|title=Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge|artist=My Chemical Romance}} The band's success continued with its third album, The Black Parade, which sold 240,000 copies in its first week of release{{Cite web |last=Harris |first=Chris |date=November 1, 2006 |title=Hannah Montana Rains On My Chemical Romance's Parade |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1544562/hannah-montana-rains-on-my-chemical-romances-parade/ |publisher=MTV |access-date=June 4, 2016 |archive-date=February 20, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150220134815/http://www.mtv.com/news/1544562/hannah-montana-rains-on-my-chemical-romances-parade/ |url-status=dead }} and was certified platinum by the RIAA in less than a year.{{Certification Cite Ref|region=United States|type=album|title=The Black Parade|artist=My Chemical Romance}} Fall Out Boy's album, From Under the Cork Tree, sold 2,700,000 copies in the United States.{{Cite magazine |date=February 4, 2013 |title=Fall Out Boy to 'Save Rock and Roll' in May |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1537641/fall-out-boy-to-save-rock-and-roll-in-may |magazine=Billboard |access-date=April 21, 2020 |archive-date=September 7, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140907015458/http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1537641/fall-out-boy-to-save-rock-and-roll-in-may |url-status=live }} The band's album, Infinity on High, topped the Billboard 200, sold 260,000 copies in its first week of release{{Cite magazine |last=Hasty |first=Katie |date=February 14, 2007 |title=Fall Out Boy Hits 'High' Note With No. 1 Debut |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1054981/fall-out-boy-hits-high-note-with-no-1-debut |magazine=Billboard |access-date=April 21, 2020 |archive-date=March 5, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130305115440/http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1054981/fall-out-boy-hits-high-note-with-no-1-debut |url-status=live }} and sold 1,400,000 copies in the United States. Multiple Fall Out Boy songs reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100.{{Cite magazine |title=Fall Out Boy – Chart History |url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=Fall Out Boy|chart=Hot 100}} |magazine=Billboard}} Panic! at the Disco's album, A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, was certified double platinum by the RIAA{{Certification Cite Ref|title=A Fever You Can't Sweat Out|artist=Panic! at the Disco|type=album|region=United States}} and its single, "I Write Sins Not Tragedies", reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100.{{Cite magazine |title=Panic! at the Disco – Chart History |url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=panic at the disco|chart=Hot 100}} |magazine=Billboard}} Panic! at the Disco are known for combining emo with electronics{{Cite web |last=Galil |first=Leor |date=July 14, 2009 |title=Scrunk happens |url=http://thephoenix.com/boston/music/86395-scrunk-happens/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090819123128/http://thephoenix.com/boston/music/86395-scrunk-happens/ |archive-date=August 19, 2009 |access-date=August 12, 2018 |website=The Phoenix}} and their album A Fever You Can't Sweat Out is an emo album{{Cite magazine |last1=Bayer |first1=Jonah |last2=Burgess |first2=Aaron |last3=Exposito |first3=Suzy |last4=Galil |first4=Leor |last5=Montgomery |first5=James |last6=Spanos |first6=Brittany |date=March 1, 2016 |title=40 Greatest Emo Albums of All Time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/40-greatest-emo-albums-of-all-time-23526/ |access-date=August 12, 2018 |magazine=Rolling Stone |archive-date=March 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330213951/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/40-greatest-emo-albums-of-all-time-23526/ |url-status=live }} with elements of {{nowrap|dance-punk{{Cite web |last=Zemler |first=Emily |date=October 3, 2005 |title=Panic! at the Disco |url=https://www.spin.com/2005/10/panic-disco/ |access-date=August 12, 2018 |website=Spin |archive-date=October 2, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002142426/http://www.spin.com/2005/10/panic-disco/ |url-status=live }}}} and baroque pop.{{Cite web |last=Story |first=Hannah |date=January 11, 2016 |title=Panic! At The Disco – Death Of A Bachelor |url=http://themusic.com.au/music/albumreviews/2016/01/11/panic-at-the-disco-death-of-a-bachelor-hannah-story/ |access-date=August 12, 2018 |website=The Music |archive-date=December 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214162114/https://themusic.com.au/music/albumreviews/2016/01/11/panic-at-the-disco-death-of-a-bachelor-hannah-story/ |url-status=live }} The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus' "Face Down" peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100{{Cite web |title=The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus {{!}} Awards |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-red-jumpsuit-apparatus-mn0000986573/awards |website=AllMusic |access-date=April 21, 2020 |archive-date=May 21, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160521120635/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-red-jumpsuit-apparatus-mn0000986573/awards |url-status=live }} and its album, Don't You Fake It, sold 852,000 copies in the United States.{{Cite magazine |last=Cohen |first=Jonathan |date=August 18, 2008 |title=Red Jumpsuit Apparatus Recording New Album |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1044419/red-jumpsuit-apparatus-recording-new-album |magazine=Billboard |access-date=April 21, 2020 |archive-date=August 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819203553/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1044419/red-jumpsuit-apparatus-recording-new-album |url-status=live }} AFI's albums Sing the Sorrow and Decemberunderground both were certified platinum by the RIAA,{{Certification Cite Ref|region=United States|type=album|title=Sing the Sorrow|artist=AFI}}{{Certification Cite Ref|region=United States|type=album|title=Decemberunderground|artist=AFI}} with Decemberunderground peaking at number 1 on the Billboard 200.{{Cite magazine |date=June 14, 2006 |title=AFI Burns Brightly With No. 1 Debut |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/58141/afi-burns-brightly-with-no-1-debut |magazine=Billboard |access-date=April 21, 2020 |archive-date=April 14, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130414014837/http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/58141/afi-burns-brightly-with-no-1-debut |url-status=live }} Paramore's 2007 album Riot! was certified double platinum by the RIAA{{Certification Cite Ref|region=United States|type=album|title=Riot!|artist=Paramore}} and several Paramore songs appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 in the late 2000s, including "Misery Business", "Decode", "Crushcrushcrush", "That's What You Get", and "Ignorance".{{Cite magazine |title=Paramore – Chart history |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/325117/Paramore/chart?sort=date&f=379 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=April 21, 2020 |archive-date=November 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118191006/https://www.billboard.com/artist/325117/Paramore/chart?sort=date&f=379 |url-status=live }}
=2010–present: Decline and emo revival=
By 2010, emo's popularity began to decline. Many emo bands lost popularity or had changed genres;{{Cite news |date=May 19, 2011 |title=My Chemical Romance Shed Their Emo Roots |work=Dallas Observer}} My Chemical Romance's album, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, featured a traditional pop punk style.{{Cite web |date=November 18, 2010 |title=My Chemical Romance: Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys – review |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/nov/18/my-chemical-romance-danger-days-review |website=The Guardian}} Paramore and Fall Out Boy both abandoned the emo genre with their 2013 albums, Paramore and Save Rock and Roll, respectively.{{Cite web |last=Rolli |first=Bryan |date=January 22, 2018 |title=Fall Out Boy's 'MANIA' Proves The Value Of Authenticity |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanrolli/2018/01/22/fall-out-boy-mania-review/ |access-date=July 21, 2018 |website=Forbes}}{{Cite magazine |last=Anderson |first=Kyle |date=April 10, 2013 |title=Paramore |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |url=https://ew.com/article/2013/05/09/paramore/ |access-date=July 21, 2018 |archive-date=October 25, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025055435/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20690042,00.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Ben Rayner |date=April 8, 2013 |title=Paramore's glossy a bid for superstardom: album review | Toronto Star |work=Toronto Star |url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/music/2013/04/08/paramores_glossy_a_bid_for_superstardom_album_review.html |access-date=July 21, 2018}} Paramore moved to a new wave-influenced style.{{Cite web |last=Collar |first=Matt |title=After Laughter - Paramore |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/after-laughter-mw0003039874 |access-date=July 21, 2018 |website=AllMusic}} Panic! at the Disco also abandoned the emo pop genre to a synth-pop style on Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die!.{{Cite web |title=Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die! – Panic! at the Disco |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/too-weird-to-live-too-rare-to-die!-mw0002565550 |website=AllMusic}} Many emo bands, including My Chemical Romance,{{Cite web |url=http://www.kerrang.com/blog/2013/03/mcr_split_gerard_confirms_brea.html |title=Kerrang! MCR Split: Gerard Way Confirms Break Up |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130328081831/http://www.kerrang.com/blog/2013/03/mcr_split_gerard_confirms_brea.html |archive-date=March 28, 2013 |work=Kerrang.com |access-date=December 12, 2013}} Alexisonfire,{{Cite web |last=Murphy |first=Sarah |date=August 9, 2012 |title=Alexisonfire Reveal 10 Year Anniversary Farewell Tour |url=http://exclaim.ca/News/alexisonfire_reveal_final_farewell_tour |access-date=August 9, 2012 |website=Exclaim!}} and Thursday,{{Cite web |last=Rosenbaum |first=Jason |date=December 2, 2011 |title=A Hole in the World: Thursday Calls it Quits |url=https://www.riverfronttimes.com/musicblog/2011/12/02/a-hole-in-the-world-thursday-calls-it-quits |access-date=July 21, 2018 |website=Riverfront Times |archive-date=July 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721221731/https://www.riverfronttimes.com/musicblog/2011/12/02/a-hole-in-the-world-thursday-calls-it-quits |url-status=dead }} disbanded, raising concerns about the genre's viability.{{Cite web |date=April 24, 2013 |title=What Happened to Emo? |url=http://www.mtvhive.com/2013/04/24/what-happened-to-emo/ |website=MTV Hive |access-date=December 13, 2013 |archive-date=September 5, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130905003738/http://www.mtvhive.com/2013/04/24/what-happened-to-emo |url-status=dead }} Andrew Sacher of Brooklyn Vegan explains, "The popularity led to backlash, and a rapidly-changing music industry eventually turned its attention away from punk-adjacent bands in the mainstream, leaving the genre stigmatized by the end of the 2000s, and eventually — as far as the mainstream was concerned — dead."{{Cite web |last=Sacher |first=Andrew |title=The Year That Emo Broke: The 20 Best Emo Albums of 2001 |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/the-year-that-emo-broke-the-20-best-emo-albums-of-2001/ |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=BrooklynVegan |language=en-US}}
During the latter 2010s, a mainly underground emo revival emerged,{{Cite web |last=DeVille |first=Chris |date=October 2013 |title=12 Bands To Know From The Emo Revival |url=https://www.stereogum.com/1503252/ |access-date=November 28, 2013 |website=Stereogum |archive-date=December 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203032701/http://www.stereogum.com/1503252/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Ducker |first=Eric |title=A Rational Conversation: Is Emo Back? |url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2013/11/18/245954581/a-rational-conversation-is-emo-back |access-date=November 28, 2013 |newspaper=NPR |date=November 18, 2013 |archive-date=November 27, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131127204036/http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2013/11/18/245954581/a-rational-conversation-is-emo-back |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Cohen |first=Ian |title=Your New Favorite Emo Bands: The Best of Topshelf Records' 2013 Sampler |url=https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/86-topshelf-2013-sampler/ |access-date=November 28, 2013 |website=Pitchfork |archive-date=December 7, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207142144/http://pitchfork.com/thepitch/86-topshelf-2013-sampler/ |url-status=live }} drawing on the sound and aesthetic of 1990s emo. Artists associated with this movement include Modern Baseball,{{Cite web |last=Sharp |first=Tyler |date=January 7, 2015 |title=Modern Baseball keep the emo revival alive with "Alpha Kappa Fall Of Troy The Movie Part Deax" |url=http://www.altpress.com/news/entry/modern_baseball_keep_the_emo_revival_alive_with_alpha_kappa_fall_of_troy_th |website=Alternative Press |access-date=August 29, 2017 |archive-date=August 29, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829082519/http://www.altpress.com/news/entry/modern_baseball_keep_the_emo_revival_alive_with_alpha_kappa_fall_of_troy_th |url-status=live }} the World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die,{{Cite web |last=Gormelly |first=Ian |title=Handicapping the Emo Revival: Who's Most Likely to Pierce the Stigma? |url=http://www.chartattack.com/features/2013/11/27/handicapping-emo-revival/ |access-date=November 28, 2013 |website=Chart Attack |archive-date=January 2, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102183815/http://www.chartattack.com/features/2013/11/27/handicapping-emo-revival/ |url-status=usurped }} A Great Big Pile of Leaves, Pianos Become the Teeth, Empire! Empire! (I Was a Lonely Estate), Touché Amoré, Into It. Over It., and the Hotelier.{{Cite web |last=Chatterjee |first=Kika |date=July 29, 2017 |title=18 bands leading the emo revival |url=http://www.altpress.com/features/entry/18_bands_leading_the_emo_revival |website=Alternative Press |access-date=August 29, 2017 |archive-date=August 29, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829082510/http://www.altpress.com/features/entry/18_bands_leading_the_emo_revival |url-status=live }} While many 2010s emo bands draw on the sound and aesthetic of 1990s emo, hardcore punk elements are consistently used by 2010s emo bands such as Title Fight{{Cite web |last=Heaney |first=Gregory |title=Title Fight |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/title-fight-mn0002137032/biography |access-date=December 12, 2013 |website=AllMusic |archive-date=September 7, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130907041331/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/title-fight-mn0002137032/biography |url-status=live }} and Small Brown Bike.{{Cite web |last=Zac Johnson |title=The River Bed – Small Brown Bike – Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards – AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-river-bed-mw0000323827 |website=AllMusic |access-date=April 21, 2020 |archive-date=July 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731015039/https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-river-bed-mw0000323827 |url-status=live }}
In the 2020s, emo's impact on mainstream music of the 2010s, as well as a revival of the genre itself, was noted in media outlets.{{Cite web |date=March 20, 2020 |title=How the emo genre bounced back from the brink |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/emo-music-my-chemical-romance-paramore-hayley-williams-green-day-a9412056.html |access-date=May 27, 2022 |website=The Independent |language=en}} The BBC observed in 2018 "beyond guitar-based bands, the influence of emo can be seen in much of modern music, both in style and lyrical content" and "addressing mental health issues has become increasingly more common in pop".
Subgenres and fusion genres
=Subgenres=
==Screamo==
{{Main|Screamo}}
File: Orchid - Stierch.jpg performing in Bloomington, Indiana in 2000]]
The term "screamo" was initially applied to an aggressive offshoot of emo which developed in San Diego in 1991 and used short songs grafting "spastic intensity to willfully experimental dissonance and dynamics."{{Cite web |last=Heller |first=Jason |date=June 20, 2002 |title=Feast of Reason |url=http://www.westword.com/music/feast-of-reason-5070850 |access-date=June 15, 2008 |website=Westword |archive-date=June 26, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626184326/http://www.westword.com/music/feast-of-reason-5070850 |url-status=live }} Screamo is a dissonant form of emo influenced by hardcore punk, with typical rock instrumentation and noted for short songs, chaotic execution and screaming vocals.
File:MuchMusic Video Awards 2007 608.jpg's self-titled album was called "one of the masterworks of the screamo movement" by The Kansas City Star.{{Cite web |last=Brownlee |first=Bill |date=August 31, 2016 |title=Screamo band the Used salvages an affecting debut album on first of two nights at the Midland |url=http://www.kansascity.com/entertainment/ent-columns-blogs/back-to-rockville/article98981187.html |website=The Kansas City Star |access-date=August 22, 2017 |archive-date=August 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822100750/http://www.kansascity.com/entertainment/ent-columns-blogs/back-to-rockville/article98981187.html |url-status=live }}]]
The genre is "generally based in the aggressive side of the overarching punk-revival scene."{{Cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/style/screamo-ma0000004448 |title=Explore style: Screamo |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180728072619/https://www.allmusic.com/style/screamo-ma0000004448 |archive-date=July 28, 2018 |work=AllMusic Music Guide}} It began at the Ché Café"A Day with the Locust", L.A. Weekly, September 18, 2003 {{Cite web |title=Brassland | Home |url=http://www.brassland.org/ahb/writing/archives/2003/09/a_day_with_the.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090305104850/http://www.brassland.org/ahb/writing/archives/2003/09/a_day_with_the.html |archive-date=March 5, 2009 |access-date=September 14, 2011 }} Access date: June 19, 2008 with groups such as Heroin, Antioch Arrow,Local Cut, Q&A with Aaron Montaigne. {{Cite web |title=Q&A: Aaron Montaigne (Of Antioch Arrow, Magick Daggers, etc.)-- local Cut |url=http://localcut.wweek.com/2008/05/14/qa-aaron-montaigne-of-antioch-arrow-magick-daggers-etc/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722035137/http://localcut.wweek.com/2008/05/14/qa-aaron-montaigne-of-antioch-arrow-magick-daggers-etc/ |archive-date=July 22, 2011 |access-date=June 10, 2011 }} May 14, 2008. Access date: June 11, 2008. Angel Hair, Mohinder, Swing Kids, and Portraits of Past.{{Cite web |title=Ebullition Catalog, Portraits of Past discography. |url=http://www.ebullition.com/catalog32.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710165444/http://www.ebullition.com/catalog32.html|archive-date=July 10, 2011 |access-date=August 9, 2008}} They were influenced by Washington, D.C. post-hardcore (particularly Fugazi and Nation of Ulysses), straight edge, the Chicago group Articles of Faith, the hardcore-punk band Die Kreuzen{{Cite news |date=July 7, 2008 |title=Blood Runs Deep: 23 A hat |page=126 |work=Alternative Press}} and the post-punk and {{nowrap|gothic rock}} bands like Bauhaus. I Hate Myself is a band described as "a cornerstone of the 'screamo' genre" by author Matt Walker:{{sfn|pp=102–103|Walker|2016}} "Musically, I Hate Myself relied on being very slow and deliberate, with sharp contrasts between quiet, almost meditative segments that rip into loud and heavy portions driven by Jim Marburger's tidal wave scream."{{sfn|Walker|p=102|2016}} Other early screamo bands include Pg. 99, Saetia, and Orchid.{{Cite web |last=Ozzi |first=Dan |date=August 1, 2018 |title=The Spirit of Screamo Is Alive and Well |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-spirit-of-screamo-is-alive-and-well/ |access-date=December 21, 2019 |website=Vice |archive-date=May 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508225225/https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/ne5dm7/the-spirit-of-screamo-is-alive-and-well |url-status=live }}
The Used, Thursday, Thrice and Hawthorne Heights, who all formed in the United States during the late 1990s and early 2000s and remained active throughout the 2000s, helped popularize screamo. Post-hardcore bands such as Refused and At the Drive-In paved the way for these bands. Screamo bands from the Canadian emo scene such as Silverstein{{Cite web |last=Adams |first=Gregory |date=January 23, 2008 |title=Silverstein sacrifices for screamo's sake |url=https://www.straight.com/article-129349/silverstein-sacrifices-for-screamo-s-sake |access-date=December 7, 2017 |website=The Georgia Straight |archive-date=December 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208231342/https://www.straight.com/article-129349/silverstein-sacrifices-for-screamo-s-sake |url-status=live }} and Alexisonfire{{Cite web |last=Usinger |first=Mike |date=February 10, 2010 |title=Punk classics helped reignite Alexisonfire |url=https://www.straight.com/article-288482/vancouver/punk-classics-helped-reignite-alexisonfire |access-date=December 7, 2017 |website=The Georgia Straight |archive-date=December 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208231437/https://www.straight.com/article-288482/vancouver/punk-classics-helped-reignite-alexisonfire |url-status=live }} also emerged at this time. By the mid-2000s, the saturation of the screamo scene caused many bands to expand beyond the genre and incorporate more-experimental elements. Non-screamo bands used the genre's characteristic guttural vocal style. Some screamo bands during this time period were inspired by genres like pop punk and heavy metal.
Jeff Mitchell of the Iowa State Daily wrote, "There is no set definition of what screamo sounds like but screaming over once deafeningly loud rocking noise and suddenly quiet, melodic guitar lines is a theme commonly affiliated with the genre."{{Cite web |last=Mitchell |first=Jeff |date=July 26, 2001 |title=A Screamin' Scene |url=http://www.iowastatedaily.com/article_7c9f7210-850e-5905-af02-9bcdb2b07f3e.html |access-date=September 11, 2010 |website=Iowa State Daily |archive-date=March 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305071643/http://www.iowastatedaily.com/article_7c9f7210-850e-5905-af02-9bcdb2b07f3e.html |url-status=live }}
===Sass===
Sass (also known as sassy screamo, sasscore, white belt hardcore,{{cite web |last1=Stewart |first1=Ethan |title=From Hardcore to Harajuku: the Origins of Scene Subculture |url=https://www.popmatters.com/scene-subculture-origins-hardcore-harajuku |website=PopMatters |date=May 25, 2021 |access-date=May 25, 2021}} white belt, sassgrind or dancey screamo){{cite web |last1=PREIRA |first1=MATT |title=Ten Best Screamo Bands From Florida |url=https://www.browardpalmbeach.com/music/ten-best-screamo-bands-from-florida-6436756/2 |website=New Times Broward-Palm Beach |access-date=February 10, 2019 |archive-date=January 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190120043042/https://www.browardpalmbeach.com/music/ten-best-screamo-bands-from-florida-6436756/2 |url-status=dead }} is a style that emerged from the late-1990s and early-2000s screamo scene.{{cite web |last1=Warwick |first1=Kevin |title=All that sass: The albums that define the '00s dance-punk era |url=https://www.avclub.com/all-that-sass-the-albums-that-define-the-00s-dance-pu-1798248825 |website=The A.V. Club |date=June 22, 2016 |access-date=February 9, 2019}} The genre incorporates elements of post-punk, new wave, disco, electronic, dance-punk, grindcore, noise rock, metalcore, mathcore and beatdown hardcore. The genre is characterized by often incorporating overtly flamboyant mannerisms, erotic lyrical content, synthesizers, dance beats and a lisping vocal style.{{cite web |last1=ROA |first1=RAY |title=WTF is sasscore, and why is SeeYouSpaceCowboy bringing it to St. Petersburg's Lucky You Tattoo? |url=https://www.cltampa.com/music/show-previews/article/21012214/wtf-is-sasscore-and-why-is-seeyouspacecowboy-bringing-it-to-st-petersburgs-lucky-you-tattoo |website=Creative Loafing |access-date=February 9, 2019}} Sass bands include the Blood Brothers, An Albatross, The Number Twelve Looks Like You, the Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower, Daughters's early music, Orchid's later music{{cite web |last1=Stewart |first1=Ethan |title=From Hardcore to Harajuku: the Origins of Scene Subculture |url=https://www.popmatters.com/scene-subculture-origins-hardcore-harajuku |website=PopMatters |date=May 25, 2021 |access-date=May 25, 2021}}{{Cite web|date=April 9, 2021|title=What is Sasscore? • DIY Conspiracy|url=https://diyconspiracy.net/terms/sasscore/|access-date=October 9, 2021|language=en-US}} and SeeYouSpaceCowboy.{{cite web|url=https://www.revolvermag.com/music/seeyouspacecowboy-meet-sasscore-band-rallying-marginalized-people-bite-back|title=SeeYouSpaceCowboy: Meet "Sasscore" Band Rallying Marginalized People to "Bite Back"|last1=Adams|first1=Gregory|date=August 14, 2018|website=Revolver|access-date=February 9, 2019}}
=Fusion genres=
==Emo pop==
{{Main|Emo pop}}
Emo pop (or emo pop punk) is a subgenre of emo known for its pop music influences, more concise songs and hook-filled choruses. AllMusic describes emo pop as blending "youthful angst" with "slick production" and mainstream appeal, using "high-pitched melodies, rhythmic guitars, and lyrics concerning adolescence, relationships, and heartbreak."{{Cite web |title=Emo-Pop |url=https://www.allmusic.com/style/emo-pop-ma0000012243 |access-date=June 10, 2011 |website=AllMusic |archive-date=June 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120605042317/http://www.allmusic.com/style/emo-pop-ma0000012243 |url-status=live }} The Guardian described emo pop as a cross between "saccharine boy-band pop" and emo.{{Cite web |last=Lester |first=Paul |date=December 8, 2008 |title=New band of the day – No 445: Metro Station |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/dec/08/new-band-metro-station |access-date=June 10, 2011 |website=The Guardian |quote=They peddle "emo-pop", a sort of cross between saccharine boy-band pop and whatever it is that bands like Panic! at the Disco and Fall Out Boy do – emo, let's be frank. |archive-date=September 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170926235541/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/dec/08/new-band-metro-station |url-status=live }}
Emo pop developed during the 1990s. Bands like Jawbreaker and Samiam are known for formulating the emo pop punk style.{{Cite web |last=Catucci |first=Nick |date=September 26, 2000 |title=Emotional Rescue |url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2000/09/26/emotional-rescue/ |access-date=December 7, 2017 |website=The Village Voice |archive-date=December 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208122424/https://www.villagevoice.com/2000/09/26/emotional-rescue/ |url-status=live }} According to Nicole Keiper of CMJ New Music Monthly, Sense Field's Building (1996) pushed the band "into the emo-pop camp with the likes of the Get Up Kids and Jejune".{{Cite web |last=Kieper |first=Nicole |date=October 2001 |title=Sense Field: Tonight and Forever – Nettwerk America |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rCoEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22emo+pop%22+techniques&pg=PA103 |access-date=June 10, 2011 |website=CMJ New Music Monthly |publisher=CMJ Network}} As emo became commercially successful in the early 2000s, emo pop became popular with Jimmy Eat World's 2001 album Bleed American and the success of its single "The Middle". Jimmy Eat World, the Get Up Kids{{Cite web |url=http://exclaim.ca/News/get_up_kids_prep_vinyl_reissues_of_eudora_on_wire |title=The Get Up Kids Prep Vinyl Reissues of 'Eudora' and 'On a Wire'}} and the Promise Ring{{Cite web |date=April 12, 2001 |title=Promise Ring swears by bouncy, power pop |url=http://www.michigandaily.com/content/promise-ring-swears-bouncy-power-pop |access-date=December 7, 2017 |website=The Michigan Daily |archive-date=December 30, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171230032409/https://www.michigandaily.com/content/promise-ring-swears-bouncy-power-pop |url-status=live }} also are early emo pop bands. The emo pop style of Jimmy Eat World's album, Clarity{{Cite magazine |title=Jimmy Eat World – Clarity – Review |url=http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/jimmy-eat-world/clarity.htm |magazine=Stylus Magazine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100503053050/http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/jimmy-eat-world/clarity.htm |archive-date=May 3, 2010 |url-status=dead}} influenced later emo.{{Cite web |last=Merwin, Charles |date=August 9, 2007 |title=Jimmy Eat World > Clarity > Capitol |url=http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/jimmy-eat-world/clarity.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100503053050/http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/jimmy-eat-world/clarity.htm |archive-date=May 3, 2010 |access-date=May 16, 2010 |website=Stylus}} The emo band Braid's 1998 album Frame & Canvas has been described as emo pop by Blake Butler of AllMusic, who gave the Braid album four out of five stars and wrote that Frame & Canvas "proves to be one of Braid's best efforts".{{Cite web |last=Butler |first=Brian |title=Frame & Canvas – Braid |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/frame-canvas-mw0000262680 |access-date=August 14, 2018 |website=AllMusic |archive-date=August 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815024309/https://www.allmusic.com/album/frame-canvas-mw0000262680 |url-status=live }} Emo pop became successful during the late 1990s, with its popularity increasing in the early 2000s. The Get Up Kids sold over 15,000 copies of their debut album, Four Minute Mile (1997), before signing with Vagrant Records. The label promoted them, sending them on tours to open for Green Day and Weezer.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|pp=77–78}} Their 1999 album, Something to Write Home About, reached number 31 on Billboard{{'s}} Top Heatseekers chart. As of May 2, 2002, Something to Write Home About sold 134,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
As emo pop coalesced, the Fueled by Ramen label became a center of the movement and signed Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco, and Paramore (all of whom had been successful). Two regional scenes developed. The Florida scene was created by Fueled by Ramen; midwest emo-pop was promoted by Pete Wentz, whose Fall Out Boy rose to the forefront of the style during the mid-2000s.{{Cite web |last=Loftus |first=Johnny |title=Fall Out Boy |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/fall-out-boy-p533936 |access-date=June 10, 2011 |website=AllMusic |archive-date=May 27, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110527171111/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/fall-out-boy-p533936 |url-status=live }}{{Cite magazine |last=Futterman |first=Erica |title=Fall Out Boy Biography |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/fall-out-boy/biography |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=June 10, 2011 |archive-date=March 2, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302230339/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/fall-out-boy/biography |url-status=live }} Cash Cash released Take It to the Floor (2008); according to AllMusic, it could be "the definitive statement of airheaded, glittery, and {{nowrap|content-free}} {{nowrap|emo-pop{{Cite web |last=Sendra |first=Tim |title=Take It to the Floor |url=https://allmusic.com/album/take-it-to-the-floor-r1471616/review |access-date=June 11, 2011 |website=AllMusic}}}} ... the transformation of emo from the expression of intensely felt, ripped-from-the-throat feelings played by bands directly influenced by post-punk and hardcore to mall-friendly Day-Glo pop played by kids who look about as authentic as the "punks" on an old episode of Quincy did back in the '70s was made pretty much complete". You Me at Six released their 2008 debut album, Take Off Your Colours, described by AllMusic's Jon O'Brien as "follow[ing] the 'emo-pop for dummies' handbook word-for-word."{{Cite web |last=O'Brien, Jon |title=Take Off Your Colours – You Me at Six {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/take-off-your-colours-mw0000821192 |access-date=December 3, 2015 |website=AllMusic |archive-date=December 8, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208135337/http://www.allmusic.com/album/take-off-your-colours-mw0000821192 |url-status=live }} The album was certified gold in the UK.{{Cite web |title=Certified Awards |url=http://www.bpi.co.uk/certified-awards.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140625075145/http://www.bpi.co.uk/certified-awards.aspx |archive-date=June 25, 2014 |access-date=August 29, 2016}}
==Emo rap==
{{Main|Emo rap}}
Emo rap, a genre that combines emo music with hip hop music, began in the mid–to late 2010s. Prominent artists of emo hip hop include Lil Peep,{{Cite web |last=Hockley-Smith |first=Sam |date=August 18, 2017 |title=The Unappealing World of Lil Peep, Explained |url=https://www.vulture.com/2017/08/the-unappealing-world-of-emo-rapper-lil-peep-explained.html |access-date=September 25, 2017 |website=Vulture |publisher=Vulture.com |archive-date=September 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170925142116/http://www.vulture.com/2017/08/the-unappealing-world-of-emo-rapper-lil-peep-explained.html |url-status=live }} XXXTentacion,{{Cite web |last=Zoladz |first=Lindsay |date=August 30, 2017 |title=XXXTentacion, Lil Peep, and the Future of Emo |url=https://www.theringer.com/music/2017/8/30/16225968/emo-xxxtentacion-lil-peep-brand-new |access-date=December 5, 2017 |publisher=The Ringer |archive-date=March 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315175811/https://www.theringer.com/music/2017/8/30/16225968/emo-xxxtentacion-lil-peep-brand-new |url-status=live }} and Nothing,Nowhere.{{Cite web |last=Caramanica |first=Jon |date=October 20, 2017 |title=nothing,nowhere. Blends Hip-Hop and Emo to Make Tomorrow's Pop |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/20/arts/music/nothing-nowhere-hip-hop-emo-reaper.html |access-date=November 7, 2017 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=February 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180226140010/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/20/arts/music/nothing-nowhere-hip-hop-emo-reaper.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite magazine |last=Reeves |first=Mosi |date=October 31, 2017 |title=Review: Nothing,Nowhere.'s Tormented Emo-Rap Shows Hip-Hop's Post-Modern Evolution |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/review-nothingnowheres-reaper-w510654 |access-date=November 7, 2017 |magazine=Rolling Stone |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107030610/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/review-nothingnowheres-reaper-w510654 |url-status=live }} In the {{nowrap|mid-to late 2010s,}} emo rap broke into the mainstream. Deceased rapper XXXTentacion's song "Sad!" peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on June 30, 2018.{{Cite magazine |title=XXXTentacion Chart History |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/xxxtentacion/chart-history |access-date=July 21, 2018 |magazine=Billboard |archive-date=March 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200325101113/https://www.billboard.com/music/xxxtentacion/chart-history |url-status=live }} Lil Uzi Vert's song "XO Tour Llif3" peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100{{Cite magazine |title=Lil Uzi Vert Chart History |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/lil-uzi-vert/chart-history/hsi/ |access-date=July 21, 2018 |magazine=Billboard |archive-date=August 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180830083359/https://www.billboard.com/music/lil-uzi-vert/chart-history/hot-100 |url-status=live }} and the song was certified {{nowrap|6× platinum}} by the RIAA.{{Certification Cite Ref|title=XO Tour Llif3|artist=Lil Uzi Vert|type=single|region=United States}}
Subculture and stereotypes
{{main|emo subculture}}
File:Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy October 2009 (cropped).jpg of Fall Out Boy displaying features of emo fashion: skinny jeans, eye liner, and flat, straight, jet-black hair with long bangs covering the face]]{{Quotebox
| quote = Emo emerged as a pervasive buzzword in the early 2000s as many of the groups associated with the style became among the decade’s bestselling rock acts. As emo grew in notoriety, the popular press tended to reduce emo to stereotypes of weepy male vulnerability, and the label was often met with critical derision. At the same time female emo fans like the music writer Jessica Hopper lamented how the music’s focus on subjective male suffering served to limit women’s roles and reduce them to voiceless, unattainable objects. The majority of groups lumped together as part of the genre were well aware of emo’s various negative connotations and unsurprisingly steadfastly refused any allegiance to an emo movement.
| source = Theo Cateforis of Grove Music Dictionary (July 25, 2013) [https://www-oxfordmusiconline-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/grovemusic/display/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-1002240803?rskey=iJIYyI&result=1]
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The beginning of emo as a subculture rather than just a style of music dates back to the mid-1990s San Diego screamo scene. The scene's bands, such as Heroin, Antioch Arrow and Swing Kids, and participants in this scene were often called "spock rock", in reference to their black-dyed hair with straight fringes. As the vocalist of Swing Kids, Justin Pearson had choppy spikes protruding from the back of his head alongside straight fringes, which was a prototype for the emo haircut. During this time, emo fashion was clean-cut and tended towards geek chic,{{Cite web |last=Rath |first=Paula |date=January 8, 2002 |title=Geek chic look is clean cut |url=http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2002/Jan/08/il/il01a.html |access-date=June 14, 2016 |website=The Honolulu Advertiser |archive-date=April 11, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411073504/http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2002/Jan/08/il/il01a.html |url-status=live }} with clothing items like thick-rimmed glasses resembling 1950s musician Buddy Holly, button-down shirts, t-shirts, sweater vests, tight jeans, converse shoes, and cardigans being common.
Emo fashion in the mid-to late 2000s included skinny jeans, tight T-shirts (usually short-sleeved, and often with the names of emo bands), studded belts, Converse sneakers, Vans and black wristbands.{{sfn|Adler|Adler|2011|p=171}} Thick, horn-rimmed glasses remained in style to an extent,{{sfn|Adler|Adler|2011|p=171}} and eye liner and black fingernails became common during the mid-2000s.{{Cite web |last=Shuster |first=Yelena |date=July 17, 2008 |title=Black Bangs, Piercings Raise Eyebrows in Duma |url=http://old.themoscowtimes.com/sitemap/free/2008/7/article/black-bangs-piercings-raise-eyebrows-in-duma/368995.html |website=The Moscow Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823071906/http://old.themoscowtimes.com/sitemap/free/2008/7/article/black-bangs-piercings-raise-eyebrows-in-duma/368995.html |archive-date= August 23, 2017}}{{Cite web |last=Thomas-Handsard |first=Artemis |date=December 6, 2016 |title=10 Emo Songs for People Who Don't Know Shit About "Emotional Hardcore" |url=http://www.laweekly.com/music/10-classic-emo-songs-for-people-who-dont-know-shit-about-emo-7677287 |website=L.A. Weekly |access-date=August 23, 2017 |archive-date=August 23, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823074343/http://www.laweekly.com/music/10-classic-emo-songs-for-people-who-dont-know-shit-about-emo-7677287 |url-status=live }} The best-known facet of emo fashion is its hairstyle: flat, straight, usually jet-black hair with long bangs covering much of the face, which has been called a fad.{{Cite web |last=Poretta |first=JP |date=March 3, 2007 |title=Cheer up Emo Kid, It's a Brand New Day |url=http://media.www.fairfieldmirror.com/media/storage/paper148/news/2007/03/08/Entertainment/Cheer.Up.Emo.Kid.Its.A.Brand.New.Day-2762635.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312134648/http://media.www.fairfieldmirror.com/media/storage/paper148/news/2007/03/08/Entertainment/Cheer.Up.Emo.Kid.Its.A.Brand.New.Day-2762635.shtml |archive-date=March 12, 2007 |access-date=March 8, 2007 |website=The Fairfield Mirror }} As emo became a subculture, people who dressed in emo fashion and associated themselves with its music were known as "emo kids" or "emos".
Emo has occasionally been associated with the stereotypes of emotion, sensitivity, shyness, introversion or angst.{{Cite web |last=Bunning |first=Shane |date=June 8, 2006 |title=The attack of the clones: an emo-lution in the fashion industry |url=http://www.newspace.uq.edu.au/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=288 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070830181445/http://newspace.uq.edu.au/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=288 |archive-date=August 30, 2007 |access-date=October 20, 2007 |website=Newspace, School of Journalism and Communication, University of Queensland }}{{Cite web |last=Stiernberg |first=Bonnie |date=March 13, 2007 |title=What is emo? |url=http://media.www.dailyillini.com/media/storage/paper736/news/2007/03/13/Diversions/What-Is.Emo-2773568.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071028090354/http://media.www.dailyillini.com/media/storage/paper736/news/2007/03/13/Diversions/What-Is.Emo-2773568.shtml |archive-date=October 28, 2007 |access-date=October 20, 2007 |website=The Daily Illini }} More controversially, stereotypes surrounding the genre included depression, self-harm and suicide,{{Cite web |last=Walsh |first=Jeremy |date=October 18, 2007 |title=Bayside takes Manhattan |url=http://www.timesledger.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18931360&BRD=2676&PAG=461&dept_id=542408&rfi=6 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071021003108/http://timesledger.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18931360&BRD=2676&PAG=461&dept_id=542408&rfi=6 |archive-date=October 21, 2007 |access-date=October 20, 2007 |website=Times Ledger}} in part stoked by depictions of emo fans as a "cult" by British tabloid Daily Mail.{{Cite web |date=October 23, 2019 |title=We Are Not A Cult: Remembering the war on emo |url=https://www.kerrang.com/we-are-not-a-cult-remembering-the-war-on-emo/ |access-date=May 26, 2022 |website=Kerrang! |language=en}} Emos and goths were often distinguished by the stereotype that "emos hate themselves, while goths hate everyone."{{Cite web |title=About Emo Youth Subculture |url=http://www.smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/youth/emo.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191014132432/http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/youth/emo.pdf |archive-date=October 14, 2019 |access-date=April 22, 2019 |publisher=University of California, Los Angeles}} In 2020, The Independent wrote on such stereotypes, that "emo was singled out for the destructive behaviour of teenagers who'd found a home in a subculture that offered them community and a vehicle for self-expression."
Controversy and impact
File:Emo boy 02 with Girl.jpg{{main|Suicide in music subcultures}}
{{Further|My Chemical Romance#Daily Mail controversy}}{{Quotebox
| quote = This is such a funny time... I think just because so much of this language, it's like a youth code where heavy topics like suicide, depression, self-harm, things like that were like being grappled with in the music, but very rarely in a way that glorified it... Their music was a way out of it, or offering hope — a way that people could process these things and deal with it.
| source = Chris Payne, author of Where Are Your Boys Tonight?: The Oral History of Emo's Mainstream Explosion, as quoted by Amelia Eqbal of CBC (Jun 19, 2023) [https://www.cbc.ca/arts/commotion/5-things-we-learned-about-the-legacy-of-emo-music-from-author-chris-payne-1.6881146]
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In 2008, emo music was blamed for the suicide by hanging of British teenager Hannah Bond by the coroner at her inquest and her mother, Heather Bond, who suggested that the music and fandom glamorised suicide. They suggested Hannah's apparent obsession with My Chemical Romance was linked to her death. It was said at the inquest that she was part of an Internet "emo cult", and an image of an emo girl with bloody wrists was on her Bebo page. Hannah reportedly told her parents that her self-harm was an "emo initiation ceremony".{{Cite web |date=May 8, 2008 |title=Emo music attacked over teen suicide |url=https://www.nme.com/news/various-artists/36468 |website=NME |access-date=April 21, 2020 |archive-date=April 11, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411080230/http://www.nme.com/news/various-artists/36468 |url-status=live }} Heather Bond criticised emo culture: "There are 'emo' websites that show pink teddies hanging themselves." The coroner's statements were featured in a series of articles in the Daily Mail, one of which featured the headline, "Why no child is safe from the sinister cult of emo." After they were reported in NME, fans of emo music contacted the magazine to deny that it promoted self-harm and suicide. Hundreds of teenagers protested and marched to the offices of Daily Mail to voice their opposition. "The kids stood up to it. The kids won,"https://www.cbc.ca/arts/commotion/5-things-we-learned-about-the-legacy-of-emo-music-from-author-chris-payne-1.6881146 {{Bare URL inline|date=May 2025}}{{Cite web |date=May 8, 2008 |title=Emo fans defend their music against suicide claims |url=https://www.nme.com/news/my-chemical-romance/36480 |website=NME |access-date=April 21, 2020 |archive-date=April 11, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411080233/http://www.nme.com/news/my-chemical-romance/36480 |url-status=live }} My Chemical Romance reacted online: "We have recently learned of the suicide and tragic loss of Hannah Bond. We'd like to send our condolences to her family during this time of mourning. Our hearts and thoughts are with them". The band also posted that they "are and always have been vocally anti-violence and anti-suicide".{{Cite web |date=May 25, 2008 |title=My Chemical Romance speak about 'emo' suicide |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/my-chemical-romance-110-1321591 |website=NME |access-date=April 21, 2020 |archive-date=July 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730235032/https://www.nme.com/news/music/my-chemical-romance-110-1321591 |url-status=live }}
The Guardian later described the purported link and subsequent backlash against emo in the 2000s as a "moral panic",{{Cite web |date=May 10, 2022 |title=My Chemical Romance: how the vilified band turned antipathy into triumph |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/may/10/my-chemical-romance-how-the-vilified-band-turned-antipathy-into-triumph |access-date=May 26, 2022 |website=the Guardian |language=en}} while Kerrang! compared it to historic controversies involving Judas Priest and Ozzy Osbourne, unduly demonising the subculture, and poorly examining mental health issues of young people.
File:Fuck Emo graffiti.jpg Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman said that there was a "real backlash" by bands on the tour against emo groups, but he dismissed the hostility as "juvenile".{{sfn|Diehl|2013|p=83}} The backlash intensified, with anti-emo groups attacking teenagers in Mexico City, Querétaro, and Tijuana in 2008.{{Cite magazine |last=Grillo |first=Ioan |date=March 27, 2008 |title=Mexico's Emo-Bashing Problem |url=http://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1725839,00.html |access-date=May 12, 2009 |magazine=Time |archive-date=April 11, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140411125006/http://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1725839,00.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=March 27, 2008 |title=Emo kids attacked in Mexico and Chile |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/various-artists-4970-1327241 |access-date=August 2, 2018 |website=NME |archive-date=August 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180803045812/https://www.nme.com/news/music/various-artists-4970-1327241 |url-status=live }} Legislation was proposed in Russia's Duma regulating emo websites and banning emo attire in schools and government buildings, with the subculture perceived as a "dangerous teen trend" promoting anti-social behaviour, depression, social withdrawal and suicide.{{Cite web |date=July 23, 2008 |title=Emo to be made illegal in Russia? New laws planned to stop 'dangerous teen trends' |url=https://www.nme.com/news/my-chemical-romance/38392 |access-date=September 29, 2008 |website=NME |archive-date=August 6, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160806063340/http://www.nme.com/news/my-chemical-romance/38392 |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Sean Michaels |date=July 21, 2008 |title=Russia wages war on emo kids |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/jul/22/russian.emo |access-date=September 29, 2008 |archive-date=March 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305010502/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/jul/22/russian.emo |url-status=live }} The BBC reported that in March 2012, Shia militias in Iraq shot or beat to death as many as 58 young Iraqi emos.{{Cite news |date=March 11, 2012 |title=Iraqi 'emo' youths reportedly killed by conservative militias |publisher=BBC |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17333275 |access-date=March 12, 2012 |archive-date=March 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312001136/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17333275 |url-status=live }} Some metalheads and punks often were known for disliking emos and criticizing the emo subculture.{{Cite web |last=Wells |first=Steven |date=April 1, 2008 |title=The Mexican emocalypse |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2008/apr/01/themexicanemocalypse |access-date=December 21, 2019 |website=The Guardian |archive-date=December 22, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222002915/https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2008/apr/01/themexicanemocalypse |url-status=live }}
In 2025, a mollusk fossil was named after the genre as Emo vorticaudum. The name was chosen to reflect the distinct characteristics of the mollusk. According to Sanjana Gajbhiye of Earth.com, "[Emo] was named for its elongated, folded posture, which suggested unusual and unconventional ways of moving. Its name reflects individuality and adaptability, much like the cultural association with the emo style."{{Cite web |title=Fossils called Punk and Emo rewrite the story of mollusk evolution |url=https://www.earth.com/news/fossils-called-punk-and-emo-rewrite-the-story-of-mollusk-evolution/ |access-date=February 11, 2025 |website=Earth.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Discovery of 'Punk' and 'Emo' fossils challenges our understanding of ancient mollusks |url=https://phys.org/news/2025-01-discovery-punk-emo-fossils-ancient.html}}{{Cite web |last1=Magazine |first1=Smithsonian |last2=Bassi |first2=Margherita |title=Meet Punk and Emo, Two Angsty-Looking Fossils From 430 Million Years Ago That Shed Light on Early Mollusk Evolution |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/meet-punk-and-emo-two-angsty-looking-fossils-from-430-million-years-ago-that-shed-light-on-early-mollusk-evolution-180985795/ |access-date=February 11, 2025 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Simms |first=Chris |title=Punk and Emo fossils rock our ideas of how ancient molluscs looked |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2463193-punk-and-emo-fossils-rock-our-ideas-of-how-ancient-molluscs-looked/ |access-date=February 11, 2025 |website=New Scientist |language=en-US}}{{Cite journal |last1=Sutton |first1=Mark D. |last2=Sigwart |first2=Julia D. |last3=Briggs |first3=Derek E. G. |last4=Gueriau |first4=Pierre |last5=King |first5=Andrew |last6=Siveter |first6=David J. |last7=Siveter |first7=Derek J. |date=January 8, 2025 |title=New Silurian aculiferan fossils reveal complex early history of Mollusca |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=637 |issue=8046 |pages=631–636 |doi=10.1038/s41586-024-08312-0 |pmid=39779843 |issn=1476-4687 |pmc=11735398|bibcode=2025Natur.637..631S }}{{Cite web |date=January 10, 2025 |title=Scientists discover 430 million-year-old mollusc fossils |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg3gvq42r4o |access-date=February 11, 2025 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}
See also
References
=Citations=
{{reflist|30em}}
=Bibliography=
{{refbegin}}
- {{Cite book |last1=Adler |first1=Patricia A. |title=The Tender Cut: Inside the Hidden World of Self-Injury |last2=Adler |first2=Peter |publisher=NYU Press |year=2011 |isbn=9780814705186 }}
- {{Cite book |last=Azerrad |first=Michael |title=Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981–1991 |title-link=Our Band Could Be Your Life |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-316-78753-6 |location=New York City, New York, U.S. |author-link=Michael Azerrad}}
- {{Cite book |last=Blush |first=Steven |title=American Hardcore: A Tribal History |title-link=American Hardcore: A Tribal History |publisher=Feral House |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-922915-71-2 |location=New York City, New York, U.S. |author-link=Steven Blush}}
- {{Cite book |last=Bryant |first=Tom |title=Not the Life It Seems: The True Lives of My Chemical Romance |publisher=Da Capo Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-306-82350-3 }}
- {{Cite book |last=Diehl |first=Matt |title=My So-Called Punk: Green Day, Fall Out Boy, The Distillers, Bad Religion—How Neo-Punk Stage-Dived into the Mainstream |publisher=St. Martin's Griffin |year=2013 |isbn=9781466853065 }}
- {{Cite book |last=Greenwald |first=Andy |title=Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and Emo |title-link=Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and Emo |publisher=St. Martin's Griffin |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-312-30863-6 |location=New York City, New York, U.S. }}
- {{Cite book |last=Hansen |first=Mark Victor |title=The Richest Kids in America |publisher=Hay House, Inc. |year=2009 |isbn=9781401937256 }}
- {{Cite book |last=Luerssen |first=John D. |title=Rivers' Edge: The Weezer Story |publisher=ECW Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-55022-619-5 |location=Toronto, Ontario, Canada }}
- {{Cite book |last=Sawyer |first=Sarah |title=Fall Out Boy |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |year=2008 |isbn=9781404218192 }}
- {{Cite book |last=Shuker |first=Roy |title=Popular Music: The Key Concepts |publisher=Routledge |year=2017 |isbn=9781317189534 }}
- {{Cite book |last=Walker |first=Matt |title=Gainesville Punk: A History of Bands & Music |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |year=2016 |isbn=9781626197671 }}
{{refend}}
External links
{{wikiquote}}
- {{commons category-inline}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304101910/http://www.wonderingsound.com/list-hub/nothing-feels-good-an-album-by-album-emo-timeline/ Album by album emo timeline] at Wondering Sound
- [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8d9156r6pyo Emos relive their teenage years in the noughties]. Published January 26, 2025. BBC News.
{{Emo|state=expanded}}
{{Hardcore punk}}
{{Punk}}
{{Alternative rock}}{{Rock music}}{{Authority control}}
Category:2000s fads and trends
Category:Alternative rock genres
Category:Culture-related controversies
Category:Music of Washington, D.C.
Category:20th-century music genres
Category:21st-century music genres
Category:Music of New York (state)
Category:American styles of music
Category:2000s controversies in the United States
Category:2010s controversies in the United States
Category:Controversies in Iraq
Category:Controversies in Russia
Category:Controversies in Mexico