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Teen pop is a subgenre of pop music that is created, marketed and oriented towards preteens and teenagers. The genre is typically comprised of formulaic lyrics about teenage issues, repeated chorus lines, choregraphed dancing, catchy hooks, and auto-tuned vocals.

From the 1920s to the mid-1950s, popular music oriented to teenagers was common with Rudy Vallée, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and Elvis Presley becoming iconic teen idols. The late 1950s and 1960s was cited to have been a golden era for male teen idols like Paul Anka, Fabian, and Frankie Avalon. The Beatles overtook the pop scene for teens by the mid-1960s with Beatlemania and the British Invasion. Also in the 1960s, surf pop was popular amongst teenagers as the Beach Boys flourished in the Californian teenage culture and sound. The early 1970s included bubblegum pop bands for teens such as the Jackson 5, the Cowsills, and the Osmonds. The pop subgenre was conceived in its contemporary form during the late 1980s and 1990s; artists such as Tiffany, New Kids on the Block, and Debbie Gibson were in the forefront of the late 1980s wave of teen pop, while the late 1990s and early 2000s was cited as another golden age for successful teen pop acts like Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, the Spice Girls, Hanson, and the Backstreet Boys.

By the mid-2000s, teen pop, as a cohesive movement in pop music, faded in popularity with events such as the hiatus of NSYNC and the semi-retirement of Britney Spears. However, a new round of successful teen performers associated with other popular music genres at the time, such as R&B and pop punk, gained prominence. These performers included Avril Lavigne, Rihanna, and Chris Brown. Lamb says that they indicate pop music aimed directly at teenage fans was "alive and well". There were also popular teen artists that crossed over from Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, which included Miley Cyrus, Hilary Duff, the Jonas Brothers, and the Naked Brothers Band. In the 2010s, teen pop further regained in popularity with artists and bands such as Justin Bieber, One Direction, Billie Eilish, and 5 Seconds of Summer.

Etymology
From writer Bill Lamb, the term "teen pop" came into common usage in the late 1980s, as manufactured pop music targeting teenagers became popular with acts such as Tiffany, New Kids on the Block, and Debbie Gibson hitting the music scene. Lamb described the teen pop sound as "a simple, straightforward, ultra-catchy melody line [...] The music is designed for maximum focus on the performer and a direct appeal to listeners." Author Simon Frith describes teen-oriented pop music in the 1950s as "youth music [being] a new strand of showbiz". He further notes that teen pop idols can either be manufactured from record companies such as Pat Boone or Fabian, or evolved with rock n' roll artists like Elvis Presley or Tommy Steele. According to AllMusic, teen pop is "essentially dance-pop, pop, and urban ballads that are marketed to teens", with performers of the subgenre usually being teenaged themselves. The subgenre has been also noted to have "safe, mainstream, and commercial" musical qualities. Jon Pareles of The New York Times called the late 1990s wave of teen pop "formulaic, mass-produced, marketed in reliable ways and almost immediately obsolete".

Instrumentation
Instrumentation of teen pop songs includes drum machines, synthesizers , electronic drums , pianos , and guitars. Songs often incorporate genres such as synth-pop, dance-pop, contemporary R&B, EDM, country, and rock. Teen pop music is typically manufactured from recording studios and controlled by multinational corporations. Structurally, much of teen pop, along with pop music overall, follow the 4/4 time signature, which is the most common signature in Western popular music. In addition with pop music, common variants in teen pop include the verse-chorus and thirty-two-bar forms, with a focus on melodies and catchy hooks, and a chorus that contrasts melodically, rhythmically and harmonically with the verse. The beat and the melodies tend to be simple, with limited harmonic accompaniment. Vocally, teen pop singers and bands tend to alter their voices with Auto-Tune in order to correct their pitches and/or have high vocal ranges in their singing.

Lyrics and themes
Teen pop lyrics represent a system of meanings that teenage consumers, typically female, may use to define their self-concept and personal/social identities, ranging from teenage empowerment and freedom , to love in relationships and teen sexuality. In most cases, songs marketed to teenagers are usually about relationships. In a study conducted by the Electronic Journal of Sociology, researchers Phillip Vannini and Scott Myers found that over 155 of the 169 songs they've collected pertained to narratives of romantic love stories. Songs like NSYNC's "This I Promise You" and Britney Spears' "One Kiss From You" dealt with being dependent on lovers, while others such as Aaron Carter's "I Will Be Yours" and Christina Aguilera's "When You Put Your Hands On Me" expressed the obsessive thoughts and feelings of them. On the contrary, there are songs like Miley Cyrus' "Party in the U.S.A.", where Cyrus reminisces on a time when, during a taxi cab ride, the driver was playing her favorite songs on the radio, making herself feel more relaxed in her then-newfangled celebrity life. Also, the Spice Girls' "Wannabe" has lyrics that prioritize female friendships over romantic relationships with the accompanying girl power moniker.

Late 1920s-mid 1950s: Antecedents
Teen-oriented popular music is believed to have been originated in the late 1920s and 1930s by saxophone player and crooner Rudy Vallée, as Dennis McClellan of The Los Angeles Times called him "America's first pop sensation". He crooned through a megaphone for a national audience at the age of 27, and was revered by the American youth—primarily young girls —during the Great Depression. Bing Crosby has been referenced as a teen idol successor to Vallée as he is credited for "inventing the pop singing style".

In the 1940s traditional pop era, Frank Sinatra became an early teen idol with young, female teenagers called bobby soxers. He has also been cited as being the first pop singer to experience "primal" teenage female screaming and "tearful shrieking" during a musical performance, revealing a whole new audience for popular music. The phenomenon became known as "Sinatramania" after his popular opening at the Paramount Theatre in 1942. Writer Bruce Bliven argued that teenage girls' adulation over Frank Sinatra is due to people "leaving [teenagers] with a hunger still unfulfilled", including "a hunger for heroes, for ideal things that do not appear, [and] selling things as ours."

In 1956, Elvis Presley released his self-titled debut album, and quickly became a phenomenon with teenagers in the then-burgeoning rock n' roll scene, garnering a number-one hit with "Heartbreak Hotel". Music historian John Robertson called Presley a "flirtatious teenage idol with a heart of gold" and "[a] raucous rocker". Both Presley and Sinatra performed a duet on The Frank Sinatra Timex Show: Welcome Home Elvis in 1960, as Presley came back from Germany after serving two years in the U.S. Army there. They traded verses from each of their songs (Sinatra sang "Love Me Tender" and Presley sang "Witchcraft") to the admiration of screaming girls in the audience. It was described by Medium writer Tim Townsend as a "passing-of-the-torch" moment, as Sinatra built the episode around the popular artist.

Late 1950s-early 1980s: Mainstream pop permeates the teenage market
The late 1950s and early 1960s became known as a golden age for male teen idols, which included Paul Anka, Fabian, Tommy Steele, Ricky Nelson and Frankie Avalon. Teen idol Pat Boone rivaled the chart dominance of Presley with number-one hits like his Fats Domino cover of "Ain't That A Shame", "Don't Forbid Me", "Love Letters in the Sand", and "April Love". He was "embraced" by both teenage and adult fans alike, according to Jason Ankeny from AllMusic. Television shows like American Bandstand, Six-Five Special, and Oh Boy! gave teen idols a widespread platform to perform their music. Frith stated that by this decade, pop music was predominantly in the teenage market. But some observers have noted that American teenagers were growing weary of singles-oriented pop acts like the aforementioned teen idols. Surf rock, also referred to as "California pop" at the time, also became popular in the 1960s with teenagers, as The Beach Boys made hit records, such as "Surfin' USA", that resonated with them.

By the mid-1960s, the surf rock and male teen idol scenes declined in popularity, as Beatlemania and the British Invasion, brought on by bands like The Beatles and The Dave Clark Five, became a widespread sensation with worldwide teenage audiences. For instance, The Beatles experienced intense levels of hysteria and screaming from teenage girls whenever they saw them on or off-stage (e.g., their London Palladium concert performance or their first American television appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, which was watched by over 73 million viewers), and had crowded or sold-out venues during their performances.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, teen-oriented pop music made a comeback with bubblegum pop becoming a significant commercial force geared towards a mostly female preteen audience called teenyboppers. Popular singers and bands from this genre came from all around the world. In the US, prominent acts included The Osmonds, The Partridge Family, The DeFranco Family, David Cassidy, and The Jackson 5. In the UK, there were bands like The Monkees and The Wombles gaining popularity with tweens. Sweden-based band Blue Swede became a hit in the US with their cover of B.J. Thomas' single "Hooked on a Feeling" rising to the top of the US charts. In the early 1970s, The Bay City Rollers from Scotland had number-one singles in the US and UK, like "Bye Bye Baby", "Give a Little Love", and "Saturday Night". They also became a brief phenomenon with teenage girls; the popularity was referred to as "Rollermania". But with the onslaught of punk, disco, and new wave throughout the mid-late 1970s and early 1980s, teen-oriented pop music fell out of style once again.

Mid 1980s-mid 1990s: First wave of contemporary teen pop and early decline
The mid-late 1980s saw the first major wave of teen pop, as the genre predominantly had stylings of dance-pop tunes and adult contemporary ballads. According to AllMusic, boy band New Kids on the Block set the "template" for the genre as they embellished in "hip [,] urban trends" while staying "wholesome [and commercial]". Their Hangin' Tough sophomore album produced two number-one singles; the eponymous song and "I'll Be Loving You (Forever)". Billboard named the group as the top recording artist (or band, in their case) of 1989 and 1990. Tiffany, who made a Billboard number-one cover of "I Think We're Alone Now" from her eponymous debut studio album, rose to superstardom during this era. In addition, Debbie Gibson created the number-one single "Foolish Beat" from her debut album Out of the Blue at the age of 17, making her the youngest person to write, sing, and produce a number-one Billboard hit so far. Their successes were "models" for teen pop artists in the 1980s and beyond. Other popular artists in the wave include Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, New Edition, The Jets , Martika , and Australian-British singer Kylie Minogue. During the early 1990s, teen pop dominated the charts until grunge and rap music crossed over into the mainstream in North America by late 1991. Teen pop remained popular in the United Kingdom with the boy band Take That during this period until the mid-1990s, when Britpop became the next major wave in the UK, eclipsing the subgenre in a similar way as to how grunge and rap music reigned in North America.

Late 1990s-early 2000s: Second teen pop boom
In 1996, British girl group Spice Girls revitalized the teen pop scene by releasing their massively successful single "Wannabe", which rose to number one on the UK Singles Chart , the Billboard Hot 100 and the charts of 28 more countries. The song made them major pop stars in the UK, as well as in the US in 1997. In the same year, boy band Hanson released the single "MMMBop" from their debut studio album Middle of Nowhere. The song skyrocketed atop the Billboard Hot 100 for 3 weeks, and helped make Hanson become major teen idols. In 1995, The Backstreet Boys found commercial success in Europe and Canada with the hit single "We've Got It Goin' On" from their eponymous debut album. However, they were still not as popular in their native country, the U.S. until 1997, when the band found their major breakthrough with their highly successful singles "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)" and "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" from their dually marketed Backstreet Boys (U.S.) and Backstreet's Back albums. Rival boy band *NSYNC was also immensely popular when they released their first self-titled LP in Europe in 1997 and in the U.S. in 1998. The album peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 and sold over 15 million copies worldwide , with hit singles such as "I Want You Back" and "Tearing Up My Heart".

On October 23, 1998, Britney Spears released her debut single ...Baby One More Time, and by early 1999, it topped the Hot 100 for 2 weeks. Her subsequent eponymous album that year debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 and broke several album records in the process. The enormous success of Britney Spears, along with the successes of teenage artists such as Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, and Mandy Moore marked the development of what Allmusic refers to as the "pop Lolita" trend. The trend sparked the short careers of future pop singers such as Willa Ford, Brooke Allison, Samantha Mumba, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Mikaila, Amanda, Nikki Cleary and Kaci Battaglia. Also in 1999, MTV's music program Total Request Live aided the teen pop scene by playing music videos from teenage bands and artists in a "countdown" format, which made the show popular with adolescents and it averaged 853,000 viewers at its peak, according to Nielsen Media Research. As the success of late 1990s teen pop persisted, other groups and singers came to prominence, including Robyn, All Saints, S Club 7, 98 Degrees, B*Witched , and Destiny's Child.

In 2001 artists like Aaron Carter, Swedish group A-Teens, girl groups 3LW, Play, Eden's Crush and Dream and boy bands O-Town, B2K, and Dream Street were teen pop artists and hits. Alternate "looks" for female teen pop stars include Hoku, and girl group No Secrets. In the UK, teen pop continued to surge with Ellie Campbell, Atomic Kitten and Billie Piper. In Latin America, successful singers and bands appealing to tweens and teens were Sandy & Junior, RBD and Rouge.

Decline
According to Gayle Ward, the demise of this late 1990s teen pop was due to:


 * promotional oversaturation of teen pop music in 2000 and 2001;
 * the public's changing attitude toward it, deeming teen pop as inauthentic and corporately produced;
 * the transition of the pre-teen and teenage fanbase of these teen pop artists during 1997–1999 to young adulthood (and the accompanying changes in musical interests);
 * a growing young adult male base classifying the music, especially boy band music, as effeminate, and
 * other musical genres began increasing in popularity.

1990s and early 2000s teen pop artists entered hiatuses and semi-retirements (*NSYNC, Dream, Destiny's Child) or changed their musical style, including the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, Mandy Moore, 3LW and Aaron Carter. Many teen artists starting incorporating genres such as pop rock, contemporary R&B and hip-hop. B2K, hip hop, pop, and R&B group, was made up of teenage boys, so it was considered a boy band and was popular across the world, though they were only active from 2001 to 2004. Their style of music was very different than other teenage artists, sounding more mature than the typical boy band, though the members were all in their mid-teenage years as well. Other teenage artists who sounded more mature in this way were Jhene and Mario.

Around 2005, teenaged singers such as Avril Lavigne, Hilary Duff, Lindsay Lohan, JoJo, Aly & AJ, Ashlee Simpson, Jesse McCartney, Rihanna, Fefe Dobson, Stacie Orrico, Cheyenne Kimball, Bow Wow, Ciara, Paula DeAnda, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Raven-Symoné, Corbin Bleu, and Chris Brown achieved success, indicating new relevance of teen-oriented pop music.

Since early 2000s, but some did many years before that, many teen stars have developed careers through their involvement with Disney. Alongside Disney, other teen pop stars emerged by 2007, among them American Idol winner Jordin Sparks, David Archuleta, and Nickelodeon stars Miranda Cosgrove, Victoria Justice, Keke Palmer and Ariana Grande. Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Jesse McCartney and Demi Lovato are some examples of teen pop singers whose careers started on the Disney Channel.

The introduction of Canadian singer Justin Bieber, a protégé of Usher, created a resurgence of interest in teen pop, especially of the traditional male teen idol. With the release of his sophomore album My World 2.0, Bieber became the youngest solo male artist to top the Billboard 200 since 1963, when Stevie Wonder, then at age 16, spent one week at #1 with Little Stevie Wonder. This created a wave of male teen artists found on social media, notably Shawn Mendes and Charlie Puth. One Direction, 5 Seconds of Summer, Matthew Edward Hall, Little Mix, and Fifth Harmony have also re-introduced teen groups.

In 2005, AKB48 was created to promote idol culture & Japanese Pop nationwide and overseas followed by the expansion of sister groups and rival groups locally and internationally over the years.

In 2010, the creation of Ark Music Factory helped contributed a new generation of teen pop artists via the internet, such as Rebecca Black and Jenna Rose, despite major criticism with these artists due to the excessive use of auto-tune. As for Japanese teen pop culture, the category of "idol" is playing an important role. Momoiro Clover Z is ranked as number one among female idol groups according to 2013–2017 surveys.