Eurodance

{{Short description|Music genre}} {{Distinguish|Eurobeat|Eurodisco|Europop}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}} {{Infobox music genre | name = Eurodance | other_names = {{hlist|Euro-NRG}} | stylistic_origins = {{hlist|House|techno| Hi-NRG|pop|Eurodisco|hip hop|disco}} | cultural_origins = 1980s, Europe | regional_scenes = {{hlist|Europe|Italy|Belgium|Germany|France|Denmark|Netherlands|Sweden|Norway|United Kingdom}} | other_topics = *List of artists *Europop *Eurobeat | subgenrelist = }} '''Eurodance''' (sometimes referred to as '''Euro-NRG''') is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Western Europe. It combines many elements of rap, techno and Eurodisco. This genre of music is heavily influenced by the use of rich vocals, sometimes with rapped verses. This, combined with cutting-edge synthesizers, strong bass rhythm and melodic hooks, establishes the core foundation of Eurodance music.<ref name=allmusic>{{cite web|title=Euro-Dance Music Genre Overview|url=http://www.allmusic.com/style/euro-dance-ma0000005013|website=AllMusic|publisher=Complex Media|access-date=12 November 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170717012122/http://www.allmusic.com/style/euro-dance-ma0000005013|archive-date=17 July 2017}}</ref>

==Characteristics== Eurodance songs are typically created by independent groups of European producers, accompanied by hired singers and rappers who serve as frontmen for these groups. These frontmen are often English-speaking performers of color from the United States and United Kingdom.{{sfn|Thom|2017|p=112}} Eurodance fuses late-1980s hip hop music and electronic dance music.{{sfn|Thom|2017|p=113}} Among dance music styles, Eurodance takes particular influence from disco, Hi-NRG and techno.<ref name=allmusic/>{{sfn|Thom|2017|p=113}} Eurodance combines these elements in a way meant for chart appeal,{{sfn|Thom|2017|p=113}} with producers utilizing pop-inspired melodies and structure<ref name=crack>{{cite magazine |url=https://crackmagazine.net/article/long-reads/eurodance-trance-techno-eiffel-65/ |last=Malek |first=Miriam |title=No Limit: How Eurodance Shaped Modern Dance Music |magazine=Crack |date=January 28, 2020 |access-date=November 24, 2025}}</ref> and focusing more on creating popular singles rather than albums.<ref name=allmusic/>

The music of Eurodance is characterized by combining dance beats with vocal hooks,{{sfn|Wandler|2021|p=179}} which often serve as the melody.{{sfn|Thom|2017|p=112}} Similar to pop music, Eurodance songs are arranged in verse-chorus structures,{{sfn|Wandler|2021|p=180}} with the verses often performed by male rappers and the chorus often performed by female singers. Instrumentation is driven by melodic synthesizers<ref name=crack/> and simple and syncopated bass lines forming the harmony.{{sfn|Thom|2017|p=112}} Drum machines are set to a four-to-the-floor beat between 120 and 150 beats per minute,<ref name="eurodom">{{cite magazine|date=24 June 1995|title=Eurodance Dominates Charts 06/24/95|magazine=Billboard}}</ref>{{sfn|Thom|2017|p=112}} with a bass drum on each beat and a quiet snare on the second and fourth beats. Musicologist Nico Thom describes the lyrics as "characteristically hedonistic", being simplistic and often revolving around romance and partying. He also describes the production as heavily condensed, which he says leads to a "compact, superficial listening experience".{{sfn|Thom|2017|p=112}}

==Etymology== During its initial inception, the Eurodance genre was referred to as ''dancefloor'' or ''dance music''. Compilation albums started using the ''Eurodance'' term after the genre's peak popularity in the mid-1990s, with one of the first being Interhit Records' ''DMA Dance Vol. 1: Eurodance'' (1995).{{sfn|Wandler|2021|p=176}} The term ''Eurodance'' uses the prefix ''Euro-'', a commonly used prefix within popular music among European and American journalists and the international music industry denoting the genre's European origins.{{sfn|Thom|2017|p=113, 115}} Eurodance shares the prefix with Eurodisco, Eurobeat, and Europop, although the terms have different connotations among different writers.{{sfn|Thom|2017|p=115}} The term ''Eurodance'' refers to a specific genre of electronic dance music that originated from Europe in the late-1980s and 1990s.{{sfn|Wandler|2021|p=180}}<ref name=allmusic/><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/pro/real-mccoy-another-night-dance-chart-anniversary/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207211003/https://www.billboard.com/pro/real-mccoy-another-night-dance-chart-anniversary/ |last=Bain |first=Katie |title=On This Day in Billboard Dance History: Real McCoy Spent 'Another Night' on the Dance Club Songs Chart |magazine=Billboard |date=September 29, 2019 |archive-date=December 7, 2022 |access-date=November 24, 2025}}</ref> Both Eurodance and Eurodisco shared similar cultural contexts and used electronic production, but Eurodisco predates Eurodance by two decades.{{sfn|Wandler|2021|pp=180–181}} Both Eurodance and Europop use superficial and catchy songwriting, but Eurodance is exclusively dance music, unlike Europop.<ref name=allmusic/>

==History== ===Background=== Eurodance music originated in the late 1980s in central Europe, especially in Germany, where rave parties were becoming popular. By 1987, a German party scene was started, based on the well established Chicago house sound and Belgian new beat. The following year saw acid house making a significant impact on popular consciousness in Germany and central Europe as it had in England.<ref>Short [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpC0qlWKb_Q excerpt] from special on German "Tele 5" from 8 December 1988. The show is called "Tanzhouse" hosted by a young Fred Kogel. It includes footage from Hamburg's "Front" with Boris Dlugosch, Kemal Kurum's "Opera House" and the "Prinzenbar". {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130303164014/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpC0qlWKb_Q|date=3 March 2013}}</ref> In 1989, German DJs Westbam and Dr. Motte established the Ufo Club, an illegal party venue, and co-founded the Love Parade.<ref name=ROBB>Robb, D. (2002), Techno in Germany: Its Musical Origins and Cultural Relevance, ''German as a Foreign Language Journal'', No.2, 2002, (p. 134).</ref> The parade first occurred in July 1989, when 150 people took to the streets in Berlin.<ref name=Borneman>John Borneman & Stefan Senders, "Politics without a Head: Is the "Love Parade" a New Form of Political Identification?" ''Cultural Anthropology'' J5(2) 294-31, American Anthropological Association. 2000</ref> It was conceived as a political demonstration for peace and international understanding through love and music.<ref name=Borneman/> On 9 November 1989, the Berlin Wall fell; free underground techno parties mushroomed in East Berlin, and a rave scene comparable to that in the UK was established.<ref name="ROBB" /> East German DJ Paul van Dyk has remarked that the techno-based rave scene was a major force in re-establishing social connections between East and West Germany during the unification period.<ref>Messmer, S. (1998), ''Eierkuchensozialismus'', TAZ, 10 July 1998, (p. 26).</ref> In the same year, German producers Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti (under the pseudonyms Benito Benites and John "Virgo" Garrett III) formed the Snap! project in Frankfurt. Snap! songs combined imported hip hop and soul vocals adding rhythm by using computer technology and mixing electronic sounds, bass and drums, mainly house music. By doing so a new genre was born: Eurodance.<ref>{{cite news |author= |title=Neue Ehrlichkeit. Mit Tanzmusik aus dem Computer feiern zwei Frankfurter Klangbastler weltweit Erfolge. |url=http://magazin.spiegel.de/EpubDelivery/spiegel/pdf/13683412 |format=PDF |newspaper=Der Spiegel |page=268 |language=DE |date=3 October 1994 |access-date=4 March 2016 |archive-date=7 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307191049/http://magazin.spiegel.de/EpubDelivery/spiegel/pdf/13683412 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Rise and fall=== Snap!'s first single, "The Power", released in 1990, reached number one in the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, and it helped to raise awareness of the genre within Europe. In the following years, other Eurodance acts formed in Frankfurt, including Jam and Spoon, Intermission and Culture Beat. After the breakthrough single "Rhythm is a Dancer" by Snap! in 1992, new groups started to appear all over Europe, mainly in Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy. From 1992 until the genre's decline in popularity after 1995, the sound became increasingly NRG-oriented, leading to songs raising in beats per minute up to 150. Some of the genre's defining songs in this period, dubbed as the "golden era" of Eurodance, are "It's My Life" by Dr. Alban in 1992, "No Limit" by Belgian-Dutch group 2 Unlimited in 1993, "What Is Love" by Haddaway in the same year, "Cotton Eye Joe" by Rednex in 1994, "Another Night" by Real McCoy and "Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop)" by Scatman John in the same year.

By 1995, Eurodance dominated European charts with 5 singles in the top 10 of the singles charts. Despite its success, many observers within the music industry said that the Eurodance sound had to change or die, and Eurodance producers and singers started to follow different paths and different sounds, such as happy hardcore and house music,<ref name="Billboard">{{cite magazine |title= Dance offshots vie for Eurodance dominance |magazine= Billboard |date= 24 June 1995 |page= 82 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=zwsEAAAAMBAJ&q=eurodance+1995+billboard&pg=PA82 |access-date= 25 November 2019 |archive-date= 6 June 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240606213238/https://books.google.com/books?id=zwsEAAAAMBAJ&q=eurodance+1995+billboard&pg=PA82#v=snippet&q=eurodance%201995%20billboard&f=false |url-status= live }}</ref> but not all the groups followed this trend immediately. Notably, the group 2 Unlimited wanted to remain within Eurodance sounds in order to remain chartbusters, although the producer De Coster predicted a retreat from a pop-like to a more club-like sound.<ref name="2 Unlimited - Billboard">{{cite magazine |magazine= Billboard |date= 9 March 1996 |page= 29 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=TA8EAAAAMBAJ&q=eurodance+billboard&pg=PA34 |title= 2 Unlimited - Chartbusters |access-date= 25 November 2019 |archive-date= 6 June 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240606213248/https://books.google.com/books?id=TA8EAAAAMBAJ&q=eurodance+billboard&pg=PA34#v=snippet&q=eurodance%20billboard&f=false |url-status= live }}</ref>

In the late 1990s, the classic Eurodance sound gradually morphed into progressive house.<ref name="wiph">{{cite web |url=http://www.decodedmagazine.com/what-is-progressive-house-2/ |title=What is Progressive House? |first=Simon |last=Huxtable |date=11 August 2014 |work=Decoded Magazine |quote=It was then that the DJs who used to play what was previously known as Euro dance hi jacked the genre and it mutated into the commercial sound people tend to call Progressive House today. |access-date=14 March 2016 |archive-date=10 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310113714/http://www.decodedmagazine.com/what-is-progressive-house-2/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2023, a parody song titled Planet of the Bass by comedian Kyle Gordon sparked renewed interest in the genre.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mather |first=Katie |date=2023-08-01 |title=What is the song 'Planet of the Bass'? Parody Euro-pop music video goes viral for spot-on homage to the '90s |url=https://www.intheknow.com/post/planet-of-the-bass-euro-pop/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230802234036/https://www.intheknow.com/post/planet-of-the-bass-euro-pop/ |archive-date=2023-08-02 |access-date=2026-02-19 |work=In The Know |language=en-US}}</ref>

Amid 2024, an influx of videos on social media platforms would be uploaded under the guise of far-right propaganda, using snippets taken from songs of the genre, called "Save Europe". This primarily adheres to TikTok.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://i-d.co/article/far-right-memes-dance-hits-thinkpiece-dagostino-lamour-toujours-basshunter-all-i-ever-wanted-2024/ | title=How the Far Right is Weaponising Rave Nostalgia }}</ref>

==Popularity== ===In Europe=== [[File:Pandora (artist).JPG|thumb|Pandora in Karlstad, Sweden, in 2004]] From the early to mid-1990s, Eurodance was popular in Europe; the style received extensive airplay on radio stations and television shows, resulting in many singles appearing in the charts. Technotronic from Belgium had hits with "Pump Up the Jam" and "Get Up" (featuring Ya Kid K).

By 1996, the popularity of this genre had started to decline. From then, the classic Eurodance sound gradually morphed into progressive house.<ref name="wiph"/> By 1997 and towards the end of the millennium house and trance music increased popularity over Eurodance in Europe's commercial, chart-oriented dance records.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.toucanmusic.co.uk/articles/trance.html|title=A history of trance music|first=John|last=M.|access-date=29 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121226184520/http://www.toucanmusic.co.uk/articles/trance.html|archive-date=26 December 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="AMProgTrance">{{cite web|title=Progressive Trance|url=http://www.allmusic.com/style/progressive-trance-ma0000011914|website=AllMusic|access-date=29 November 2019|archive-date=17 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417061108/https://www.allmusic.com/style/progressive-trance-ma0000011914|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.clubglow.com/dj-news/is-trance-dead/|title=Is Trance Dead?|publisher=clubglow.com|date=1 May 2012|access-date=29 November 2019|archive-date=3 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503120200/http://www.clubglow.com/dj-news/is-trance-dead/|url-status=live}}</ref> In the early 2000s, the mainstream music industry in Europe moved away from Eurodance in favour of other styles of dance music such as nu-disco, electro house, dance-pop and R&B.<ref>{{cite web|title=Electro House|url=http://thedancemusicguide.com/electro-house|website=Beat Explorers' Dance Music Guide|quote=Electro House rose to prominence in the early to mid 2000s as a heavier alternative to other house subgenres that were prevalent at the time.|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150615061216/http://thedancemusicguide.com/electro-house|archive-date=15 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Andy Kellman's 100 Favorite Charting R&B Singles of 2000-2009|last=Kellman|first=Andy|url=http://www.allmusic.com/blog/post/andy-kellmans-100-favorite-charting-rb-singles-of-2000-2009|website=AllMusic|date=17 January 2011|access-date=8 March 2016|archive-date=22 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190422215100/https://www.allmusic.com/blog/post/andy-kellmans-100-favorite-charting-rb-singles-of-2000-2009|url-status=live}}</ref>

====United Kingdom==== After Cappella's Gianfranco Bortolotti set up Media Records in Brescia, northern Italy<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mediarecords.dance/about-us/|title=About Us|website=Mediarecords.dance|access-date=7 January 2021|archive-date=17 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117150320/http://www.mediarecords.dance/about-us/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.richtvx.com/interview-with-gianfranco-bortolotti/|title=Interview with Gianfranco Bortolotti|website=Richtvx.com|date=7 July 2020|access-date=7 January 2021|archive-date=17 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117094512/https://www.richtvx.com/interview-with-gianfranco-bortolotti/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ra.co/labels/9741|title=Media Records · Record label ⟋ RA|website=Resident Advisor|access-date=7 January 2021|archive-date=26 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126230740/https://ra.co/labels/9741|url-status=live}}</ref> to release his 'commercial European dance music' (a set-up which included fifteen studios featuring various production teams working almost non-stop on a huge number of records) he decided to take the label into other markets and set up a UK office in the UK. Run by Peter Pritchard and featuring many records by Stu Allan's British Eurodance act Clock, this record company would eventually turn into hard house label Nukleuz (known for its DJ Nation releases).

As Media turned into Nukleuz, it would fall to All Around the World Productions to be the label in the 21st century which was more likely to release Eurodance tracks in the UK than other, with its Clubland TV music channel still having regular blocks of Eurodance videos in 2020<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.co.uk/mobile/channellisting.asp?ch=1269#451931293|title=Clubland TV TV Listings - TVGuide.co.uk|website=www.tvguide.co.uk|access-date=30 November 2020|archive-date=2 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302103938/https://www.tvguide.co.uk/mobile/channellisting.asp?ch=1269#451931293|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tvepg.eu/en/united_kingdom/channel/clubland_tv|title=Clubland TV - TVEpg.eu - United Kingdom|website=Tvepg.eu|access-date=7 January 2021}}</ref> (though extending its scope to include hits by David Guetta as well as Cascada and Scooter)

===North America=== ====Canada==== During the 1990s, Eurodance became popular in Canada, which produced its own variant called Candance (although it was mostly referred to as "Eurodance" or "dance music").<ref>{{cite web|author=Dart, Chris|date=24 February 2015|url=https://www.cbcmusic.ca/posts/11874/emjay-love-inc-and-beyond-remembering-canadian-eur|title=Emjay, Love Inc. and beyond: remembering Canadian Eurodance|publisher=CBC|access-date=21 May 2018|archive-date=18 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180218024312/http://www.cbcmusic.ca/posts/11874/emjay-love-inc-and-beyond-remembering-canadian-eur|url-status=live}}</ref> Eurodance received significant airplay on radio stations in the Greater Toronto Area such as Power 88.5, Energy 108 and Hot 103.5. Montreal was also a major Eurodance market, with MC Mario's famous radio show on Mix 96, called ''Party Mix'' and ''Bouge de là'', a popular TV show on MusiquePlus. Eurodance featured prominently on ''Electric Circus'', a dance-party TV show broadcast nationally in English and French versions.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Teitel |first1=Emma |title=Is Kiesza trolling us? |url=https://macleans.ca/culture/arts/so-long-bros/ |access-date=19 December 2023 |work=Macleans.ca |date=19 July 2014 |archive-date=19 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219191325/https://macleans.ca/culture/arts/so-long-bros/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Beginning in mid-1992, Eurodance began to dominate the ''RPM'' dance chart in Canada, with acts such as 2 Unlimited, Snap!, Captain Hollywood Project, Culture Beat, Haddaway, Whigfield, each reaching number-one.

From approximately 1992 to 2000, Canadian acts such as Capital Sound, Love Inc., Jacynthe and Emjay had success with the Eurodance sound. The Toronto sound was more pop-oriented, while the Montreal one was more house-oriented.

====United States==== Compilation albums such as the ''DMA Dance: Eurodance'' series (1995–1997) from Interhit Records and ''Dance Music Authority'' magazine were popular and helped to define the genre as well as to make it accessible in the U.S. and Canada.<ref>{{cite journal | last =Gajarsky | first =Bob | title =Review: Various Artists, DMA Dance Volume 3 | journal =Consumable Online | issue =109 | location =Hoboken, NJ | date =19 May 1997 | url =http://westnet.com/consumable/1997/05.19/reveurod.html  | url-status =dead | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20070630003830/http://www.westnet.com/consumable/1997/05.19/reveurod.html | archive-date =30 June 2007 }}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Sources== *{{cite book |last=Thom |first=Nico |url=https://archive.org/details/perspectivesonge0000unse_y1g2/ |title=Perspectives on German Popular Music |date=2017 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781472479624 |editor-last1=Ahlers |editor-first1=Michael |location=New York |pages=111–115 |chapter=The Popularization of Electronic Dance Music: German Artists/Producers and the Eurodance Phenomenon |editor-last2=Jacke |editor-first2=Christoph}} *{{cite book |last=Wandler |first=Heiko |title=Made in Germany: Studies in Popular Music |publisher=Routledge |year=2021 |isbn=9780815391784 |editor-last1=Seibt |editor-first1=Oliver |location=New York |pages=175–183 |chapter=How Munich and Frankfurt Brought (Electronic) Dance Music to the Top of the International Charts with Eurodisco and Eurodance – and Why Germany Was Not Involved |editor-last2=Ringsmut |editor-first2=Martin |editor-last3=Wickström |editor-first3=David-Emil}}

==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20190527231227/http://www.eurodancehits.com/ EuroDanceHits.com] * [http://eurodancemag.blogspot.com Eurodance Magazine] * [http://eurokdj.com The Eurodance Encyclopedia], by Karine Sanche

Category:Eurodance Category:1980s in music Category:1990s in music Category:2000s in music Category:Electronic dance music genres Category:European music genres Category:Pop music genres