Emo

{{Short description|Music genre derivative of punk rock}} {{about|the genre of music|other uses|4=the subculture|5=Emo subculture}} {{pp-move}} {{protection padlock|small=yes}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Use American English|date=July 2016}} {{Infobox music genre | caption = Emo bands Samiam and Texas Is the Reason | other_names = {{hlist|Emotional hardcore|emocore}} | stylistic_origins = <!--- All stylistic origins are sourced. ---> {{hlist|Post-hardcore|hardcore punk|indie rock<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hawk |first1=Byron |title=Resounding the Rhetorical Composition as a Quasi-Object |date=July 31, 2018 |publisher=University of Pittsburgh Press |quote=Emo... influenced more by new wave or indie rock without becoming as commercial.}}</ref>|post-punk<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Rahadi |first=Akhmad Alfan |date=2017 |title=THE ARTICULATION OF RITES OF SPRING AS A POST-HARDCORE BAND |degree=Undergraduate |location=Brawijaya University |quote=emo-core... the label that describe a musical genre that fuse hardcore punk, post-punk and other genres.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Jones |first1=Chris |title=Rise up! Broadway and American society from 'Angels in America' to 'Hamilton' |date=2018 |publisher=Methuen Drama |location=London New York |isbn=9781350071933 |page=153 |edition=First |quote=As a style of music, emo (from "emotive hardcore") had its roots in the post-punk mid-1980s}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Sobande |first1=Francesca |title=Big Brands Are Watching You: Marketing Social Justice and Digital Culture |date=January 10, 2024 |publisher=University of California Press |page=180 |quote=An abbreviation of emotional hardcore, emo is a type of music and over- all scene that stems from post-punk and adjacent genres.}}</ref>}} | cultural_origins = {{hlist|Mid-1980s|Washington, D.C.}} | derivatives = Soft grunge (grungegaze)<ref name="Stewart, 2026">{{cite web |last1=Stewart |first1=Ethan |title=Why Grungegaze Dominates 2026's Music Underground » PopMatters |url=https://www.popmatters.com/why-grungegaze-dominates-2026 |website=PopMatters |access-date=13 March 2026 |date=10 March 2026}}</ref> | subgenres = * Screamo *Midwest emo<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fansided.com/2018/08/15/fourth-wave-emo-revival-bands-tours-definition-music-songs/|title = In its fourth wave, emo is revived and thriving|date = 15 August 2018}}</ref> *pop screamo<ref name="Martins, 2024">{{cite web |last1=Martins |first1=Jorge |title=These 10 Bands Helped Bring Screamo to the Mainstream, and They're All Great |url=https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/articles/features/these_10_bands_helped_bring_screamo_to_the_mainstream_and_theyre_all_great-166587 |website=www.ultimate-guitar.com |access-date=25 September 2025 |language=en}}</ref> | fusiongenres = * Emo pop * emo rap | regional_scenes = * Midwestern U.S. * New Jersey | local_scenes = *Chicago *Philadelphia *San Diego *Washington, D.C. | other_topics = *Scene *alternative rock *pop-punk *melodic hardcore *emo revival }}

'''Emo''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|iː|m|oʊ}} {{respell|EE|moh}}) is a genre of rock music that combines musical characteristics of hardcore punk with 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 late 1980s, Maryland bands Moss Icon and the Hated adopted and reinvented this sound, putting less influence on its punk roots. In the early-to-mid 1990s, their influence led emo to be adopted by alternative rock, indie 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, American Football, 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. Its derivative form pop screamo achieved mainstream success in the 2000s with bands like Hawthorne Heights, Silverstein, Story of the Year, Thursday, the Used, and Underoath.

The emo subculture 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.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

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. The emo revival movement ended in the late 2010s, giving way to the more experimental "post-emo" sounds of Origami Angel, Awakebutstillinbed and Home Is Where.

==Characteristics== Emo originated in hardcore punk<ref name="EmoAM">{{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}}</ref>{{sfn|Bryant|2014|p=134}} and is considered a form of {{nowrap|post-hardcore.<ref name="postHC">{{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.}}</ref>}} Early emo bands used melody and emotional or introspective lyrics and that were less structured than regular hardcore punk, differentiating them from the aggression, anger, and {{nowrap|verse-chorus-verse}} structures of traditional hardcore punk.<ref name="SubgenresofPunk"/> According to Ryan De Freitas of ''Kerrang'': "Emo in the '90s was about scrappy, emotionally fuelled imperfection."<ref>{{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}}</ref>

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."<ref name="cbc legacy of 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 |department=CBC Arts |date=June 19, 2023 |access-date=March 31, 2025}}</ref> 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.'"<ref>{{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}}</ref> Em Casalena of ''American Songwriter'' stated that the genre is characterized by an "angsty yet kind of miserable vibe".<ref>{{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}}</ref>

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,<ref>{{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}}</ref> and pop punk.<ref name="WholeNewEmo">{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref> During the 2000s, it became common for bands to fuse emo with harder styles such as heavy metal and metalcore to varying degrees by incorporating metallic riffs, guitar solos and breakdowns into their songwriting. Bands who have released songs in this style include From First To Last, Bullet for My Valentine, Escape the Fate, Underoath and My Chemical Romance.<ref>{{Cite web|title=10 Emo Songs That Are Actually Really Heavy|url=https://loudwire.com/heavy-emo-songs/|website=Loudwire|date=2023-03-07|access-date=2026-01-30|language=en|first=Jake RichardsonJake|last=Richardson}}</ref>

Andrew Sacher of ''Brooklyn Vegan'' has expressed his belief that the year 2001 was a "crossroads" of sorts for the genre, stating that "emo came in a lot of different varieties" during that year. He said: "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."<ref name="a2">{{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}}</ref> ''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."<ref name="findingemo">{{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}}</ref> Author Matt Diehl called emo a "more sensitive interpolation of punk's mission".{{sfn|Diehl|2013|p=82}}

Lyrics, a focus in emo music, are typically personal and confessional,<ref name="AngstSales"/> or according to Merriam-Webster, "introspective and emotionally fraught".<ref>{{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}}</ref> Themes usually deal with topics such as failed romance,{{sfn|Diehl|2013|p=82}} self-loathing, pain, insecurity, suicidal thoughts, love, and relationships.<ref name="AngstSales"/> ''AllMusic'' described emo lyrics as "usually either {{nowrap|free-associative}} poetry or intimate confessionals".<ref name="EmoAM"/> According to ''The 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."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cateforis |first=Theo |date=25 July 2013 |title=Emo {{!}} Grove Music |url=https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/display/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-1002240803 |url-access=subscription |access-date=19 August 2025 |website=Grove Music Online |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.A2240803 |quote=<!--Matches artcle-->}}</ref>

Emo guitar dynamics use both the softness and loudness of punk rock music.<ref name="AngstSales">{{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}}</ref> According to ''AllMusic'', most 1990s emo bands "borrowed from some combination of Fugazi, Sunny Day Real Estate, and Weezer".<ref name="EmoAM"/> 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.<ref name="EmoAM"/>

== Etymology == {{Quote box | 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. | align = left | width = 32% | border = 2px | bgcolor = #edfaf8 }}

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&nbsp;... 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}} Steve Niles and Brian Baker, of Minor Threat and Dag Nasty, say the term "emotional hardcore" was coined by Baker during emo's formative years. Baker used the term disparagingly, referencing what he perceived as being an "ancillary" and "posturing" nature to the bands. The term was quickly adopted by ''Thrasher'' magazine.<ref>{{cite AV media |last=Crawford |first=Scott |date=2014 |title=Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington, DC (1980-90) |type=Documentary |quote='''Steve Niles''': It was a release, and of course Brian Baker had to make fun of it, so Brian Baker I believe he was like 'You know, this like emotional hardcore, emocore.'<br/>'''Brian Baker''': At the time I didn't understand, I didn't relate to it... I really liked the music but not all the ancillary, the posturing, that expression, I just thought it was kind of, I didn't respond to it, it didn't resonate with me...<br/>'''Ian MacKaye''': Emocore must be the stupidest fucking thing I've ever heard in my life. But just in case you're wondering, I read in my ''Thrasher'' the other day that in fact that what my band and other bands in this city was playing is emocore. I'm thinking Emo Philips.}}</ref> Other accounts attribute the word to an audience member at an Embrace show, who shouted as an insult that the band was "emocore".<ref name="DePasquale">{{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}}</ref><ref name="Popkin">{{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}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Popkin"/> The "emocore" label quickly spread through the DC punk scene, and was associated with many bands associated with Ian MacKaye's Dischord Records.<ref name="DePasquale"/> 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 term "emo" has been the subject of debate and disagreement amongst artists, critics, and fans alike. Some find the label to be loosely defined<ref>{{Cite web |title=The 'Emo Revival' Drudges Up a Genre Debate {{!}} 34th Street Magazine<!-- Bot generated title --> |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}}</ref> with the term at times being used to describe any music that expresses emotion.<ref name="at">{{Cite web |date=August 15, 2018 |title=In its fourth wave, emo is revived and thriving<!-- Bot generated title --> |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}}</ref> "The mainstream success of emo and its related subculture caused the term to be conflated with other genres.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 13, 2020 |title=100 Best Emo Songs of All Time<!-- Bot generated title --> |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}}</ref> Additionally, fans of traditional emo music have expressed distaste for the genre's expanding definition, and what they perceive as "commercialization" of the genre.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

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."<ref name="cbc legacy of emo"/>

Many bands labeled as emo rejected the emo label.<ref>{{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}}</ref> 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.<ref name="khanna">{{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}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{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 |access-date=August 24, 2022 |publisher=MTV}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{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.}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{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}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{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}}</ref>

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."<ref>{{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}}</ref> Adam Lazzara of Taking Back Sunday said he always considered his band rock and roll instead of emo.<ref>{{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 |access-date=August 24, 2022 |publisher=Rock Sound}}</ref> 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.”<ref>{{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}}</ref> Vocalist of AFI, Davey Havok, described emo as "such a strange and meaningless word".<ref>{{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}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite web |last=Prindle |first=Mark |title=Guy Picciotto interview |url=http://www.markprindle.com/picciotto-i.htm |access-date=August 24, 2022}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref> 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.<ref name="NewsTwentyFour"/>

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.<ref name="The Ringer - IsThisBandEmo">{{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}}</ref> He later created the website Is This Band Emo? in 2014, which explains whether various bands are classified under the genre alongside humorous responses.<ref name="The Ringer 2 - IsThisBandEmo">{{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}}</ref><ref name="Consequence - IsThisBandEmo">{{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}}</ref>

==History==

thumb|170px|Hardcore punk band Minor Threat in 1981

===Predecessors=== According to music writer Luke Britton, "it's generally accepted that the genre's pioneers" came in the late 1980s.<ref name="EmoNeverDies">{{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=https://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}}</ref> 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}}.<ref>{{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}}</ref> 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.<ref name="rites">{{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}}</ref>

===1984–1991: Origins=== {{main|Revolution Summer (music)}} {{Quote box | 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)<ref>Greenwald, Andy. ''Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and Emo''. (published November 15, 2003) St. Martins Griffin. pp. 9.</ref> | align = left | width = 17% | border = 2px | bgcolor = #edfaf8 }} Emo, which began as a post-hardcore subgenre,<ref name="postHC"/> was part of the 1980s hardcore punk<ref name="EmoAM"/> scene in Washington, D.C., as something different from the violent part of the Washington, D.C., hardcore scene.<ref name="SubgenresofPunk">{{Cite web |last=Cooper |first=Ryan |title=The Subgenres of Punk Rock |work=ThoughtCo |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}}</ref>{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|pp=9–11}}{{sfn|Blush|2001|p=157}} Rites of Spring formed in 1983,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Rice|first=Barbara|date=1985|title=Rites of Spring: From Insurrection to resurrection|journal=Truly Needy|issue=10|pages=20–23}}</ref> 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}} }}

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}}}}

Maryland bands Moss Icon and the Hated formed at the tail end of Revolution Summer.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Deller |first1=Alex |title=The Hated Discography is Real |url=https://daily.bandcamp.com/features/the-hated-the-best-piece-of-shit-feature |website=Bandcamp Daily |access-date=27 September 2025 |date=5 January 2023}}</ref> Unlike previous emo bands, Moss Icon's music often disregarded the conventional rhythms and drive of punk.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Козлов |first1=Владимир |author-link=:ru:Козлов, Владимир Владимирович (писатель) |title=ЭМО |date=May 25, 2009 |publisher=Амфора |isbn=9785457005969 |language=Russian |quote=Можно сказать, что Moss Icon была одной из первых групп, для которой эмоциональность была важнее ритмической структуры и энергетики панк-рока. Многие более поздние эмо-группы взяли у Moss Icon вокальные и гитарные приемы. |trans-quote=It can be said that Moss Icon was one of the first bands for which emotionality was more important than the rhythmic structure and energy of punk rock. Many later emo bands adopted Moss Icon's vocal and guitar techniques.}}</ref> This is the point at which some music historians draw the distinction between "emo-core" and simply "emo",<ref>{{cite book |last1=Козлов |first1=Владимир |author-link=:ru:Козлов, Владимир Владимирович (писатель) |title=ЭМО |date=May 25, 2009 |publisher=Амфора |isbn=9785457005969 |language=Russian |quote=Существует, правда, еще одна классификация, по которой первая волна названа «эмо-кор», вторая – просто эмо, а третья – «хардкор-эмо», так что запутаться во всем этом – как нечего делать. ) |trans-quote=Emo-core's first part is called "emo-core", the second - simply emo, and the third is hardcore-emo, so get caught up in all this if you have nothing to do.}}</ref> with Journalist D.I. Kravchek calling Moss Icon and the Hated the pioneers of emo, as opposed to emocore.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Кравчек |first1=ДИ |title=Кто такие эмо и готы: Как родителям понять, куда «вляпался» их ребенок |date=2009 |publisher=AST |page=27| language=Russian |quote=В 1986 году в Аннаполисе родилась группа The Hated. Чуть позже в том же Аннаполисе появилась еще одна группа эмо - Moss Icon. Это, скажем, были пионеры эмо-музыки. |trans-quote=In 1986, The Hated was born in Annapolis. A little later, another emo group appeared in the same Annapolis - Moss Icon. These were, say, the pioneers of emo music.}}</ref> Subsequently, the sound of emo spread through a number of separate scenes that although being disparate, were also intertwined.<ref name="Bradshaw, 2025">{{cite web |last1=Bradshaw |first1=Erick |title=No Leaf Unturned: Numero Group Chart the History of Emocore |url=https://daily.bandcamp.com/features/no-leaf-unturned-numero-group-chart-the-history-of-emocore |website=Bandcamp Daily |date=26 June 2025}}</ref>

===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.<ref name="EmoAM"/> 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.{{citation needed|date=August 2025|reason=Previous citation did not support text}} }}

[[File:Sunny Day Real Estate 2010.jpg|thumb|right|200px|alt=Sunny Day Real Estate performing onstage|Sunny Day Real Estate 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}}<ref>{{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}}</ref> 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.<ref>''Book Your Own Fuckin' Life #3: Do-It-Yourself Resource Guide.'' San Francisco, CA: Maximum Rocknroll, 1994; pg. 3.</ref> Jimmy Eat World released its self-titled debut album in 1994.<ref>{{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}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{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}}</ref> California's Weezer is another band sometimes considered to be emo which rose to fame during this period,<ref name="Stranger">{{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}}</ref> though Weezer's membership in the emo genre is debated.<ref>{{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}}</ref>{{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."<ref>{{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}}</ref>

thumb|left|200px|alt=Cap'n Jazz onstage|Cap'n Jazz live in 2010

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.<ref name="reader-1">{{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}}</ref> 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,<ref name="Rashbaum">{{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}}</ref> the Movielife, My Chemical Romance,<ref name="Rashbaum"/> Saves the Day,<ref name="Rashbaum"/>{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=80}} Senses Fail,<ref name="Rashbaum"/> Taking Back Sunday{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=122}}<ref name="Rashbaum"/> and Thursday.<ref name="Rashbaum"/>{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=152}}

thumb|right|200px|alt=Four men together at the front of a stage|The band Weezer (''pictured'') released the album ''Pinkerton'', an album that was originally a critical and commercial failure. Nonetheless, ''Pinkerton'' is considered one of the most important 1990s emo albums.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=51}}

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''.<ref>{{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}}</ref> After the mainstream success of Weezer's self-titled debut album, ''Pinkerton'' showed a more dark and abrasive style.<ref>{{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}}</ref>{{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".<ref>{{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}}</ref> ''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.<ref>Greenwald, pp.&nbsp;42–44.</ref> }}

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.<ref name="emo diaries">{{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}}</ref> Emphasizing unreleased music from many bands, the series included Jimmy Eat World, Further Seems Forever, Samiam and the Movielife.<ref name="emo diaries"/> 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.<ref name="vanderhoff">{{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}}</ref> 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}}

thumb|right|220px|Saves the Day was one of the more successful emo bands during the late 1990s and early 2000s, when emo was still primarily underground.

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.<ref name="billboard.com">{{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}}</ref> 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<ref>{{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}}</ref> and sold at least 120,000 copies in the United States.<ref>{{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}}</ref> 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}}<ref name="Jimmy Eat World singles history"/> }}

thumb|right|The typical 2000s emo hairstyle

Emo broke into the mainstream media during the summer of 2002.{{sfn|Greenwald|2003|p=68}} 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.<ref name="NewsTwentyFour">{{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}}</ref> 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}}<ref name="Jimmy Eat World singles history">{{Cite web |title=Jimmy Eat World singles chart history |url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=jimmy eat world|chart=all}} |access-date=2009-03-23 |publisher=Billboard charts}}</ref>{{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,<ref name="Allmusic"/> with emo pop becoming a very common style of emo music during the 2000s.<ref name=Evolution/> 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.<ref name=DashboardBio/> Dashboard Confessional originally was a side project, as Carrabba was also a member of the emo band Further Seems Forever,<ref name=DashboardBio/> 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.<ref name="Dashboard album charts">{{Cite web |title=Dashboard Confessional albums chart history |url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=dashboard confessional|chart=all}} |access-date=2009-03-23 |publisher=Billboard charts}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Dashboard album charts"/><ref name="DashboardBio">{{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}}</ref><ref name="DashboardRIAA">{{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}}</ref> 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."<ref name="TrueConfessional">{{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}}</ref> 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.<ref name=DashboardRIAA/> As of October 19, 2007, ''The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most'' has sold 599,000 copies.<ref name=AskDashboard/> 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.<ref name=AskDashboard/> As of October 19, 2007, Dashboard Confessional's 2000 debut album ''The Swiss Army Romance'' sold 338,000 copies.<ref name="AskDashboard">{{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}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Kelefa">{{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}}</ref>

Brand New also became an influential band in the emo scene in 2003 upon release of their second album ''Deja Entendu'', garnering commercial success as well as critical acclaim for their musical innovation within the genre, bringing in indie rock influences.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-10-26 |title=Have a little faith in Brand New progression |url=https://www.espn.com/espn/thelife/news/story?id=4596985 |access-date=May 1, 2026 |website=ESPN.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Anthony |first=David |title=Brand New writes its own eulogy with Science Fiction |url=https://www.avclub.com/brand-new-writes-its-own-eulogy-with-science-fiction-1798319433 |access-date=May 1, 2026|work=The A.V. Club |language=en-US}}</ref> Its two singles "The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows" and "Sic Transit Gloria... Glory Fades" both entered the top 40 on the UK Singles Chart and ''Deja Entendu'' was eventually certified gold in the US on May 3rd, 2007.{{Certification Cite Ref|title=Deja Entendu|artist=Brand New|type=album|region=United States}} Shortly after the release of the album, Brand New toured with Blink-182 and Incubus, playing in large arenas in Australia and the UK, respectively.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2004-03-16 |title=Brand New feel the venom of Blink 182 |url=https://www.undercover.com.au/news/2004/mar04/20040311_brandnew.html |access-date=May 1, 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040316014205/https://www.undercover.com.au/news/2004/mar04/20040311_brandnew.html |archive-date=March 16, 2004 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Brand new incubus support! |url=https://www.punktastic.com/news/brand-new-incubus-support/ |access-date=May 1, 2026 |website=Punktastic.com}}</ref>

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}}<ref name="Saves the Day Allmusic bio">{{Cite web |last=Wilson |first=MacKenzie |title=Saves the Day Biography |url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p311722|pure_url=yes}} |access-date=2009-03-26 |website=AllMusic}}</ref> 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 platinum by the RIAA in 2023{{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.<ref name="TBSSales">{{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}}</ref> 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}}

thumb|right|200px|alt=Taking Back Sunday on a smoky stage|Taking Back Sunday performing on August 24, 2007

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.<ref name="Evolution">{{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}}</ref> As emo continued to be mainstream, it became quite common for emo bands to have black hair and wear eyeliner.<ref name=Evolution/> 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.<ref>{{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}}</ref> 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.<ref name=TBSSales/> Brand New also continued their commercial and critical success in the next few years with their 2006 album ''The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me'', which was certified gold in the United States{{Certification Cite Ref|title=The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me|artist=Brand New|type=album|region=United States}} and is widely considered by music critics as one of the best and most influential emo albums of all time.<ref>{{cite web |last=Corcoran |first=Nina |date=August 22, 2017 |title=The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me: The Brand New Album That Changed Emo Forever |url=https://consequence.net/2017/08/brand-news-the-devil-and-god-are-raging-inside-me-turns-10/ |access-date=May 1, 2026 |website=Consequence}}</ref> Many critics have also referred to ''The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me'' as one of the best albums of the 2000s decade, positively comparing Brand New's lyricism and musicianship to Radiohead.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/list/the-top-100-greatest-albums-of-the-decade/158049/page/3|title=The Top 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade <nowiki>|</nowiki> nme.com|work=nme.com|access-date=May 1, 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sputnikmusic.com/blog/?p=1993|title=Sputnikmusic – Top 100 Albums of the Decade (30 – 11) « Staff Blog|date=June 10, 2010|work=Sputnikmusic|access-date=May 1, 2026}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kelley |first=Trevor |title=2004: Brand New's Jesse Lacey talks beginnings of iconic 'Devil And God' before its release |url=https://www.altpress.com/exclusive_excerpt_from_aps_2004_interview_with_brand_news_jesse_lacey/ |access-date=May 1, 2026 |website=Alternative Press Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Review: Brand New – The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me {{!}} Sputnikmusic |url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/34831/Brand-New-The-Devil-and-God-Are-Raging-Inside-Me/ |access-date=May 1, 2026 |website=Sputnikmusic}}</ref> thumb|left|220px|alt=Concert of the band Thursday|The emo band Thursday performing live in 2006 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.<ref name="bill">[{{BillboardURLbyName|artist=thursday|chart=all}} "Artist Chart History – Thursday – Albums"] ''Billboard''.</ref> Hawthorne Heights, Story of the Year, Underoath, and Alexisonfire, four bands frequently featured on MTV, have popularized screamo.<ref name=ScreamoAM/> Other screamo bands include Silverstein,<ref>{{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}}</ref> Senses Fail<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref> and Vendetta Red.<ref name=ScreamoAM/> 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 and platinum by the RIAA on February 28, 2019.{{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, sold 841,000 copies.<ref name="GuitarHeroes">{{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}}</ref> The Used's album ''In Love and Death'' (2004) was certified gold by the RIAA on March 21, 2005 and platinum by the RIAA on February 28, 2019.{{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.<ref>{{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}}</ref> 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}}

thumb|250px|left|alt=My Chemical Romance, dressed in black, onstage|My Chemical Romance is known for their use of eyeliner and black clothing associated with emo fashion.

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.<ref name="Allmusic"/> 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.<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref name="MCRBio">{{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}}</ref> ''Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge'' was certified platinum by the RIAA in 2005 less than a year after its release, eventually being certified triple platinum by the RIAA in 2017.{{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<ref>{{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}}</ref> and like its predecessor was certified platinum by the RIAA in less than a year, eventually being certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA in 2023.{{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 by February 2013 and was eventually certified five-times platinum.<ref name="FOBSales">{{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}}</ref> {{Certification Cite Ref|region=United States|type=album|title=From Under The Cork Tree|artist=Fall Out Boy}} The band's album, ''Infinity on High'', topped the ''Billboard'' 200, sold 260,000 copies in its first week of release<ref>{{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}}</ref> and sold 1,400,000 copies in the United States.<ref name=FOBSales/> Multiple Fall Out Boy songs reached the top ten of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.<ref name="FallOutBoyChartHistory">{{Cite magazine |title=Fall Out Boy – Chart History |url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=Fall Out Boy|chart=Hot 100}} |magazine=Billboard}}</ref> Panic! at the Disco's album, ''A Fever You Can't Sweat Out'', was certified quadruple 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.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Panic! at the Disco – Chart History |url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=panic at the disco|chart=Hot 100}} |magazine=Billboard}}</ref> Panic! at the Disco are known for combining emo with electronics<ref>{{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}}</ref> and their album ''A Fever You Can't Sweat Out'' is an emo album<ref name="EmoAlbumsRollingStone">{{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}}</ref> with elements of {{nowrap|dance-punk<ref>{{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}}</ref>}} and baroque pop.<ref>{{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}}</ref> The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus' "Face Down" peaked at number 24 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100<ref>{{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}}</ref> and its album, ''Don't You Fake It'', sold 852,000 copies in the United States.<ref>{{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}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{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}}</ref> Paramore's 2007 album ''Riot!'' was certified triple 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".<ref name="ParamoreHot100">{{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}}</ref>

===2010–present: Mainstream decline, underground revivals=== By 2010, emo's popularity began to decline. Many emo bands lost popularity or had changed genres;<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 19, 2011 |title=My Chemical Romance Shed Their Emo Roots |work=Dallas Observer}}</ref> My Chemical Romance's album, ''Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys'', featured a traditional pop punk style.<ref>{{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}}</ref> Paramore and Fall Out Boy both abandoned the emo genre with their 2013 albums, ''Paramore'' and ''Save Rock and Roll'', respectively.<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Ben Rayner |date=April 8, 2013 |title=Paramore's glossy a bid for superstardom: album review &#124; 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}}</ref> Paramore moved to a new wave-influenced style.<ref>{{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}}</ref> Panic! at the Disco also abandoned the emo pop genre to a synth-pop style on ''Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die!''.<ref>{{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}}</ref> Many emo bands, including My Chemical Romance,<ref>{{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}}</ref> Alexisonfire,<ref>{{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!}}</ref> and Thursday,<ref>{{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}}</ref> disbanded, raising concerns about the genre's viability.<ref>{{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}}</ref> 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."<ref name="a2"/>

==== Late 2000s–late 2010s: fourth-wave emo==== {{main|emo revival|the wave (music)}} [[File:Algernon Cadwallader.jpg|thumb|''Stereogum'' cited Algernon Cadwallader's album ''Some Kind Of Cadwallader'' (2008) as the emo revival's watershed release<ref name="stereogum.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.stereogum.com/2020853/emo-revival-heroes-algernon-cadwallader-are-back-in-print/franchises/interview/|title=Emo Revival Heroes Algernon Cadwallader Are Back (In Print)|date=13 November 2018|website=Stereogum.com}}</ref>]] The emo revival or fourth-wave emo<ref name="Pro, 2017">{{cite web |last1=Pro |first1=Maria |title=Is Emo Revival Really a Thing? |url=https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/articles/features/is_emo_revival_really_a_thing-64327 |website=Ultimate Guitar |access-date=24 October 2023}}</ref> began in the late 2000s, taking influence from the sound of second wave Midwest emo, as a reaction against the perceived commerciality of the third-wave emo sound.<ref name="Davino, 2020"/> The movement began with Pennsylvania-based groups Tigers Jaw,<ref name="Davino, 2020"/> Glocca Morra,<ref name="Spin, 2017">{{cite web |title=30 Best Emo Revival Albums, Ranked |url=https://www.spin.com/2017/06/best-emo-revival-albums-ranked/ |website=Spin |date=June 14, 2017 |access-date=24 October 2023}}</ref> Snowing and Algernon Cadwallader and the English band TTNG.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.treblezine.com/reviews/30870-ttng-disappointment-island-review/|title=TTNG : Disappointment Island|website=Treblezine.co|date=18 July 2016|access-date=6 January 2018}}</ref> A 2018 ''Stereogum'' article cited Algernon Cadwallader's 2008 LP ''Some Kind Of Cadwallader'' as the emo revival's watershed release,<ref name="stereogum.com"/> while a 2020 article by ''Junkee'' called Tigers Jaw's 2008 self-titled second album "a true landmark release for the era".<ref name="Davino, 2020">{{cite web |last1=Davino |first1=Bianca |title=From 'Three Cheers' To 'Bleed American': The 10 Most Important Emo Albums |url=https://junkee.com/essential-emo-albums/242173 |website=Junkee |date=18 February 2020 |access-date=24 October 2023}}</ref> Philadelphia's scene remained prominent throughout the wave, contributing bands such as Everyone Everywhere, Modern Baseball,<ref name="Pro, 2017"/> Hop Along,<ref name="Spin, 2017"/> Jank,<ref>{{cite web |title=JANK Awkward Pop Songs (2015) |date=2 February 2016 |url=https://www.punknews.org/review/14170/jank-awkward-pop-songs |access-date=24 October 2023}}</ref> Balance and Composure, and mewithoutYou.<ref name="Jay, 2019"/> These bands embraced a DIY ethos and reintroduced basement shows to the emo scene. Under their influence, underground emo scenes formed across the United States in such localities as West Virginia, Willimantic, Connecticut, and Chicago.<ref name="Spin, 2017"/>

One prominent element of the emo scene at the time was a movement called "the wave", made up of bands reviving 1990s emo, screamo and post-hardcore sounds.<ref name="Guardian, 2012">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/jun/29/a-to-z-of-pop-genres-2012|title=The A-Z of pop in 2012|last1=Considine|first1=Clare|date=2012-06-29|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=2017-06-19|last2=Gibsone|first2=Harriet|issn=0261-3077|last3=Pattison|first3=Louis|last4=Richards|first4=Sam|last5=Rowe|first5=Sian}}</ref><ref name="Sacher, 2021">{{cite web |last1=Sacher |first1=Andrew |title=10 years ago, the new wave of post-hardcore made its mark |date=22 February 2021 |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/10-years-ago-the-new-wave-of-post-hardcore-made-its-mark/ |access-date=26 October 2023}}</ref> The name was originally coined to refer to only Touché Amoré, La Dispute, Defeater, Pianos Become the Teeth and Make Do and Mend, however by 2014 had expanded to also include groups Balance and Composure, Into It. Over It. and Title Fight.<ref name="Pitchfork – The Wave">{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/621-the-year-in-post-hardcore-has-the-new-wave-crested/|title=The Year In Post-Hardcore: Has the New Wave Crested?|website=Pitchfork|date=December 30, 2014|access-date=January 17, 2018}}</ref> The Wave style was influential upon many groups in Australia and the United Kingdom, especially Wales.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Croft |first1=James |title=LIVE REVIEW: Casey @ Satan's Hollow, Manchester |date=April 24, 2018 |url=https://distortedsoundmag.com/live-review-casey-satans-hollow-manchester/ |access-date=10 August 2024}}</ref><ref name="Stewart, 2025">{{cite web |last1=Stewart |first1=Ethan |title=MELODIC HARDCORE'S STUNNING MID-2020S RESURGENCE |url=https://www.popmatters.com/melodic-hardcore-mid-2020s-resurgence |website=PopMatters |date=February 19, 2025 |access-date=19 February 2025}}</ref> At this time, the YouTube channel Dreambound was one of the most prominent sources for finding bands, uploading music videos for many prominent bands.<ref>{{cite web |last1=CLARK |first1=PETER R. |title=Comfort in Melodic Hardcore – Review of "Comfort in My Own Arms" album by Virtues |date=January 6, 2022 |url=https://citadelreview.com/2022/01/06/comfort-in-melodic-hardcore-review-of-comfort-in-my-own-arms-album-by-virtues/ |access-date=10 August 2024}}</ref> The most prominent act in this scene was Casey from South Wales,<ref name="Stewart, 2025"/> with Australian bands Vacant Home and Ambleside too gaining international success.<ref>{{cite web |title=VACANT HOME RELEASES "HEIRLOOM" MUSIC VIDEO |date=May 26, 2017 |url=https://newnoisemagazine.com/vacant-home-heirloom-video/ |access-date=10 August 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Viscovi |first1=Sage |title=10 up-and-coming bands you need to know from Australia |url=https://www.altpress.com/10_of_the_best_up_and_coming_australian_bands/ |website=Alternative Press |access-date=10 August 2024}}</ref> In the later years of this scene, bands began decreasing the influence they took from hardcore, when Crooks, Holding Absence and Endless Heights were instead leaning further into post-rock and shoegaze.<ref name="Stewart, 2025"/>

[[File:Title Fight.jpg|thumb|Title Fight, a forefront act in fourth-wave emo]] Another notable segment within this wave of emo was the sound of soft grunge.<ref name="Davino, 2020"/> Merging elements of emo, pop punk and alternative rock<ref name="Yahoo">{{cite web |last1=Jones |first1=Marcus |title=Friday Five: Ashnikko samples Kelis, Flo Milli's Fiddler on the Roof, and more |url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/friday-five-ashnikko-samples-kelis-002442008.html |website=Yahoo! News |date=16 January 2021 |access-date=28 April 2021}}</ref> the genre originated with bands from the hardcore punk scene who began making music inspired by 1990s emo and post-hardcore as well as early 1990s alternative rock groups like the Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains. The first wave of bands emerged in the early 2010s, including Adventures, Balance and Composure, Basement, Citizen, Pity Sex, Superheaven and Turnover. The majority of these bands were signed to Run for Cover Records, made use of fuzz pedals and filmed their music videos using 8 mm film.<ref name="Enis, 2022">{{cite web |last1=Enis |first1=Eli |title=A Glaring Lack of Grunge in the Grunge Revival |date=12 October 2022 |url=https://endlessscroll.substack.com/p/a-glaring-lack-of-grunge-in-the-grunge |access-date=22 October 2023}}</ref> Title Fight stood at the forefront of the genre with the success of their 2012 album ''Floral Green''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Enis |first1=Eli |title=12 albums where a band did something totally unexpected |url=https://www.kerrang.com/features/12-albums-where-an-artist-did-something-unexpected/ |website=Kerrang! |date=16 April 2021 |access-date=28 April 2021}}</ref>

By the end of the 2010s, many of the most influential bands in fourth wave emo had disbanded: Modern Baseball in 2017, Title Fight in 2018 and Balance and Composure in 2019.<ref name="Jay, 2019">{{cite web |last1=Jay |first1=Melannie |title=What the Break–ups of Philly's Biggest Emo Bands Means for the Scene |url=https://www.34st.com/article/2019/11/mewithoutyou-balance-and-composure-modern-baseball-philly-emo-post-hardcore-scene |website=34th Street Magazine |access-date=24 October 2023}}</ref><ref name="Tedder, 2023">{{cite web |last1=Tedder |first1=Michael |title=Open Up the Pit: The State of Hardcore in a Post-Turnstile World |url=https://www.theringer.com/music/2023/3/8/23628263/the-future-of-hardcore-turnstile-militarie-gun |website=The Ringer |date=8 March 2023 |access-date=26 October 2023}}</ref> Meanwhile, other bands who had previously been prolific, such as Defeater and La Dispute, entered periods of inactivity.<ref name="Jay, 2019"/>

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.<ref name="tb">{{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}}</ref><ref name="at"/> 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".<ref name="EmoNeverDies"/>

====Late 2010s–present: fifth-wave emo==== [[File:Awakebutstillinbed.jpg|thumb|Awakebutstillinbed were a forefront band in early fifth-wave emo]] Following the revival era in the early 2010s, a number of new bands emerged in the emo genre, grouped into a distinct fifth-wave wave starting from the late 2010s to the early 2020s.<ref name="er">{{Cite web |last=Feibel |first=Adam |date=2021-05-25 |title=The New Generation of Emo In Eight Releases |url=https://daily.bandcamp.com/lists/fifth-wave-emo-list |access-date=2023-05-04 |website=Bandcamp Daily}}</ref> ''The Ringer'' writer Ian Cohen states fifth-wave emo began as early as 2017.<ref name="Ringer, 2022">{{cite web |last1=Cohen |first1=Ian |title=Thirteen Emo Playlists to Melt Your Black Heart |url=https://www.theringer.com/music/2022/7/26/23278301/emo-subgenres-playlists-skramz-emogaze-fifth-wave-jade-tree |website=The Ringer |date=26 July 2022 |access-date=26 October 2023}}</ref> That year, ''Spin'' discussed a wave of "newer darlings" who were reviving the emo revival sound, calling this the "emo revival revival".<ref>{{cite web |title=30 Best Emo Revival Albums, Ranked |url=https://www.spin.com/2017/06/best-emo-revival-albums-ranked/ |website=Spin |access-date=4 February 2026 |date=14 June 2017}}</ref> Notable early fifth-wave artists included Dogleg, Glass Beach, Origami Angel, Pool Kids and Awakebutstillinbed.<ref name="er"/> Around 2019, an international, online wave of musical artists merging emo and shoegaze began, particularly under the influence of Ovlov and Pity Sex. This wave included Weatherday, Asian Glow, Computerwife and Hotline TNT, many of whom were solo artists.<ref name="Ragusa, 2023">{{cite web |last1=Ragusa |first1=Paolo |title=The Shoegaze Revival in 10 Songs |url=https://consequence.net/2023/11/shoegaze-revival-in-10-songs/4/ |website=Consequence |access-date=3 March 2026 |language=en |date=7 November 2023}}</ref>

During the late 2010s, much of the fifth-wave of emo was in disparate, disconnected scenes.<ref name="Cohen, 2021">{{cite web |last1=Cohen |first1=Ian |title=Ian Cohen’s Favorite Emo Albums Of 2021 |url=https://uproxx.com/indie/best-emo-albums-2021-list-ian-cohen/ |website=UPROXX |access-date=25 March 2026 |date=17 December 2021}}</ref> However, amidst the COVID-19 lockdowns, these scenes began to converge online, coalescing into a unified fifth-wave of emo by 2021. A major part of this converge was Home Is Where's heavy use of the term on social media, and the popularity of their EP ''I Became Birds'' (2021).<ref name="Cohen, 2022"/> The fifth-wave of emo was also noted by ''Buzzfeed'' writer Pauline Woodley as having a focus on inclusivity of bands with transgender, queer, female and black artists as well as other artists of color.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Woodley |first=Pauline |title=Gen Z Is Bringing Emo Back, But This Time It's Not Just A Bunch Of White Dudes |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/paulinewoodley/gen-z-bringing-emo-back |access-date=2023-05-04 |website=BuzzFeed News |date=5 May 2021}}</ref>

During the later years of the fourth-wave, bands such as Crying and the Brave Little Abacus experimented with emo, developing the "post-emo" genre.<ref name="Ringer, 2022"/> Post-emo was the forefront style of the fifth-wave of emo, pushing the genre even more experimental, and often using elements of styles outside the boarders of rock.<ref name="Ringer, 2022"/> In particular, many acts in the wave embraced elements of electronic music.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Galil |first1=Leor |title=A Chicagoland emo obscurity resurfaces to influence the genre’s fifth wave |url=https://chicagoreader.com/music/a-chicagoland-emo-obscurity-resurfaces-to-influence-the-genres-fifth-wave/ |website=Chicago Reader |access-date=25 March 2026 |date=17 May 2021}}</ref> At this time, Origami Angel incorporating elements of nu metal, trap music and bosa nova, Parannoul with digicore and shoegaze, Really From with jazz, Hey ILY! with chiptune<ref name="Cohen, 2021"/> and Foxtails with art rock while also making use of violins.<ref name="Cohen, 2022"/> Cohen also noted the Spirit of the Beehive and Snowing as "a blueprint" for much of the wave.<ref name="Cohen, 2023"/>

The sound of the fifth-wave was a reaction against the progressive music elements that entered the later years of the fourth-wave.<ref name="Cohen, 2025"/> Its online prominence led to a rise in bands whose membership was international, such as Gingerbee, and incorporated a chronically online mentality into the music, particularly through unorthodox arrangements and genre fusions. Some groups imbued their music with a layer of irony which Cohen compared to shitposting. He particularly cited Captain Jazz (whose name is a play on Cap'n Jazz) and their maximalist Garry's Mod aesthetic, amongst a fusion of twinkle emo, screamo, electronic music and post-rock.<ref name="Cohen, 2023">{{cite web |last1=Cohen |first1=Ian |title=The Best Emo Albums Of 2023 |url=https://uproxx.com/indie/best-emo-albums-2023-list/ |website=UPROXX |access-date=26 March 2026 |date=20 December 2023}}</ref> Cohen noted the online emo community as mostly based around the websites Album Of The Year and Rate Your Music, and particularly focusing on the projects Weatherday, Parannoul and What is Your Name?<ref name="Cohen, 2023"/>

[[File:Your Arms Are My Cocoon.jpg|thumb|In the 2020s, Your Arms Are My Cocoon pioneered bedroom skramz, a fusion of screamo, Midwest emo and bedroom pop]] Your Arms Are My Cocoon's 2020 self-titled debut EP pioneered a style that merged screamo and bedroom pop called bedroom skramz, which was widely influential, particularly amongst uploads by artists on Bandcamp.<ref name="Galil, 2025">{{cite web |last1=Galil |first1=Leor |title=From bedroom studio to bonkers show |url=https://chicagoreader.com/music/music-feature/your-arms-cocoon-rabbit-odom-bedroom-skramz-screamo/ |website=Chicago Reader |access-date=25 March 2026 |date=20 February 2025}}</ref> ''Boolin Tunes'' called Your Arms Are My Cocoon "a cornerstone of [emo's] fifth wave".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Robinson |first1=Sophie |title=ALBUM REVIEW: Your Arms Are My Cocoon - death of a rabbit |url=https://boolintunes.com/reviews/album-review-your-arms-are-my-cocoon-death-of-a-rabbit/ |website=Boolin Tunes |access-date=26 March 2026 |date=13 August 2024}}</ref> The project also incorporated elements of chiptune.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Felice |first1=Selene San |title=Your Arms Are My Cocoon, which puts bedroom pop and screamo in a blender, plays Tampa on Tuesday |url=https://www.cltampa.com/music-2/your-arms-are-my-cocoon-which-puts-bedroom-pop-and-screamo-in-a-blender-plays-tampa-on-tuesday-19729728/ |website=Creative Loafing Tampa |access-date=26 March 2026 |date=27 March 2025}}</ref> Often times, subsequent bedroom skramz projects incorporated Midwest emo's riffing style and screamed vocals with major key synthesiser melodies and calm drum samples. By February 2022, the style had been adopted by Rookie Card, That Same Street, the Civil War In France, Calendar Year and Garden Angel. Amongst these articles, experimentation with other genres continued, with Garden Angel taking from Nintendocore, house music and country music and That Same Street making use of vocaloid vocals.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Noel |first1=Jude |title=The Softer Side of Skramz: Bedroom Pop and Screamo Collide |url=https://daily.bandcamp.com/lists/bedroom-screamo-list |website=Bandcamp Daily |access-date=26 March 2026 |date=18 February 2022}}</ref> On their 2025 album ''Apiary'', Gingerbee took bedroom skramz in a more progressive direction.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Galil |first1=Leor |title=Experimental skramz project Gingerbee say goodbye in Chicago with a 16-piece band |url=https://chicagoreader.com/music/concert-preview/gingerbee-thalia-hall/ |website=Chicago Reader |access-date=26 March 2026 |date=23 February 2026}}</ref>

Cohen credited Home is Where, Your Arms Are My Cocoon, Hey, Ily!, Lobster Fight, Rookie Card and Summer 2000 as "rerout[ing]" the fifth-wave away from the emo revival and the sound of Midwest emo.<ref name="Cohen, 2022"/> Around this time, many artists outside of emo incorporated elements of Midwest emo into their style, including Jim Legxacy and Jamila Woods.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Galil |first1=Leor |title=Best interpretation of midwestern emo by artists outside the scene |url=https://chicagoreader.com/best-of-chicago/best-music-nightlife/jamila-woods-gia-margaret-miss-exes/ |website=Chicago Reader |access-date=26 March 2026 |date=22 February 2024}}</ref> Hyperpop artists Jane Remover and Brakence incorporated elements of Midwest emo. Sources including Cohen cited Brakence's second album ''Hypochondriac'' (2022) as the "most important emo album since [the World is a Beautiful Place's] ''Harmlessness''".<ref name="Cohen, 2022">{{cite web |last1=Cohen |first1=Ian |title=The Best Emo Albums Of 2022 |url=https://uproxx.com/indie/best-emo-albums-2022-list/ |website=UPROXX |access-date=25 March 2026 |date=5 January 2023}}</ref> ''Revolver'' editor Eli Enis said Jane Remover "mastered fifth-wave emo in one shot".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Enis |first1=Eli |title=100-song playlist: Big Thief, Jane Remover, dexter in the newsagent, more |url=https://www.elienis.com/100-song-playlist-big-thief-jane-remover-dexter-in-the-newsagent-more/ |website=Chasing Sundays |access-date=25 March 2026 |language=en |date=12 January 2026}}</ref> Meanwhile, a separate group of bands defined another path for the genre that was still based in the hardcore scene and lacked the mainline fifth-wave scene's internet-centricity, including One Step Closer, Koyo and Anxious.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sacher |first1=Andrew |title=An interview with Anxious, whose debut LP 'Little Green House' is a breath of fresh air for emo |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/an-interview-with-anxious-whose-debut-lp-little-green-house-is-a-breath-of-fresh-air-for-emo/ |website=BrooklynVegan |access-date=26 March 2026}}</ref> Cohen hailed Anxious' song "In April" as "The Most Important Emo Song" of 2022.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cohen |first1=Ian |title=The Most Important Emo Song of Every Year |url=https://www.theringer.com/2022/07/25/music/best-emo-songs-ever-every-year-rites-spring-mcr-paramore |website=www.theringer.com |access-date=26 March 2026 |language=en |date=25 July 2022}}</ref>

In January 2025, Cohen observed that the fifth-wave of emo was declining and a sixth-wave was beginning. His conclusion was based on an increased number of bands distancing themselves from the fifth-wave's experimentation, instead reviving the sounds of the fourth-wave, citing the increased success of late 2010s bands Ogbert the Nerd and Oolong, as well as new bands such as Pomfret.<ref name="Cohen, 2025">{{cite web |last1=Cohen |first1=Ian |title=The Best Emo Albums Of 2024 |url=https://uproxx.com/indie/best-emo-albums-2024/ |website=UPROXX |access-date=26 March 2026 |date=7 January 2025}}</ref> That year, many prominent fifth-wave emo bands disbanded or pivoted their styles away from emo.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Marshall |first1=Dalton |title=EP Review: Gingerbee |url=https://www.lonelyghostrecords.com/media/community-reviews/album-review-gingerbee-apiary |website=Lonely Ghost Records |access-date=26 March 2026 |language=en}}</ref> ''BrooklynVegan'' editor Andrew Sacher credited the "emo revival revival" tag to See Through Person and Ben Quad on their album ''I'm Scared That's All There Is'' (2022).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sacher |first1=Andrew |title=Notable Releases of the Week (10/25) |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/ben-quad-laura-marling-soccer-mommy-hey-ily-bunuel-pest-control-see-through-person-trauma-ray-katie-gavin-reviews/ |website=BrooklynVegan |access-date=4 February 2026}}</ref> The term was also used as a self-identifer by Kerosene Heights, to reference their embrace of the early emo revival sound of Algernon Cadwallader and Glocca Morra.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sacher |first1=Andrew |title=10 emo bands you need to be following in 2023 |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/10-emo-bands-you-need-to-be-following-in-2023/ |website=BrooklynVegan |access-date=4 February 2026}}</ref>

==Subgenres and fusion genres== ===Subgenres=== ====Screamo==== {{Main|Screamo}}

[[File: Orchid - Stierch.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A vocalist and a drummer of a band performing with their band.|200px|Screamo band Orchid 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".<ref name="Heller">{{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}}</ref> Screamo is a dissonant form of emo influenced by hardcore punk,<ref name=ScreamoAM/> with typical rock instrumentation and noted for short songs, chaotic execution and screaming vocals.

[[File:MuchMusic Video Awards 2007 608.jpg|thumb|right|alt=The Used's band members in a photo together|200px|The Used's self-titled album was called "one of the masterworks of the screamo movement" by ''The Kansas City Star''.<ref>{{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}}</ref>]]

The genre is "generally based in the aggressive side of the overarching punk-revival scene".<ref name="ScreamoAM">{{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}}</ref> It began at the Ché Café<ref>"A Day with the Locust", ''L.A. Weekly'', September 18, 2003 {{Cite web |title=Brassland &#124; 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</ref> with groups such as Heroin, Antioch Arrow,<ref>''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.</ref> Angel Hair, Mohinder, Swing Kids, and Portraits of Past.<ref name="ebullition">{{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}}</ref> They were influenced by Washington, D.C. post-hardcore (particularly Fugazi and Nation of Ulysses),<ref name="Heller"/> straight edge, the Chicago group Articles of Faith, the hardcore-punk band Die Kreuzen<ref name="AP">{{Cite news |date=July 7, 2008 |title=Blood Runs Deep: 23 A hat |page=126 |work=Alternative Press}}</ref> and the post-punk and {{nowrap|gothic rock}} bands like Bauhaus.<ref name="Heller"/> 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.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

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-influenced music as a part of the pop screamo style.<ref name="Martins, 2024"/> Post-hardcore bands such as Refused and At the Drive-In paved the way for these bands.<ref name=ScreamoAM/> Pop screamo bands from the Canadian emo scene such as Silverstein and Alexisonfire also emerged at this time.<ref name="Martins, 2024"/>

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.<ref name=ScreamoAM/> Some screamo bands during this time period were inspired by genres like pop punk and heavy metal.<ref name=ScreamoAM/>

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."<ref name="IowaSC">{{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}}</ref>

=====Sass===== {{main|Sass (music)}} Sass (also known as sassy screamo, sasscore, white belt hardcore,<ref name="PopMatters">{{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}}</ref> white belt, sassgrind or dancey screamo)<ref>{{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}}</ref> is a style that emerged from the late-1990s and early-2000s screamo scene.<ref name="A.V. Club">{{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}}</ref> The genre incorporates elements of post-punk, new wave, disco, electronic, dance-punk,<ref name="A.V. Club"/> grindcore, noise rock, metalcore, and mathcore. The genre is characterized by often incorporating overtly flamboyant mannerisms, erotic lyrical content, synthesizers, dance beats and a lisping vocal style.<ref>{{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 |date=July 5, 2018 |access-date=February 9, 2019}}</ref> 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<ref name="PopMatters"/><ref>{{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}}</ref> and SeeYouSpaceCowboy.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

===Fusion genres=== thumbnail|left|alt=Band performing onstage|Fall Out Boy performing in 2006

====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.<ref name=Allmusic/> 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".<ref name="Allmusic">{{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}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' described emo pop as a cross between "saccharine boy-band pop" and emo.<ref name="Guardian">{{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}}</ref>

Emo pop developed during the 1990s. Bands like Jawbreaker and Samiam are known for formulating the emo pop punk style.<ref>{{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=dead}}</ref> 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".<ref name="CMJ">{{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}}</ref> 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".<ref name=Allmusic/> Jimmy Eat World,<ref name=Allmusic/> the Get Up Kids<ref>{{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'}}</ref> and the Promise Ring<ref>{{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}}</ref> also are early emo pop bands. The emo pop style of Jimmy Eat World's album, ''Clarity''<ref>{{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}}</ref> influenced later emo.<ref name="Stylus">{{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}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{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}}</ref> 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.<ref name="billboard.com"/> 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).<ref name=Allmusic/> 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.<ref name=Allmusic/><ref name="Fall out boy">{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref> 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<ref name="Cash">{{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}}</ref>}} ... 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".<ref name=Cash/> 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".<ref>{{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}}</ref> The album was certified gold in the UK.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

====Emo rap==== {{Main|Emo rap}}

Emo rap, a genre that combines emo music with hip hop music, began in the mid–to late 2010s.<ref name=TheRinger/> Prominent artists of emo hip hop include Lil Peep,<ref>{{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}}</ref> XXXTentacion,<ref name="TheRinger">{{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}}</ref> and Nothing,Nowhere.<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{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}}</ref> Lil Uzi Vert's song "XO Tour Llif3" peaked at number 7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100<ref>{{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}}</ref> 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|thumb|right|Pete Wentz 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]]{{Quote box | 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] | align = left | width = 25% | border = 2px }} 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.<ref name="PopMatters"/> 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.<ref name="PopMatters"/> During this time, emo fashion was clean-cut and tended towards geek chic,<ref name="hono">{{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}}</ref> 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.<ref name="AngstSales"/>

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}}<ref name="fairfield"/> 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.<ref name="MoscowTimes">{{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}}</ref><ref name="EmoSongsLAWeekly">{{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}}</ref> The best-known facet of emo fashion is its hairstyle: flat, straight, usually jet-black hair with long bangs covering much of the face,<ref name="fairfield"/> which has been called a fad.<ref name="fairfield">{{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}}</ref> As emo became a subculture, people who dressed in emo fashion and associated themselves with its music were known as "emo kids" or "emos".<ref name="fairfield"/>

Emo has occasionally been associated with the stereotypes of emotion, sensitivity, shyness, introversion or angst.<ref name="findingemo"/><ref name="Bunning 35069&pid= Newspace, University of Queensland, School of Journalism and Communication">{{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}}</ref><ref name="Stiernberg">{{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}}</ref> More controversially, stereotypes surrounding the genre included depression, self-harm and suicide,<ref name="fairfield"/><ref name="Walsh">{{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}}</ref> in part stoked by depictions of emo fans as a "cult" by British tabloid ''Daily Mail''.<ref name="WarOnEmo">{{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}}</ref> Emos and goths were often distinguished by the stereotype that "emos hate themselves, while goths hate everyone."<ref>{{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}}</ref> 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."<ref name="tb"/>

== Social impact == thumb|130px|alt=An emo girl and emo boy together outside.|Two emo teens

=== Cultural reception and impact === {{main|Suicide in music subcultures}}

{{Further|My Chemical Romance#Daily Mail controversy}}{{Quote box | 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] | align = left | width = 25% | border = 2px }} 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 glamorized 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.<ref name="nme"/> Hannah reportedly told her parents that her self-harm was an "emo initiation ceremony".<ref name="nme">{{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}}</ref> Heather Bond criticised emo culture: "There are 'emo' websites that show pink teddies hanging themselves."<ref name="nme"/> 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."<ref name="WarOnEmo"/> 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,"<ref name="cbc legacy of emo"/><ref>{{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}}</ref> 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".<ref name="nme2"/> The band also posted that they "are and always have been vocally anti-violence and anti-suicide".<ref name="nme2">{{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}}</ref>

''The Guardian'' later described the purported link and subsequent backlash against emo in the 2000s as a "moral panic",<ref>{{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}}</ref> while ''Kerrang!'' compared it to historic controversies involving Judas Priest and Ozzy Osbourne, unduly demonizing the subculture, and poorly examining mental health issues of young people.<ref name="WarOnEmo"/>

Feminist rock journalist and former riot grrrl Jessica Hopper criticized emo for its valorization of male suffering and inclusion of women only as distant and silent objects. "Records by a legion of done-wrong boys lined the record store shelves. Every record was a concept album about a breakup, damning the girl on the other side. Emo’s contentious monologue — it’s balled fist Peter Pan mash-note dilemmas — it’s album length letters from pussy-jail — it’s cathedral building in ode to man-pain and Robert-Bly-isms — it’s woman-induced misery has gone from being descriptive to being prescriptive. Emo was just another forum where women were locked in a stasis of outside observation, observing ourselves through the eyes of others."<ref>{url=https://chuckbaclagon.blogspot.com/2007/08/emo-where-girls-aren-by-jessica-hopper.html}</ref><ref>{url=https://lithub.com/classic-jessica-hopper-emo-comes-off-like-rimbaud-at-the-food-court/}</ref>

thumb|100px|alt=See caption|"Fuck emo" graffiti in Mexico 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.<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref> The BBC reported that in March 2012, Shia militias in Iraq shot or beat to death as many as 58 young Iraqi emos.<ref>{{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}}</ref> Some metalheads and punks often were known for disliking emos and criticizing the emo subculture.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

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."<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://phys.org/news/2025-01-discovery-punk-emo-fossils-ancient.html|title=Discovery of 'Punk' and 'Emo' fossils challenges our understanding of ancient mollusks|first=Imperial College|last=London|website=phys.org}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref>

=== Musicology === Emo studies or emo musicology is a developing area of study, with a growing body of academic content being written about the emo genre. The first official emo studies conference entitled “A Conference…, but it’s Midwest Emo”, shortened to "EmoCon", was hosted in April of 2026 at Washington University's School of Music. <ref>{{Cite web |title=Emo Con 2026 |url=https://www.emocon2026.com/ |access-date=2026-05-11 |website=Emo Con 2026 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Allmond |first=Braden |date=2026-03-18 |title=An Interview… But it’s Midwest Emo: A Conversation with the Founders of Emocon |url=https://swimintothesound.com/blog/2026/3/18/an-interview-but-its-midwest-emo-a-conversation-with-the-founders-of-emocon |access-date=2026-05-11 |website=Swim Into The Sound |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=meganstout |date=2026-01-23 |title=Department of Music Lecture: Steve Lamos, Associate Professor in the Program for Writing and Rhetoric and English Department at UC Boulder {{!}} Department of Music |url=https://music.washu.edu/past-events/department-music-lecture-steve-lamos-associate-professor-program-writing-and-rhetoric-and-english |access-date=2026-05-12 |website=music.washu.edu |language=en}}</ref> The conference was opened with a talk by Steve Lamos, scholar and drummer of the band American Football, with the keynote address given by American music writer Dan Ozzi. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Ozzi |first=Dan |date=2026-05-01 |title=I gave the keynote speech at an emo conference. |url=https://danozzi.substack.com/p/i-gave-the-keynote-speech-at-an-emo-conference |access-date=2026-05-11 |website=ZERO CRED}}</ref>

==See also== * List of emo artists * Scene (subculture)

==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:Emo Category:2000s in music Category:2000s fads and trends Category:Alternative rock genres Category:Culture-related controversies Category:Hardcore punk genres Category:Music of Washington, D.C. Category:Post-hardcore Category:Pop punk Category:Indie rock Category:Stereotypes Category:1980s neologisms Category:1980s in music Category:1990s in music Category:2010s in music Category:20th-century music genres Category:21st-century music genres Category:Music of New York (state) Category:Music of New Jersey Category:Music controversies Category:American styles of music Category:Rock music genres 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 Category:Canadian styles of music Category:Music and fashion