Eurodance - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Eurodance is a genre of electronic dance music

Electronic dance music

Electronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...

that originated in the late 1980s or early 1990s primarily in Europe. It combines many elements from House

House music

House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...

, Techno

Techno

Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...

, Hi-NRG

Hi-NRG

Hi-NRG describes a form of high-tempo disco music as well as a genre of electronic dance music originating in the United States during the late 1970s...

and especially Italo-Disco. Starting in the early 1990s and continuing to the present day, Eurodance production continues to evolve with a more modernized style that incorporates elements from Trance

Trance music

Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...

and Techno

Techno

music. An example of a Eurodance group would be 2 Unlimited

2 Unlimited

2 Unlimited is a Dutch Eurodance/Hi-NRG act formed in 1991. The project was the brainchild of Belgian producers Jean-Paul DeCoster and Phil Wilde, and was fronted by a Dutch duo, rapper Ray Slijngaard and singer Anita Doth. During five years of enormous worldwide popularity, the act scored 16 chart...

Eurodance music is heavily influenced by the utilization of rich melodic vocals, either exclusively by itself or inclusively with rap

Rap

Rap may refer to:*Rapping, performance in which rhyming lyrics are used, with or without musical accompaniment ; while an MC performs spoken verses in time to a beat/ melody**Hip hop subculture**Hip hop music...

ped verses. This, combined with cutting-edge synthesizer, strong bass rhythm and melodic hooks establishes the core foundation of Eurodance music.

Definition

The term "Eurodance" gradually became associated with a specific style of European dance music over time. During its golden years in the mid 1990s it was just as likely to be referred to as "Euro-House" or "Euro-NRG"; in Europe it was often called "Dancefloor" or simply "Dance".

While some use a much broader definition of what is considered "Eurodance", over time, the term particularly came to refer to an NRG-based genre from the 1990s which included a solo vocalist or a rapper/vocalist duet and is also used to describe later European dance acts such as Cascada

Cascada

Cascada is a German Eurodance act most famous for their hit singles "Everytime We Touch", "What Hurts the Most", and "Evacuate the Dancefloor"...

.

Eurodance is nightclub

Nightclub

A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...

-oriented music that is usually produced somewhere in Europe and sounds commercial enough to be played by radio stations and music television. Some of the more prominent Eurodance songs go international, especially if an act manages to score more than one hit.

Characteristics of the music

Most Eurodance is characterized by synthesizer riffs, female or male vocals with simple chorus, male rap

Rapping

Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...

parts, sampling

Sampling (music)

In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...

and a strong beat. Sometimes with female or male vocals singing throughout the whole song without rap.

Vocals

Eurodance is often very positive and upbeat; the lyrics often involve issues of love and peace, dancing and partying, or expressing and overcoming difficult emotions. The early-mid 1990s Eurodance vocals were frequently done by a solo vocalist or a mixed rapper-vocalist duet.

Many projects utilized variations of the rapper-vocalist theme, such as a German rapper with American singers (Real McCoy

Real McCoy (band)

Real McCoy, originally known as M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy, is a German band, best known for their 1993/1994 singles "Another Night" and "Run Away", which were both Top 10 hits in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.-Formation:...

), or the use of reggae rap as in Ice MC and Fun Factory, or scat singing

Scat singing

In vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. Scat singing gives singers the ability to sing improvised melodies and rhythms, to create the equivalent of an instrumental solo using their voice.- Structure and syllable choice...

as in Scatman John

Scatman John

John Paul Larkin , better known by his stage name Scatman John, was an American musician who created a fusion of scat singing and dance music, best known for his 1995 hit "Scatman "....

. Solo singing artists such as Alexia, Tess

Tess Mattisson

Tess Mattisson, born February 13, 1978 Solna, Stockholm, Sweden), is a Swedish singer. She worked as a dancer and back-up singer for Rob'n'Raz, Dr. Alban, Basic Element and Drömhus...

, Whigfield

Whigfield

Sannie Charlotte Carlson , best known as Whigfield and also as Naan, is a Danish singer best known for the song "Saturday Night", a hugely popular single during the summer of 1994.-Biography:...

and Double You

Double You

Double You is a Eurodance group founded in 1985, when William Naraine started producing demos with Franco Amato and Andrea de Antoni.In 1992 they've sold more than three million records and the single "Please Don't Go" was a success.- 1990s :...

also contributed to the genre.

Eurodance lyrics are almost always sung in English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

, regardless of the artist's nationalities. However, some artists release their songs in both English and their native languages.

Percussion

Almost all Eurodance emphasizes percussion and rhythm

Rhythm

Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...

. Eurodance percussion is generally a "kick" bassdrum with some variations on a 4/4 time signature

Time signature

The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....

. While the percussion is always done by synthesizers, it is a sound more typical of dance music and not the "beat box" sound typical of rap music. The tempo is typically around 140 beats per minute, but may vary from 110 to 150 BPM.

Melody

Most Eurodance is also very melody-driven. Unlike most pop music which is usually written in major keys, most Eurodance songs are in minor keys. This along with positive lyrics helps contribute to the overall powerful and emotional sound of Eurodance. Besides the contribution of the female vocals, there is often a noticeable use of rapid synthesizer arpeggios. This is a very distinctive feature of Eurodance that separates it from Hi-NRG disco. The synthesizer often has a piano or barrel organ

Barrel organ

A barrel organ is a mechanical musical instrument consisting of bellows and one or more ranks of pipes housed in a case, usually of wood, and often highly decorated...

but sometimes mimics other instruments, such as calliope

Calliope (music)

A calliope is a musical instrument that produces sound by sending a gas, originally steam or more recently compressed air, through large whistles, originally locomotive whistles....

(e.g., "Touch the Sky" by Cartouche). There is often a short, repetitive riff

Ostinato

In music, an ostinato is a motif or phrase, which is persistently repeated in the same musical voice. An ostinato is always a succession of equal sounds, wherein each note always has the same weight or stress. The repeating idea may be a rhythmic pattern, part of a tune, or a complete melody in...

, while other times there is a whole tour de force of synthesizers (e.g., Close To You by Fun Factory). Some songs have a second riff cycling in between verses.

Characteristics of the bands and business

Eurodance is widely commercialized. Some producers, like Max Martin

Max Martin

Martin Karl Sandberg, known professionally as Max Martin, is a Swedish music producer and songwriter. Raised in Stenhamra, a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden, he broke through as a producer and songwriter in the mid to late 1990s after crafting a string of hits for pop artists like the Backstreet Boys,...

or Larry Pignagnoli

Larry Pignagnoli

Alfredo "Larry" Pignagnoli is a well-known Italian producer and is behind several international dance hits. He runs the production unit Off Limits in Italy...

, have fronted dozens of bands. From thousands of records released, only a few bands have existed in the mainstream beyond two records. Many acts, such as Captain Jack

Captain Jack (band)

Captain Jack is a musical duo, specializing in Eurodance music, originating from Germany.- History :Its members were Francisco Alejandro Gutierrez , and Sunny...

and Jonny Jakobsen

Jonny Jakobsen

Jonny Jakobsen is a Swedish-Danish Bubblegum dance/eurodance artist better known under his fictitious identity as Indian taxi driver Dr. Bombay. He began as a country singer called Johnny Moonshine, but became famous only after his metamorphosis into Dr. Bombay...

(Dr. Bombay), had a carefully planned humoristic image. A group called E-rotic

E-Rotic

E-Rotic is a German Eurodance project. They are mostly known for their use of sexual topics and innuendo in their music. Some of the female vocalists who fronted E-Rotic over the years also fronted Missing Heart vocals.-History:...

received attention with sexually provocative lyrics and music video

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

s.

While Eurodance singles regularly went to Gold, Platinum or multi-Platinum status, it had been more difficult to get a full length album to get to the same level of success. Typical problems cited include the album as a whole not up to the strength of the singles, the performers not being charismatic enough to hold the attention of millions of people past a song or two, or weak promotion of the remainder of the album after the singles have become hits.

History

Original Eurodance is a fusion of several styles of dance music, primarily house and rap with the Hi-NRG

Hi-NRG

Hi-NRG describes a form of high-tempo disco music as well as a genre of electronic dance music originating in the United States during the late 1970s...

variant of disco music.

Hi-NRG and Italo-Disco

Hi-NRG

Hi-NRG describes a form of high-tempo disco music as well as a genre of electronic dance music originating in the United States during the late 1970s...

started in the United Kingdom and United States as an underground, faster form of disco after disco had lost mainstream popularity. In the late 1980s, it became associated with British record producers Stock, Aitken and Waterman, and by the early 1990s bands such as Masterboy

Masterboy

Masterboy is a German eurodance group with notable success in Europe, Asia, Oceania and South America in the mid-1990s. They are one of the most representative group for 90's "high energy" eurodance phenomenon, when this genre crossed over from dance clubs to the pop music arena...

& 2 Unlimited

2 Unlimited

were producing a Continental version of Hi-NRG.

Eurodance shows a strong Hi-NRG

Hi-NRG

Hi-NRG describes a form of high-tempo disco music as well as a genre of electronic dance music originating in the United States during the late 1970s...

influence, such as the high BPM and the strong use of female vocals. Eurodance can also be seen as a more technologically advanced form of Euro disco

Euro disco

Euro disco is an all encompassing colloquial term used to describe a variety of European electronic dance music that first originated from disco in the 1970s; incorporating elements of pop, New Wave and rock into disco-like continuous dance atmosphere...

, just as Hi-NRG is the more technologically advanced form of Disco

Disco

Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...

.

Italo Disco

Italo disco

Italo disco encompasses much of the dance music output in Europe during the 1980s. It is one of the world's first forms of mostly electronic dance music and evolved during the late 1970s and early 1980s in Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and other parts of Europe...

and its later evolution, Eurobeat

Eurobeat

Eurobeat is a form of italo-disco/hi-NRG music that developed in the late 1980s.In the United States, Eurobeat was sometimes marketed as Hi-NRG and for a short while shared this term with the very early freestyle music hits....

, are sometimes thought to be sub-genres of Eurodance, but rather they are offshoots of the European version of Hi-NRG, called "Space Disco

Space disco

Space disco is a term used to describe the fusion of disco music with futuristic themes, sounds and visuals, which was popular in the late 1970s...

". Italo was influential on the production of Eurodance in general, while Italian-produced Eurodance artists, such as Alexia, Cappella, CO.RO, and Double You, tended to preserve features such as operatic female vocals. Later artists such as Eiffel 65

Eiffel 65

Eiffel 65 is an Italian three-piece group formed in the late 1990s and best known for pioneering in pitch-correction and autotune, and for their international hit "Blue ". Their other hit singles include "Move Your Body" and "Too Much of Heaven", all of which appeared on their album Europop,...

adopted a sort of "marching" beat in their productions. The term "Eurobeat" appears to be more common in Japan, where this style of music is featured in the video game Dance Dance Revolution

Dance Dance Revolution

Dance Dance Revolution, abbreviated DDR, and previously known as Dancing Stage in Europe and Australasia, is a music video game series produced by Konami. Introduced in Japan in 1998 as part of the Bemani series, and released in North America and Europe in 1999, Dance Dance Revolution is the...

, as well as in some Anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

soundtracks, for example the street racing scenes in Initial D

Initial D

is a manga by Shuichi Shigeno which has been serialized in Kodansha's Young Magazine since 1995. It has been adapted into a long-running anime series by OB Planning, Studio Comet, Studio Gallop, Pastel, and A.C.G.T, and a live action film by Avex and Media Asia...

House music

House music, also an underground genre in the United States, had come to the UK and continental Europe with the rise of acid house

Acid house

Acid house is a sub-genre of house music that emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance-like style, often with samples or spoken lines rather than sung lyrics. Acid house's core electronic squelch sounds were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by DJs from Chicago who experimented with...

and "rave" techno

Rave music

Rave music may either refer the late 1980s genre or any genre of electronic dance music that may be played at an electronic dance party such as a rave. Very rarely, the term is used to refer to less electronic related genres glam, powerpop, psychedelic rock and dub music parties...

in the late 1980s. By the early 1990s, with the rise of the Belgian New Beat

New Beat

New Beat is a term that was used in the 1980s to refer to two different genres of electronic dance music. It also refers to an underground 1980s Belgian music style.- Terminology :...

, house then became associated with Belgium and the Netherlands.

Some of the first songs with elements of what would later be called Eurodance are house music. For example, "C'mon and Get My Love" by D Mob

D Mob

D Mob is one of the stage names used by British house music producer Dancin' Danny D .The 1988 UK hit "We Call It Acieed" hit #3 in the UK Singles Chart, and was one of a wave of acid house singles to enjoy success that year. The video was directed by Marek Budzynski...

(1989), "Strike It Up" by Black Box

Black Box (band)

Black Box was an Italian house music group popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The members of the group included a trio made up of a club DJ , a classically trained clarinet teacher , and a keyboard and electronic music "wiz"...

(1990), "Get Ready For This" by 2 Unlimited

2 Unlimited

(1991) and "Rhythm is a Dancer" by Snap!

Snap!

Snap! is a German Eurodance project formed in 1989 by Frankfurt-based producers Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti. The act has been through a number of line-up changes over the years, but was most successful when fronted by rapper Turbo B, who performed on the UK number 1 singles "The Power" and...

(1992) all have the duet characteristic of Eurodance, and "Everybody's Free (To Feel Good)" by Rozalla

Rozalla

Rozalla is a dance music performer, born to a Zambian mother and a Zimbabwean father...

(1991) has the characteristic synthesizer riff.

Not all European house music was absorbed into the Eurodance genre. By the early 2000s, it remained a style distinct from Eurodance with harder synthesis and a slower tempo, for example "Satisfaction" by Benny Benassi

Benny Benassi

Marco Benassi , better known as Benny Benassi, is a Grammy Award winning Italian disc jockey and record producer of electro house music. He is best known for his 2002 summer club hit "Satisfaction"...

(2003).

Rap/Hip hop

Rap

Rapping

verse has been one of the main distinguishing elements of Eurodance. While Eurodance makes use of rap vocals, it does not contain the lyrical themes of "gangster rap", nor does it follow many of the instrumental conventions of rap music, such as turntable scratching or heavy basslines. It does however focus on danceability similar to funk music which was a critical basis to the hip hop genre

Hip hop music

Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...

since many songs from that genre were sampled by hip hop

Hip hop

Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...

artists.

Eurodance has, however, served to popularize rap music in Europe. While rap had been made in Europe at least as far back as Falco

Falco (musician)

Johann Hölzel , better known by his stage name Falco, was an Austrian pop and rock musician and rapper. He had several international hits: "Der Kommissar", "Rock Me Amadeus", "Vienna Calling", "Jeanny", "The Sound of Musik", "Coming Home " and posthumously, "Out Of The Dark"...

's Einzelhaft album (1982), the American variety only gained a more widespread acceptance when Technotronic

Technotronic

Technotronic is a Belgian studio-based music project formed in 1988 by Jo Bogaert , who had already made his musical mark in the beginning of the 1980s as a part of a cover band and as a solo artist under various New Beat projects, including The Acts of Madmen and Nux Nemo...

landed their hit "Pump Up the Jam", followed by Snap

Snap!

's "The Power". The combination of house music with rap vocals in general came to be referred to as Hip house

Hip house

Hip house, also known as house rap, is a musical genre that mixes elements of house music and hip-hop. The style rose to prominence during the 1980s in New York and Chicago...

or "house rap".

Rapper Flo Rida

Flo Rida

Tramar Dillard , better known by his stage name Flo Rida , is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. He released his debut album, Mail on Sunday, in March 2008. His debut single "Low", featuring T-Pain, was a #1 hit for ten weeks in United States in early 2008. Two other singles resulted from...

's second album, R.O.O.T.S.
R.O.O.T.S.
R.O.O.T.S. is the second studio album by American rapper, Flo Rida. The album was released on March 31, 2009.-Background:...

, is heavily influenced by the Eurodance genre.

In Europe

Some examples of "original" Eurodance acts are Eiffel 65

Eiffel 65

, 2 Brothers On The 4th Floor

2 Brothers on the 4th Floor

2 Brothers on the 4th Floor is a Eurodance band, consisting of the Dutch brothers Martin and Bobby Boer. Since their creation in 1990, the group has been fronted by Dutch singer Desire Claudette.-Early career, 1990-1993:...

, 2 Unlimited

2 Unlimited

, Alcazar

Alcazar (band)

Alcazar is a Swedish eurodance group which has established themselves as one of Sweden's most successful music groups with a string of hits since their debut single in 1999. Worldwide, Alcazar sold over 12 million records between 2001 and 2004...

, Alexia, Bad Boys Blue

Bad Boys Blue

Bad Boys Blue are a multinational pop group that was formed in Cologne, Germany. The group performed many international hits including You're a Woman, Pretty Young Girl, I Wanna Hear Your Heartbeat and Come Back and Stay.- History :...

, Cappella

Cappella

Cappella was an Italian Eurodance act formed in 1987 by producer Gianfranco Bortolotti. The act went through a number of line-up changes over the years but was most successful in the early 1990s when it was fronted by British performers Kelly Overett and Rodney Bishop...

, CAPTAIN JACK

Captain Jack

Kintpuash , better known as Captain Jack , was a chief of the Native American Modoc tribe of California and Oregon, and was their leader during the Modoc War.-Modoc history:...

, DJ JMS, Disco Polo, Captain Hollywood Project

Captain Hollywood Project

Captain Hollywood Project is a German Eurodance project fronted by Tony Dawson Harrison.Harrison, a United States Army captain, was nicknamed Captain Hollywood, because he danced even when in uniform. He first started in the break dance scene in Europe as he performed on early '80s music TV shows...

, Centory

Centory

Centory was a German 1990s eurodance/pop band of Gary Carolla, Alexander Strasser, Sven Kirschner, and Turbo B.Centory released one album Alpha Centory, in 1994. It featured the singles "Point Of No Return", "Take It To The Limit", "The Spirit" and "Eye In The Sky".Centory also remixed two songs,...

, Corona

Corona (musical project)

Corona is an Italian dance and pop group, who found success in 1994 with the worldwide hit, "The Rhythm of the Night". Although she did not sing on most of the act's hits, Corona is fronted by Brazilian performer Olga Souza.-The Rhythm of The Night:...

, Culture Beat

Culture Beat

Culture Beat is a German Eurodance project formed in 1989 by Torsten Fenslau. The act has gone through a number of line-up changes over the years; they achieved the most success whilst fronted by singer Tania Evans and rapper Jay Supreme. Their 1993 single "Mr. Vain" was a No...

, Darude

Darude

Ville Virtanen , better known by his stage name Darude is a trance producer and DJ from Eura, Hinnerjoki, Finland. Debuting in 1995, he released the hit single "Sandstorm" in late 1999 and subsequent album Before the Storm...

, DJ Bobo

DJ Bobo

Peter René Cipiriano Baumann , better known as DJ BoBo, is a Swiss singer, songwriter, dancer and music producer. He has sold 14 million records worldwide and has released 10 studio albums as well as a few compilation albums which have included his previous hits in a reworked format...

, Dr. Alban

Dr. Alban

Alban Uzoma Nwapa , known by his stage name Dr. Alban, is a Nigerian, Sweden-based musician and producer with his own record label dr-records. His music can best be described as a Eurodance/hip-hop reggae with a dancehall style. He is most famous for his worldwide 1992 hit "It's My...

, E-rotic

E-Rotic

. E-Type

E-type (musician)

Bo Martin Erik Eriksson , better known by his stage name E-Type, is a Swedish Eurodance musician.-Early years:...

, Electro Team

Electro Team

Electro Team is a hip hop/eurodance band from Croatia, active since 1987 .ET's July 1993 single "Tek je 12 sati" was named by journalists and music critics as Croatia's hit of the decade. E.T...

, First Base, Fun Factory, Ice MC, Imperio

Imperio (band)

Imperio was a Eurodance act formed in 1994 by producer Norbert Reichart from Italy.First album "Veni Vidi Vici" was performed by Manuela Ray and Michael Harris . 4 great singles released....

, Indra

Indra (singer)

Indra is a singer, best known in France.-Background:Indra was born in Göteborg, Sweden to Estonian parents...

, Infernal

Infernal (band)

Infernal is dance/pop group from Denmark, consisting of members Lina Rafn and Paw Lagermann. They made their Danish debut in 1997 with the release of the track "Sorti de L'enfer", and have gone on to international chart success in recent years. Their most successful single to date has been "From...

, La Bouche

La Bouche

La Bouche was a Eurodance/Dance-pop duo formed by Frank Farian in Germany in 1994, originally consisting of Melanie Thornton and Lane McCray, scoring two major worldwide hits in the mid-1990s with "Be My Lover" and "Sweet Dreams"....

, Lobby

Lobby (band)

Lobby was a Slovak Eurodance music band from 1995 to 2001.Members were Martina "Osa" Ostatníková, Andrej Dziak, Milan Michalík, Karol "Strawberry" Bližnák and Mirec "Big Mouth" Babják.Mirec left in 1997....

, Le Click

Le Click

Le Click was a Eurodance duo created in Germany by the record producer, Frank Farian. Le Click consisted of Swedish singer Kayo Shekoni and rapper/singer Robert Haynes. In the UK, Le Click are considered to be one-hit wonders.-Career:Le Click's U.S...

, Masterboy

Masterboy

, Maxx, Playahitty

Playahitty

Playahitty is an Italian eurodance group, most known for the 1994 hit The Summer is Magic, but also for other popular Dance tracks, such 1-2-3! ....

, Real McCoy

Real McCoy (band)

, Santamaria

Santamaria (band)

Santamaria is a Portuguese Eurodance project.Santamaria have sold more than 700,000 albums in Portugal during a career spanning roughly a decade.- Early years :...

, Vengaboys

Vengaboys

Vengaboys are a Eurodance pop group based in Amsterdam. The brainchild of two Dutch producers Wessel van Diepen and Dennis van den Driesschen , they enjoyed commercial success in the late 1990s. They are best known for their two UK number one singles, "Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!!" and "We're Going...

and Whigfield

Whigfield

Sannie Charlotte Carlson , best known as Whigfield and also as Naan, is a Danish singer best known for the song "Saturday Night", a hugely popular single during the summer of 1994.-Biography:...

.

These bands included emphasis of the combo female chorus together with male rap performances, leading directly to the duo revival. Each group featured their own signature sound, persona, visual imagery, and vocal approach.

Solo artists who performed Eurodance include Amber

Amber (performer)

Marie-Claire "Amber" Cremers is a Dutch-German singer, songwriter, label owner and executive producer. She is best known for her hits "This Is Your Night," "If You Could Read My Mind," and "Sexual ."-Career:Amber's music career took off when one of her demos, "This Is Your Night" gained interest...

, Haddaway

Haddaway

Nestor Alexander Haddaway , better known by his stage name Haddaway, is a Trinidadian-German singer. He is most famous for his worldwide 1993 hit, "What Is Love".- Early life :...

. Rozalla

Rozalla

Rozalla is a dance music performer, born to a Zambian mother and a Zimbabwean father...

supported Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson

Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...

during his European "Dangerous" tour. In 1994, Amber made history becoming the first singer in Eurodance history to be signed to a label as a solo artist, not a singer who is bound to a producer.

In late 90s, it also became a trend in Eurodance music to blend the element of Reggae. The origin was "All That She Wants

All That She Wants

"All That She Wants" is a hit single of Swedish pop group Ace of Base. The song was produced by Denniz Pop. In early 1993, the song reached the top of the charts in many countries, including Denmark, the United Kingdom and Australia. The single was certified Platinum in the United States, where it...

" by Ace of Base

Ace of Base

Ace of Base is a pop band based in Gothenburg, Sweden. Its original lineup consisted of Ulf "Buddha" Ekberg, and three siblings, Jonas "Joker" Berggren, Malin "Linn" Berggren and Jenny Berggren...

. The hit of this song caused a lot of followers such as "Coco Jamboo" by Mr. President

Mr. President (band)

- Studio albums :- Compilation albums :-Singles:-Band line-up:* Lady Danii * T-Seven * Sir Prophet * Lazy Dee * Nadia Ayche...

, "Sweet Sweet Smile" by Tatjana, "Help Me Dr.Dick" by E-Rotic

E-Rotic

, "Ole Ole Singin' Ole Ola" by Rollergirl

Rollergirl

Nicole Safft , professionally known as Rollergirl, is a German singer with a number of successful tracks such as "Dear Jessie" and "Luv U More," the latter being a cover of a song by Sunscreem.The love for rollerskates developed early when working at a rollerskating rink...

,"Bamboleo" by Garcia etc.

Canada

Canada was a major Eurodance market, the largest outside Europe, which produced its own variant called Candance. From about 1993 to 1997, acts such as Capital Sound, Temperance, Jefferson Project, Emjay, Solina, Roxxy, BKS

BKS

BKS is a Toronto-based techno group created by radio DJ Chris Sheppard, with other members Hennie Bekker and Greg Kavanagh....

, Love Inc. among others; originating mainly in major cities of Central Canada such as Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

and Ottawa

Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

were hitting the airwaves. Eurodance received significant airplay on radio stations in the Greater Toronto Area

Greater Toronto Area

The Greater Toronto Area is the largest metropolitan area in Canada, with a 2006 census population of 5.5 million. The Greater Toronto Area is usually defined as the central city of Toronto, along with four regional municipalities surrounding it: Durham, Halton, Peel, and York...

such as Energy 108 and Hot 103.5 which later became Z103.5. By the late 90s, the popularity of this genre was in decline. Today, Eurodance receives little airtime on Canadian radio stations, however Z103.5 plays the genre in rotation almost daily. Some nightclubs in the Toronto area have dedicated nights to this genre, however.

United States

Eurodance is not well known in the United States outside of the major cities New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, Miami, etc. A few Eurodance artists (including La Bouche

La Bouche

, 2 Unlimited

2 Unlimited

, Real McCoy

Real McCoy (band)

, and Ace of Base

Ace of Base

Ace of Base is a pop band based in Gothenburg, Sweden. Its original lineup consisted of Ulf "Buddha" Ekberg, and three siblings, Jonas "Joker" Berggren, Malin "Linn" Berggren and Jenny Berggren...

) made the Rhythmic Top 40, Top 40 Mainstream and the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

during the early-to-mid 90s. However, it tended to be the more house and rap-oriented artists that received airplay. For instance, the hip-house project Snap!

Snap!

received quite a bit of airplay early on.

The more Hi-NRG

Hi-NRG

Hi-NRG describes a form of high-tempo disco music as well as a genre of electronic dance music originating in the United States during the late 1970s...

-oriented artists were typically played during special "mix" shows if at all, and it was often necessary to go to a club to hear Eurodance music. While Eurodance did become popular with club DJ's in the United States, radio stations were cautious about playing anything that sounded too much like disco during most of the 1980s and 1990s. By the end of the 1990s, however, some of the later acts such as Blue (Da Ba Dee)

Blue (Da Ba Dee)

"Blue " is a eurodance song released in 1999 by Italian group Eiffel 65, as a single from their debut album Europop ....

by Eiffel 65

Eiffel 65

and Barbie Girl

Barbie Girl

"Barbie Girl" is a song by the Danish-Norwegian dance-pop group Aqua, who released the song in 1997 as their third single overall, and the first United Kingdom release...

by Aqua

Aqua (band)

Aqua is a Danish dance-pop group, best known for their 1997 breakthrough single "Barbie Girl". The group formed in 1989 and achieved huge success across the globe in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The group managed to top the UK Singles Chart with their first three singles. The group released two...

did receive extensive airplay.

Despite lack of widespread radio play, many Hi-NRG and Eurodance songs are popular at professional sporting events in the United States, especially basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

.

Compilation albums, such as the DMA Dance: Eurodance series of compilation albums (1995–1997) from Interhit Records and Dance Music Authority

DMA (magazine)

DMA was a monthly American Dance music publication that ran from 1993 to 2003. It originally ceased publishing due to a downturn of advertising revenue.- Background :...

magazine, were popular and helped to define the genre as well as to make it accessible in the U.S. and Canada.

In 2011, Barbadian

Barbadian people

Barbadians are people originating on the Caribbean island of Barbados whether they live there or in the Barbadian diaspora.Rihanna is by far the most popular Barbadian on the planet.-Diaspora:...

singer Rihanna

Rihanna

Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...

had two number-one hits with her Eurodance influenced songs, "Only Girl (In the World)

Only Girl (In the World)

"Only Girl " is a song by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna from her fifth studio album, Loud . The song was released as the album's lead single on September 10, 2010 through Def Jam. It was written by Crystal Johnson, Norwegian production duo Stargate and Sandy Vee, and produced by Stargate and Vee...

" and "S&M

S&M (song)

"S&M" is a song by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna, taken from her fifth studio album, Loud . The song was written by Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Corey Jackson Carter, Sandy Wilhelm and Ester Dean, with production helmed by Eriksen and Hermansen of Stargate and Sandy Wilhelm under her...

2000s

Techno

always had an important influence on Eurodance music, which at times was basically its more commercial counterpart. From the late 1990s onwards, Trance

Trance music

began to take more influence from Eurodance as well (see Euro-Trance

Euro-trance

The term Euro-trance describes all "trance"-like European imports into the American dance music market, especially those recorded in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.-Dream house:...

), while techno music was in decline since the late 1990s. By 2006, Trance started slowly losing popularity as quality releases that lived up to the early 2000s sound declined. Interest in Eurodance reignited. However, this time the comeback was largely helped by interests through music and video websites, which includes significant support from media sharing and online networking sites. Although this would be considered the second generation of Eurodance, the 2000s saw renewed interest in Eurodance.

Such groups as Basic Element (active in the 90’s as well), Alcazar

Alcazar (band)

, Scooter

Scooter (band)

Scooter are a German hard dance band founded in Hamburg, who have sold over 25 million records and earned over 80 gold and platinum awards. Scooter are considered the most successful single-record German act with 23 top ten hits. The band is currently composed of members H.P. Baxxter, Rick J....

, Ian Van Dahl, O-Zone

O-Zone

O-Zone was a Romania/Moldovan pop music trio that was active from 1998 to 2005 and consisted of Dan Bălan, Radu Sîrbu, and Arsenie Todiraş. The group gained global popularity with their song "Dragostea din tei" and their subsequent album DiscO-Zone....

, Milk Inc.

Milk Inc.

Milk Inc. is a Euro House band that formed in the commercial house-scene in Belgium in 1996. The Discography of the band includes a total of six studio albums and thirty-four singles In 2006, to celebrate their 10th anniversary, Milk Inc...

, Merzedes Club

Merzedes Club

Merzedes Club is a band created by prolific music composer and producer Barði Jóhannson. The group was formed to perform Barði's song Ho, Ho, Ho, We say Hey, Hey, Hey at the national selection for Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. The band gained extreme notoriety for their unusual...

, Infernal

Infernal (band)

, Special D

Special D

Special D. is a German DJ and dance music artist who is particularly popular in the Netherlands, where he won the 'Best Dance International' award at the 2004 TMF NL awards. He is also popular among the Euro-Trance scene in North America...

, Groove Coverage

Groove Coverage

Groove Coverage is a German Euro-dance band. The Groove Coverage project consists of Axel Konrad, DJ Novus, Melanie Munch, better known as Mell , and Verena Rehm . The band has had hits around the world, especially in Germany, and have had radio play in North America, notably with the song, "Poison"...

, Santamaria

Santamaria (band)

Santamaria is a Portuguese Eurodance project.Santamaria have sold more than 700,000 albums in Portugal during a career spanning roughly a decade.- Early years :...

, Cascada

Cascada

Cascada is a German Eurodance act most famous for their hit singles "Everytime We Touch", "What Hurts the Most", and "Evacuate the Dancefloor"...

, Sylver

Sylver

Sylver is a Belgian vocal Trance group best known for the song "Turn the Tide". The group's vocalist is Silvy De Bie and keyboardist/songwriter is Wout Van Dessel . Regi Penxten is the producer and co-songwriter...

, Danijay

Danijay

Danijay is an Italian Italodance deejay and artist. Born in 1977 in Genoa, Italy, Danijay began deejaying in 1994 and producing in 2003. His first single, Il Gioco dell'Amore was released in 2003 and became a European dance radio hit and one of the best-selling dance singles of the year...

, Colonia

Colonia (music group)

Colonia is a Croatian dance music band from Vinkovci, Croatia. They have released nine albums and over 27 singles to date with various songs and albums gaining platinum status...

, and solo artists such as Madonna

Madonna (entertainer)

Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...

(e.g. Hung Up

Hung Up

"Hung Up" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It was written and produced in collaboration with Stuart Price, and released as the first single from her tenth studio album, Confessions on a Dance Floor. Initially used in a number of television advertisements and serials, the song was...

single), Kate Ryan

Kate Ryan

Kate Ryan is a Belgian World Music Award winner. She began her singing career in 2001 and later found fame with a string of dance hits. These included covers, mostly of Mylène Farmer and France Gall, such as "Désenchantée", "Libertine" and "Ella, elle l'a" as well as new material...

, Gabry Ponte

Gabry Ponte

Gabriele "Gabry" Ponte is an Italian DJ best known for his membership in the Italian dance group Eiffel 65. Ponte has been involved with the Bliss Team, DJ Gundam, and Sangwara...

, DJ Aligator, Máni Svavarsson, Lucas Prata

Lucas Prata

Lucas Prata is a House musician and DJ born in Bayside, Queens, New York. He has produced several recognizable hits such as "Never Be Alone", "And She Said", "Love of My Life", and "Let's Get It On." Prata and Dan Bălan produced The "Ma Ya Hi Song," an English version of the international hit...

and Inna

Inna

Elena Alexandra Apostoleanu , best known as Inna, is a Romanian dance music singer. On November 12, 2008, she released her debut single "Hot", which was produced by Play & Win, a Romanian dance music trio and one of the leading music producers in Romania...

, represent some of the best of the second generation of Eurodance artists. Most of them have released hit singles and/or albums stateside.

The late 2000s saw a revival of the 90s Eurodance genre. Some US-based musicians are now heavily influenced by Eurodance, prominently Lady Gaga

Lady GaGa

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...

2010s

Only a few mainstream artists produce music that can be categorized as eurodance. One of the most popular artists of 2000's, Cascada

Cascada

Cascada is a German Eurodance act most famous for their hit singles "Everytime We Touch", "What Hurts the Most", and "Evacuate the Dancefloor"...

has moved towards electro with her 2011 album, "Original Me". Generally eurodance lives on with old hits and remixes, as new dance music is often closer to electro and techno.

Notable Eurodance artists

Some of the most recognized bands of the genre include artists such as the Dutch-Belgian group 2 Unlimited

2 Unlimited

, Italian group Eiffel 65

Eiffel 65

, German group La Bouche

La Bouche

, Swedish group Alcazar

Alcazar (band)

and Danish group Infernal

Infernal (band)

. Some of the more recent Eurodance artists to enjoy fame include Basshunter

Basshunter

Jonas Erik Altberg , better known by his stage name Basshunter, is a Swedish singer-songwriter, record producer and DJ. He is best known for his number one hits "Boten Anna", "Dota", "Now You're Gone" and "All I Ever Wanted". Basshunter has so far released a total of six albums, two of which have...

, Inna

Inna

, Cascada

Cascada

Cascada is a German Eurodance act most famous for their hit singles "Everytime We Touch", "What Hurts the Most", and "Evacuate the Dancefloor"...

Classification

After the early 1990s, Eurodance music had split into several categories:

"Classic" Eurodance (1990s) - As noted, often a female vocalist and a male rapper were used for songs within this genre. The music features thicker and more detailed production and is slightly slower than most Eurodance that appeared afterward. This sound features arrangements, production touches, synths, and basslines unique to the early and mid 1990s, and is strongly favored by those who were fans of Eurodance during that time.

Bubblegum Dance
Bubblegum Dance
Bubblegum dance is a subgenre of Eurodance music. The genre is characterized by cute lyrics and happy sounds. Bubblegum dance usually has a more pop sound than other Eurodance. The lyrics and style are often light-hearted and are not intended to be taken seriously. They are often amusing and...

- Essentially the Danish Eurodance version of bubblegum pop
Bubblegum pop
Bubblegum pop is a genre of pop music with an upbeat sound contrived and marketed to appeal to pre-teens and teenagers, produced in an assembly-line process, driven by producers, often using unknown singers.Bubblegum's classic period ran from 1967 to 1972...

. While the instrumental style is similar to "classic" Eurodance, the lyrics tend towards a tongue-in-cheek
Tongue-in-cheek
Tongue-in-cheek is a phrase used as a figure of speech to imply that a statement or other production is humorously intended and it should not be taken at face value. The facial expression typically indicates that one is joking or making a mental effort. In the past, it may also have indicated...

humor very different from typical "disco" lyrics. Topics tend to be such things as toys, cartoons or video games, double-entendres, and fairytale motifs (for example, Aqua
Aqua (band)
Aqua is a Danish dance-pop group, best known for their 1997 breakthrough single "Barbie Girl". The group formed in 1989 and achieved huge success across the globe in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The group managed to top the UK Singles Chart with their first three singles. The group released two...

's Barbie Girl
Barbie Girl
"Barbie Girl" is a song by the Danish-Norwegian dance-pop group Aqua, who released the song in 1997 as their third single overall, and the first United Kingdom release...

). Bubblegum may use either a chorus or a male rapper/female singer duet, though it tends not to make use of American rappers as classic Eurodance does.

Euro-Trance
Euro-trance
The term Euro-trance describes all "trance"-like European imports into the American dance music market, especially those recorded in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.-Dream house:...

- Has a more open-ended structure compared to the tightly knit vocals and melodies of "classic" Eurodance. Vocals sometimes vague or repetitive without verse/chorus structure, often with echo and other effects. Often Euro-Trance has a strong synth line with ethereal chords and strong percussion.

Other related and influential styles

Synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...

- This style emerged during the late 1970s. A type of dance music with futuristic synths and a lighter electro aesthetic resembling new wave or early electro pioneers but with a simpler pop/rock template often centering around a vocal part. Synth-Pop did lose its popularity in the mainstream by the early-1990s but has never been dormant. It continues to be a popular style seeing a major resurgence in the 2000s.

Europop
Europop
Europop refers to a style of pop music that first developed in today's form in Europe, throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and ’90s...

- Popular music related to Dance-pop
Dance-pop
Dance-pop is dance-oriented pop music that originated in the early 1980s. Developing from post-disco, it is generally up-tempo music intended for clubs with the intention of being danceable or merely dancey...

with elements of classic Eurodance or Trance but is not a lot like one or the other. Chorus and verse structure prevalent. Nearly always incessantly catchy and infectious melodies, synths and beats.

Radio stations and streaming audio

Digitally Imported Eurodance Channel
Beirut Nights Radio: Eurodance Trance and Mediterranean Music since 1999
KNHC "C-89.5", Seattle WA
WMPH
WMPH
WMPH is Delaware's first high school radio station, located in Wilmington. The Brandywine School District Board of Education owns the license granted by the FCC. The call letters WMPH stand for Mount Pleasant High and offered several program formats including Top 40, progressive rock, dance and...

"Super 91.7", Wilmington DE
Shoutcast: Eurodance directory
WoED.fm Internet Radio that plays mainly "modern" eurodance music
DMOZ: Stations: Dance
Radio eXtra: 90s Eurodance

External links

The Eurodance Forum
Hands up(EuroDance) music
The Eurodance Encyclopedia
EuroDanceHits.com
Dance Artists Info
DMOZ: Styles: Euro Dance
Dancefloor '90 German speaking website about Dancefloor Music

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Definition

Characteristics of the music

Vocals

Percussion

Melody

Characteristics of the bands and business

History

Hi-NRG and Italo-Disco

House music

Rap/Hip hop

In Europe

Canada

United States

2000s

2010s

Notable Eurodance artists

Classification

Other related and influential styles

See also

Radio stations and streaming audio

External links