Depending on who you ask, the genre “hyperpop” is either two years dead, five years dead, or never even existed at all. Since Spotify popularized the term with the launch of the “hyperpop” editorial playlist in August 2019, the term’s definition has been both contentious and all-encompassing.
“Hyperpop” has been used to describe the experimental dance-pop of PC Music affiliates like A.G. Cook, SOPHIE, and Charli xcx, the madcap genre-flipping of 100 gecs, Food House, and Ecco2k, the fried distortion and boosted bass of Jane Remover, MGNA Crrrta, and kmoe, and more. Essentially, any electronic, pop-adjacent music appealing to Gen-Z in the last eight years has, at some point or not, probably been called “hyperpop.”
In some ways, this expansive definition has made hyperpop a useful term, coalescing multiple generations and styles of artists under the same general ethos, not unlike the endless possible definitions of “post-punk.” At the same time, the term is so broad and carelessly applied that it might not mean anything at all. Since its commercial rise in the early 2020s, the downfall of hyperpop has been well-tracked by music critics. Pitchfork’s Kieran Press-Reynolds described the progression of hyperpop as a “disappointing dispersal” in a piece titled “The Lost Promises of Hyperpoptimism.” Pop artist underscores called hyperpop “officially dead” in 2023.
It’s certainly possible that all this debate about what hyperpop means and whether or not it even exists led to fatigue among fans of the genre. After the hyperpop playlist launched on Spotify, the playlist saw a rapid increase in followers from 2019 to 2022, in conjunction with the explosion of the genre on TikTok. However, the playlist’s following has stalled since 2023, as interest in hyperpop has stalled.
However, just because hyperpop is long dead doesn’t mean pop music’s experimentalists have gotten any quieter or calmer. Pop stars have taken cues from Charli xcx in the wake of Brat, arguably the most popular and culturally significant album to arise out of the amorphous cloud of “hyperpop.” These artists are getting less glitchy and more grimey, ditching the breakneck pace associated with hyperpop in favor of danceable beats that stomp instead of skip. It’s just as loud and brazen, but not quite as computer-bugged or genre-hopping. It seems that a new (old) genre is rising in hyperpop’s place: electropop. Clearly, there’s still a massive appetite for experimental pop.
Take the rapid rise of Slayyyter. Though the St. Louis artist has been making ultra-sexual, bass-boosted pop music since before the hyperpop playlist existed, she has consistently been labeled a hyperpop star. But on her most recent album WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA, she intentionally pivoted away from hyperpop into electropop. In various interviews for the album, the artist discussed her intention to make “iPod music,” music reminiscent of the hedonistic pop of the early 2010s. The shift on WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA has resonated, becoming one of the breakout pop hits of the year.
“DANCE…,” the album’s opener and one of the record’s singles, is one of the key engines fueling that growth. Since the song’s release in January 2026, the song’s Chartmetric Track score shot up from 44.9 on January 19th to nearly 98.8 on June 22nd, an increase of 120%. It’s telling that “DANCE…” in particular landed with audiences: it’s a classic electropop anthem with a buzzy synth bassline reminiscent of Justice’s classic electrohouse self-titled album.
The growth of “DANCE…” was also driven by a viral trend on TikTok. As of June 22nd, the track garnered over 2B TikTok views, with 392K videos featuring the song.
Though “DANCE…” continues to outperform, Slayyyter is not a one-hit wonder. Multiple tracks from WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA have seen healthy consistency since release. 195 days after “CRANK” came out, the song continues to reach new heights and unlock new audiences. In May 2026, “CRANK’s” Track Score jumped from 82.5 to 94.9, a growth of 15% without an additional remix or re-release.
“CRANK,” another “iPod music” touchpoint reminiscent of electropop, has earned placements on key playlists including “Viral Hits” and “Pop Rising.” Discovery of Slayyyter’s music is not exclusive to just one key track. Over the last year, her Spotify monthly listeners have risen 514%. Clearly, Slayyyter is no longer boxed into just being a hyperpop star. Driven by a well-executed adjustment of her sound to electropop, Slayyyter is the breakout pop star of the year.
Slayyyter is not the only former hyperpop artist to find success by pivoting out of the genre. Since her debut single in 2017, Kim Petras has long been associated with hyperpop, in part due to her collaboration with the genre’s pioneer, SOPHIE. Though Petras’s solo music has often veered towards more straightforward and commercial pop, she furthered her association with hyperpop on “Unholy,” a collaborative track with Sam Smith. “Unholy” lacks hyperpop’s true glitchiness, but the song was clearly the by-product of hyperpop’s expanding influence on the mainstream. The track was a commercial success, garnered global recognition, and received the Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
Since “Unholy,” Petras released multiple albums through Republic Records. In 2026, she departed from the label over creative differences. As an independent artist, Petras was finally able to achieve full creative control over her musical releases. Since going indie, Petras has veered back into her initial experimental pop instincts. Detour, her first full-length since leaving Republic, leans into the blown-out distortion of electropop. Pitchfork described it as a collection of “noisy club bangers.”
Over the last year, Petras’s monthly listeners declined from 14.4M in June 2025 to an annual low of 11.5M in April 2026 as the singer faced label-fueled red tape blocking her from releasing new music. However, since the release of “Need For Speed,” the fourth single from Detour, her Spotify listenership rebounded.
The release of Detour earned her newfound critical acclaim and reinvigorated her fanbase. Featuring production from duo Frost Children, Detour is, like Slayyyter’s WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA, a love letter to electropop. Since the end of April 2026, Petras’s monthly listeners have grown 13% to 13.0M.
In the first fifty days of release, Petras’s Detour singles are already outperforming material from her prior two albums, despite the lack of a major label release. Comparing three singles from Detour—”Jeep,” “Need For Speed,” and “Freak It—” to key tracks from Petras’s prior two albums Feed the Beast and Problematique, the recent singles outperformed the older songs based on Spotify streams as of the release date.
Perhaps most surprising is the sharp uptick Petras has seen in last.fm scrobbles. Last.fm is a platform that allows users to track their music listening habits. The site is particularly popular among diehard music fans, and it therefore provides a useful perspective into what passionate music followers are discovering. Since the release of Detour, Petras has seen sharp growth in last.fm scrobbles, the service’s unit to describe a single listen of one song. In just four weeks, Petras’s scrobbles increased from 96.6M in May 2026 to 102.9M in June 2026, a 7% growth in under a month. Clearly, Petras’s electropop pivot has resonated across fans and music critics alike.
Though, it’s not only established artists that are finding success by turning to electropop. New pop experimentalists and provocateurs are building an audience through a style of pop that is brash, bold, and synthetic, though not quite the glitchy breakdowns of hyperpop.
Tiffany Day self-described her earliest music as “electronic pop/hyperpop” in a post on Twitter this year, establishing her credibility as a long-time hyperpop artist. However, Day has seen more traction around the release of her second album HALO, a decidedly electropop project in the vein of 2hollis or Frost Children. In the last year, Day’s Spotify monthly listeners jumped from 259K to 1.3M.
As of June 2026, Tiffany Day is on the cover of Spotify editorial’s hyp3r.wave playlist, the spiritual successor to the hyperpop playlist. Though hyp3r.wave and Hyperpop certainly overlap, hyp3r.wave leans towards electropop songs, including tracks such as Slayyyter’s “BEAT UP CHANEL$,” and underscores’ “Music.” Though the number of followers for both hyperpop and hyp3r.wave have stagnated over time, hyp3r.wave has a wider reach. Despite their similarities, hyp3r.wave has 1.4M Spotify followers, while hyperpop has lingered at 504K. Consumer appetites for abrasive, unusual, and electronic pop music have not gone away. Instead, the stylings of that music have shifted. Depending on what loose definition of “hyperpop” you choose to use, the genre has never disappeared. It’s just transformed into something new.
