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. Some Europop stars came from France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Netherlands and United Kingdom; but most[citation needed] were Swedish in origin.
In the 1970s and early 1980s, such groups were primarily popular in continental countries, with the exception of ABBA (1972 - 1983); the Swedish four-piece band achieved great success in the UK, where they scored nineteen top 10 singles and nine chart-topping albums, and in North America and Australia.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Roxette and Ace of Base led Europop in American and British mainstream audiences. In the 1990s, pop groups like the Spice Girls, Aqua, Backstreet Boys and singer DJ BoBo were strongly influenced by Europop. In the 2000s, one of the most popular representatives of Europop music is Swedish pop group Alcazar.
One of the main differences between American and European pop is that Europop is generally more dance and trance oriented. In central Europe Italo disco (a.k.a. '80s Eurodisco) and Euro house (a.k.a. ’90s Eurodance) (later) are the predominant attempts by young musicians to have a hit record in and beyond the borders of their own country.