I remember from about 1992 through about 1997 Eurodance was EVERYWHERE in Top 40.  Artists like Ace of Base, Gina G, Amber, etc are some of the defining acts of '90s pop (they were the Lady Gaga and Ke$ha of the '90s).  Though there was a few holdovers into the late '90s (Eiffel 65), by and large Eurodance and with it dance music in general disappeared from the mainstream in late 1997.  By the early '00s, dance music's only bastion of popularity was with the gay community, drug users, and computer nerds.  Basically, if you liked it you didn't admit it.  Any idea what caused this extreme backlash against dance music in the late '90s?

By the early '00s, dance music's only bastion of popularity was with the gay community, drug users, and computer nerds.

That all depends on where you lived.  I know it fell out of the US chart, but Europe still had a strong grasp on it.  We Canadians were still receiving dance artists well, but it was mostly the homegrown acts like Boomtang Boys, Love Inc. and Sarina Paris

Like a lot of genres, it probably just ran its course.

There seems to be a revival of it in America starting up though.

I actually blame Puff Daddy in 1998 and his popularity for this. I think raps popularity in 1998 killed Euro-Dance and established Hip-Hop as the dominant danceable music for about 10 years onward up to mid 2008 except for 1999-2002. I think maybe if not for Britney Spears and September 11th the glam rap era would have been a continuing full force from 1998-mid 2008 like Hair Metal was from 1983-1991.

I also blame the rise of electronica and trance around 1997 as well being a shift in styles, and I did not like it at the time, and still don't!

Eurodance was pretty popular in the dance clubs I went to from 1993-1997.  After that there seemed to be a shift towards house and breaks.

When I moved back to Phoenix in 2003, Energy-FM was playing a little bit of Euro, but most of the dance music was either trance or house remixes.

It seems recently that Top 40 Radio has a lot more dance-oriented songs, geared more towards the "Electro" genre.


I like Eurodance.  I have most of the issues of Eurotracks Remix Service (1994-1997) and most of my Remix Service comps from the 90's have quite a bit of Eurodance.

Funny those Electro-pop acts now are using 90's Euro-Dance production or are heavily infuenced by 90's Euro-Dance.

I actually blame Puff Daddy in 1998 and his popularity for this. I think raps popularity in 1998 killed Euro-Dance and established Hip-Hop as the dominant danceable music for about 10 years onward up to mid 2008 except for 1999-2002. I think maybe if not for Britney Spears and September 11th the glam rap era would have been a continuing full force from 1998-mid 2008 like Hair Metal was from 1983-1991.


Somewhere between 1998 and 2002 Eurodance and electronic music as a whole not only went out of style but anybody who listened to it started to be ridiculed and made fun of.  It kept a strong presence among the gay community and computer nerds but mainstream culture didn't start to open back up to it until 2008.

I think this is a satire of the Eurodance song....

z2UossprY28

I don't think Eurodance was ever a dominant genre in the US. It definitely had a presence on the charts throughout the '90s, but I don't think it was a full fledged movement. But then again, i'm only basing that off the charts and I might be wrong. Someone who can vividly remember the time may tell a different story. According to the wikipedia article based on the genre, many radio stations refused to play Eurodance songs. Whether's that true or not, I don't know.

I don't think Eurodance was ever a dominant genre in the US. It definitely had a presence on the charts throughout the '90s, but I don't think it was a full fledged movement. But then again, i'm only basing that off the charts and I might be wrong. Someone who can vividly remember the time may tell a different story. According to the wikipedia article based on the genre, many radio stations refused to play Eurodance songs. Whether's that true or not, I don't know.


It achieved more success in Europe, but there were still a lot of legitimate successes in the genre from about 1993 through the first half of 1997 in the United States. Ace of Base were especially massive, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for several weeks with "The Sign," plus scoring several other significant hit singles. Real McCoy and La Bouche also scored several major hits, with the former's "Another Night" topping the Mainstream Top 40 in late 1994. Besides those, you had a share of pretty significant hits by acts like Rednex, Nicki French, Corona, Captain Hollywood Project, Culture Beat, Haddaway, Amber, Fun Factory, Billie Ray Martin, and Gina G.  There may not have been as many huge eurodance hit singles in the United States as there were r&b hit singles, but it definitely made its mark before declining in 1997 and being instead replaced by bubblegum pop songs like "Barbie Girl" and "We Like to Party."

I don't think it was a backlash, I think it was because music started to change at around that time and nobody wanted to listen to Eurodance anymore. I do remember all the great Eurodance artists and I sometimes wish music sounded like that again. I loved it.

I don't think it was a backlash, I think it was because music started to change at around that time and nobody wanted to listen to Eurodance anymore. I do remember all the great Eurodance artists and I sometimes wish music sounded like that again. I loved it.

I liked some of those Eurodance songs too!

Funny those Electro-pop acts now are using 90's Euro-Dance production or are heavily infuenced by 90's Euro-Dance.


You really think so? I don't hear the 90s Eurodance influence in any of the music out there today. It was this fun, distinctive sound that I just don't hear anymore. Maybe they try to make it Eurodance-y, but it's not the same. :(

You really think so? I don't hear the 90s Eurodance influence in any of the music out there today. It was this fun, distinctive sound that I just don't hear anymore. Maybe they try to make it Eurodance-y, but it's not the same. :(

I never understood why Eurodance wasn't popular in the U.S when I think of music from the 90s Eurodance always comes to mind.

I never understood why Eurodance wasn't popular in the U.S when I think of music from the 90s Eurodance always comes to mind.


There were some Eurodance artists that were popular in the US. Amber, Gina G., La Bouche. I loved Amber's album "This is your Night". It's one of my favorites.