Let’s be clear: Hyperpop did not start with major record labels. It certainly wasn't built by mega-famous pop stars suddenly embracing "the weird". It was born from queer and trans artists who have pushed the limits of music and identity, creating new expressive possibilities. Artists like SOPHIE, Arca, and Laura Les of 100 gecs have taken hyperpop to its extreme, fusing metal, bubblegum pop, reggaeton, industrial noise, and digital distortion into something that feels fluid and timeless - mirroring the identities of those who created it.

So, What is Hyperpop?

It’s loud. Artificial. Campy. Unapologetically weird. Think pitched-up vocals, metallic melodies, and bass that sounds like it's coming from the inside of a blender. Yes, hyperpop can be abrasive, chaotic and unpredictable - but beneath the shock value, hyperpop is deeply queer.

Before hyperpop became an official genre, its origins lie in underground internet scenes that thrived on internet excess. Hyperpop took EDM, J-Pop, and maybe even a little nightcore, then amped it up distorting pop into a digital fever dream. PC Music, a London-based label founded by A.G. Cook in 2013, became the hub for hyper-artificial pop collaborating with artists like Hannah Diamond, GFOTY (Girlfriend of the Year), and Slayyyter. GFOTY's "Friday Night" (2015), with its playfully ironic lyrics and its distorted vocals, exemplifies how PC Music’s artists played with the boundaries of pop music.

Aside from PC Music, its roots also come from DIY, tracing back to SoundCloud’s experimental community. One of the most notable alumni of the Hyperpop SoundCloud community is 100 Gecs, formed by producers Dylan Brady and Laura Les. 100 Gecs, the duo of Dylan Brady and Laura Les, emerged from the Hyperpop SoundCloud community as one of its most notable [success stories/alumni]. 100 Gecs saw widespread popularity on social media following the release of their song “Money Machine” in 2019. 100 Gecs’ album 1000 Gecs utilized distorted vocals, absurd lyricism, and chaotic synths to curate a shocking, in-your-face vibe for their listeners. In the early 2010s, nightcore, (a subgenre of sped-up, pitched-up music), found a home on YouTube. Les’ lyricism and approach to music production often draws inspiration from her experiences as a trans woman, for instance, has spoken about how her use of “nightcore-style” vocal processing stems from her experience as a trans woman. “It’s the only way that I can record, I can’t listen to my regular voice,” she explained in an interview with Them magazine. Laura Les isn't alone - many trans artists have experimented with vocal manipulation as an expression of their gender identity. By distorting and warping their voices, these artists challenge the notion of raw vocals as authenticity, rejecting the expectation that vocals must sound unfiltered or raw to convey authenticity. Hyperpop took that pitched-up, sped-up approach, creating adrenaline-pumped music like “Vroom Vroom” (2016) by Charli XCX and produced by A.G. Cook. By combining these internet-originated sounds with the influence of mainstream pop music, hyperpop was born, embracing digital distortion and auto-tuned chaos.

Artists like SOPHIE, a pioneer and early PC Music collaborator, pushed the genre even further into experimentation. Her 2017 single Ponyboy was industrial, abrasive, and entirely innovative, while her tracks like Immaterial embraced a more exaggerated form of bubblegum pop sound. Even as hyperpop evolves, SOPHIE’s influence remains undeniable. Her approach to sound design—transforming electronic music into something fluid, futuristic, and physical—echoes through modern charts. Charli XCX pays direct homage in her track ‘Club Classics,’ where she sings, ‘I wanna dance to SOPHIE,’ cementing SOPHIE's status as a true pioneer of club classics. SOPHIE described her approach to music as “to be able to communicate new, abstract, fluid, unspoken ideas — to create new identities, new possibilities that make people feel good and relieved of a certain pressure.” (Paper Magazine 2018). The hyper-digital, genderless, shapeshifting melodies in her songs weren’t just for production, they reflected the fluidity of identity itself.

Meanwhile, Arca was revolutionizing the genre with a different approach. Arca, an enigmatic figure, is a Venezuelan artist and producer, known for her work with artists such as Bjork, Kanye West, and Rosalia. She brought an entirely different set of skills, expanding the possibilities of electronic and pop music. Her influence extends far beyond the genre itself. She’s known for her experimental approach to production, blending sounds such as reggaeton, mechanical textures, and glitchy electronic beats to create atmospheric soundscapes that blur the line between human and digital identity. While her influence extends far beyond hyperpop, her mechanical sound directly shaped the genre’s evolution. 

Arca’s influence on artists like Rosalia and Bjork shows how hyperpop’s experimental, fluid nature is actively redefining what mainstream pop music is. Arca’s signature production techniques—distorted percussion, untamed vocals, erratic tempo shifts, and reggaeton influence. Her emphasis on reggaeton beats and Spanish lyrics brought hyperpop to a global scale. Voice manipulation, mechanical beats, and sudden beat switches have become integral pillars to the genre. Her influence extends beyond her own music. Arca’s signature mechanical sound shapes albums like FKA Twigs’ EP2, and Björk’s Utopia.The boundary-breaking attitude can be heard in mainstream hyperpop-adjacent albums like MOTOMAMI where Rosalia incorporates Arca’s signature futuristic soundscapes paired with reggaeton beats.The mechanical, deconstructed reggaeton of tracks like "KLK" (ft. Rosalía) set a precedent for Latinx hyperpop artists like Villano Antillano and Isabella Lovestory, who blend Latin club sounds with digital maximalism. Rosalia’s MOTOMAM (2022)I serves as a major example of a commercially successful hyperpop influenced album. On songs like "Saoko" (2022), the reggaeton beats paired with vocal distortion, echoing hyperpop’s signature warped sound. The emergence of hyperpop in mainstream media is the beginning of a sonic revolution, further expanding the boundaries of pop.

As a trans woman, she has been vocal about the relationship between sound and expression, her music embodies the idea that identity is fluid. In her song “Queer” (2021) she sings:

I got tears, but tears of fire

Tears of power, tears of power

I got tears like a queer

Queer power

These lines evoke the emotional intensity of queer identity, balancing both pain and power. In her music video for “Nonbinary” she depicts imagery of surgical procedures paired with lyrical references to gender-affirming care. By the end of this video, the viewer is presented with a full shot of her emerging from a seashell with robot features, a clear reference to Sandro Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus. This incredibly powerful imagery creates a deeply personal narrative of rebirth and identity by taking a spin on an incredibly famous painting that is often associated with femininity. Through these approaches, Arca redefines what pop music can be through communicating her personal, transformative approach to identity. Most of all her work isn't just about excess, it's about transformation. Whether it’s through her genre-defying production skills or her deeply personal approach to lyricism, she has helped redefine what pop music can be.

For years hyperpop has thrived in the niche internet spaces of SoundCloud and Bandcamp, where artists and fans have built their own digital communities. Over time, its influence has started to seep into mainstream heterosexual communities, with artists like Charli XCX who have embraced hyperpop’s queer origins through bridging the gap between underground hyperpop and commercial pop with projects like Grammy-winning album BRAT. In “Guess” (2024) Charli states:

Guess how much money I just took from this deal

Wanna guess the password to my Google Drive

You wanna guess the address of the party I'm at

You wanna guess if I'm serious about this song

The campy, self-aware, and ultra-literal lyrics paired with heavy bass and interpolation of “Technologic” (2005) by Daft Punk is just one aspect that makes this BRAT a love letter to hyperpop.

Hyperpop thrives on reinvention. It's a genre that embraces transformation- of sound, of identity, and of what pop music can be. As more mainstream artists incorporate hyperpop elements into their work, the most important thing is ensuring that the queer and trans artists that built this movement get their flowers.

Because hyperpop isn't just a genre, it's a radical act of self-expression. A rebellion against the conventional. A soundscape where queerness is celebrated. As it continues to take over pop music, one thing is clear: the future of pop is hyper-digital and unapologetically queer.