Europop emerged throughout mainland Europe in the early 1970s, referring to slick, highly commercial Pop songs that emphasise sugary melodies and light, bouncy instrumentation. The vast majority of the music was made in the continent due to the incorporation of minor influences from various European folk music and pop styles, including Schlager, Polka, Klezmer and Glam Rock. The term is often used with negative connotations, highlighting 'fluff' and silliness of music described as such as well as unfavourable associations with the Eurovision Song Contest.

By far the most famous and internationally successful Europop act are Swedish group ABBA, whose 1974 Eurovision winner and transnational No. 1 "Waterloo" was a major milestone in Europop's history and later success. The group set the general template for Europop: memorable hooks and refrains; Rock instrumentation plus piano, synthesizers and strings (artificial or live); basic major-key harmonies; key changes for later choruses and a steady dance beat.

By the late 1970s, the style was frequently influencing and overlapping with Euro-Disco, including records by ABBA, Boney M., Luv' and Baccara. Europop had a large impact on the pop music climate of the 1990s, with the success of Ace of Base and numerous Eurodance acts later on in the decade (notably Aqua and Eiffel 65). It was also an influence on UK and US Boy Bands and girl groups such as Spice Girls, Take That and Backstreet Boys, whilst 1980s Europop was a focal point for a wave of K-Pop acts in the late 2000s.