Where hyperpop comes from
The sound grew from the London label PC Music and artists such as SOPHIE and A. G. Cook in the 2010s. A Spotify playlist named "hyperpop" in 2019 helped give the scene its name, with artists such as 100 gecs and Charli XCX bringing it wider.
What makes a track sound like hyperpop
- Extreme brightness and distortion
- Rapid genre switches
- Glitch edits
- Pitched voices
Typical structure
Pop shape with abrupt interruptions: a sweet verse can cut into a distorted drop and back again.
Vocals in hyperpop
Hyperpop vocals are pitched up, heavily processed and deliberately glossy or glitchy. Ask for "pitched-up, auto-tuned vocals with glitch edits" and contrast a sweet verse with a distorted drop.
Prompting tips
Ask for specific contrast ("sweet bubblegum verse, then a distorted drop"). Instrumentals work well with "pitched vocal chops".
Too polite a mix loses the point. Use words like "overdriven" and "glitchy".
Prompts to start from
Hyperpop at 160 BPM, bubbly synth arps, pitched vocal chops, a distorted 808 drop and glitchy transitions
Emotional hyperpop with a soft guitar intro that explodes into supersaws and overdriven drums
Chaotic hyperpop dance track, bitcrushed drums, sugary chords, sudden switch to a trance breakdown