Emo
Emo is a style of rock that grew out of hardcore punk and is known for emotional, confessional lyrics.
It started in Washington, D.C. in the mid-1980s as 'emotional hardcore'. Later waves made it more melodic: 1990s Midwest bands used intricate guitar parts, and in the 2000s a pop-leaning form reached the charts. Common features are songs that move between quiet and loud, strained or cracking vocals and lyrics about heartbreak and self-doubt.
Artists it is known for: Rites of Spring, Sunny Day Real Estate, Jimmy Eat World, My Chemical Romance.
- Family
- Punk & Emo
- On Spotify
- A current genre
- What it is
- A genre
- From
- Washington, D.C., mid-1980s
- Also called
- emocore, emotional hardcore
- Trackify listeners who play it
- 20%
About 16,000 of 83,000 Trackify listeners with public profiles have emo among their top artists of the last four weeks. Rounded; updated 13 November 2026.
Emo artists
Paramore
My Chemical Romance
Pierce The Veil
Panic! At The Disco
Fall Out Boy
Bring Me The Horizon
blink-182
Title Fight
Sleeping With Sirens
Falling In Reverse
The emo artists most Trackify listeners have in their top fifty. Each opens on Spotify.
Sources
The definition is written for this site from open sources, and was checked against them on 13 November 2026.