Pop punk (also known as punk pop and other names) is a fusion genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees.
It is not clear when the term pop punk was first used, but pop-influenced punk rock had been around since the 1970s; performed by bands such as the Ramones, Buzzcocks, The Jam and The Undertones. In the mid 1990s, California-based pop punk bands achieved worldwide commercial success, and the genre's association with Southern California has led some to call it the SoCal sound. Three examples of breakthrough pop punk records are the 1994 multi-platinum albums Dookie by Green Day and Smash by The Offspring and the 1999 multi-platinum album Enema of the State by Blink-182.
From the mid-1990s onwards, some bands associated with the genre have been described in a derogatory way as faux-punk, mall punk, pseudo-punk, bubblegum punk, and surf punk.
