Disclaimer: “Scene” is more an aesthetic subculture that doesn’t have one distinctive music sound. That said, there are a few genres and vibes that are popular amongst scene kids, so we’re spotlighting some of those here. There’s so many great pop-punk bands which the scene kids totally listened to (and still listen to) but we’ll save those for another article!
Originally born out of the hardcore and emo scenes, scene kids started off listening to rock bands like Pierce the Veil and Bring Me the Horizon, and later started including more crunkcore and electronic music as those genres developed. “Scene” started forming in the mid-2000s (around 2006) and continued into the early 2010s (around 2011). It was centered around MySpace and internet culture, and many scene artists and “scene queens” were discovered and found fame via MySpace. Once myspace died scene culture shifted over to YouTube (and a little bit onto Facebook) and now the revival can be found on TikTok and Instagram. While the iconic scene style and hair is heavily influenced by emo fashion, it’s distinct in that it includes more bright colors, kandi, and rave-wear. Also popular around that time were shutter-shades, hipster glasses and scarves, and mustache iconography (idk why that was so popular) so that aesthetic is in there as well.
These days the scene vibes are still going strong and have evolved to include more nightcore, hyperpop, and glitchcore music.
Let’s get started!
Millionaires
Most recognizable for their giant hair and scene bows, this duo was formed in 2007 and is one of the most strongly recognizable scene-specific groups.
Brokencyde
Brokencyde (or “brokeNCYDE”) is a hip-hop group formed in 2006, most famously associated with the “crunkcore” subgenre.
3OH!3
Formed in 2008, 3OH!3 was also associated with the “crunkcore” subgenre. Their 2008 track “DONTTRUSTME” was an iconic moment in culture and constantly playing in my high school at the time.
Cobra Starship
Not explicitly scene but scene-adjacent and popular at the same time, Cobra Starship made dance-pop that was huge around this time including their 2009 album “Hot Mess”.
LMFAO
Another not explicitly part of scene but popular in that era, LMFAO’s classic electronic/crunk-core albums “Party Rock” (2009) and “Sorry for Party Rocking” (2011) are heavily tied into that era.
Jeffree Star
He’s more on this list for being an iconic part of the MySpace and scene-queen scene and his music wasn’t as popular as the others on this list, but Jeffree Star released music too which can be heard below in his 2009 album Beauty Killer.
Skrillex
I don’t hear Skrillex talked about in relation to scene music enough, but his early tracks (2010-2011) were totally popular amongst electronic/rave inclined scene kids, most notably “Bangarang” and “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites”.
S3RL
S3RL’s music is so foundational to the happy hardcore scene and popular amongst nightcore and hyperpop enthusiasts. It wasn’t quite as core to the “scene” experience in the 2010s (even though he’s been active since 1999) but his music’s become a core part of the TikTok scene revival. We’re obsessed with pretty much all of his tracks but made a compilation of a few of our faves below.
Anyone else you think this list needs to include? Comment any faves below!
