Much pop and rock music has been very similar in sound, instrumentation and even lyrical content. The terms "pop rock" and "power pop" have been used to describe more commercially successful music that uses elements from, or the form of, rock music.^[9] Writer Johan Fornas views pop rock as "one single, continuous genre field", rather than distinct categories.^[4] To the authors Larry Starr and Christopher Waterman, it is defined as an "upbeat variety of rock music" represented by artists and bands such as Andy Kim, the Bells, Paul McCartney, Lighthouse, and Peter Frampton.^[10]

The term "pop" has been used since the early 1940s to refer to popular music in general, but in the mid-1950s, it began to be used for a distinct genre, aimed at a youth market, often characterized as a softer alternative to rock and roll.^[11][1] In the aftermath of the British Invasion, from about 1967, it was increasingly used in opposition to the term rock, to describe a form that was more commercial, ephemeral and accessible.^[12]

As of the 2010s, "guitar pop rock" and "indie rock" are roughly synonymous terms.^[13] "Jangle" is a noun-adjective that music critics often use in reference to guitar pop with a bright mood.^[14]

Critic Philip Auslander argues that the distinction between pop and rock is more pronounced in the US than in the UK. He claims that in the US, pop has roots in white crooners such as Perry Como, whereas rock is rooted in African-American music influenced by forms such as rock and roll. Auslander points out that the concept of pop rock, which blends pop and rock, is at odds with the typical conception of pop and rock as opposites. Auslander and several other scholars, such as Simon Frith and Grossberg, argue that pop music is often depicted as an inauthentic, cynical, "slickly commercial", and formulaic form of entertainment. In contrast, rock music is often heralded as an authentic, sincere, and anti-commercial form of music, which emphasizes songwriting by the singers and bands and instrumental virtuosity.^[15]

Frith's analysis of the history of popular music from the 1950s to the 1980s has been criticized by B. J. Moore-Gilbert, who argues that Frith and other scholars have overemphasized the role of rock in the history of popular music by naming every new genre using the "rock" suffix. Thus, when a folk-oriented style of music developed in the 1960s, Frith termed it "folk rock", and the pop-infused styles of the 1970s were called "pop rock". Moore-Gilbert claims that this approach unfairly puts rock at the apex and makes every other influence become an add-on to the central core of rock.^[16]

In Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau discussed the term "pop-rock" in the context of popular music's fragmentation along stylistic lines in the 1970s; he regarded "pop-rock" as a "monolith" that "straddled" all burgeoning movements and subgenres in the popular and semipopular music marketplace at the time, including singer-songwriter music, art rock, heavy metal, boogie, country rock, jazz fusion, funk, disco, urban contemporary, and new wave, but not punk rock.^[17]

In the mid-to-late 1950s, the music scenes in the United States and the United Kingdom were both similar and different. Similar genres of music were present, in the forms of pop and rock, but different artists were present, accounting for the lack of a 'universal style of music'. Artists may have had hits in both countries, such as Elvis Presley,^[18] but that was in the minority of instances.

In the United States, artists that gained popularity often came from blues influences, such as Chuck Berry,^[19] or Little Richard, or country influences in the forms of rock and roll or rockabilly, such as Presley.^[20]

In Britain, these influences often extended to the music scene there, with artists such as Cliff Richard having had rock and roll hits such as "Move It"^[21] or Tommy Steele having been a teen idol influenced by Presley. These were a form of rock which eventually, through a build-up of influences, led to the advent of pop rock as the next decade rolled in.

By the time the early 1960s had rolled around, rock music was falling in prominence. Pop artists continued gaining province with dance crazes, and rock artists began to lose prominence with Presley being drafted to the army.^[22] However, rock music was soon to regain province due to an up-and-coming music science based out of England, Merseybeat. Merseybeat was influenced by the genres of skiffle and rock and roll, and artists began to take up the genre.

The music scenes between the United States and the United Kingdom truly became close in 1964. The Beatles, a group from the Merseybeat scene, had already gained success in the United Kingdom with hit singles like "Love Me Do".^[23] However, they did not gain popularity in the United States until the release of the song "I Want to Hold Your Hand". The song gained over a million advance orders in the United Kingdom, and in early 1964 entered the United States Billboard charts.

The British Invasion then started shortly afterward, with the Beatles' appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, which only proceeded to solidify their popularity. An era known as Beatlemania then started.^[24] This was among the first times that the United States and United Kingdom's music scenes had a similar mega-hit, and rock music re-broke into the mainstream.

Other artists continued to follow after the Beatles in the British Invasion. Non-pop rock oriented bands gained success, such as the Rolling Stones, the Animals, and Manfred Mann, but other similarly styled Merseybeat bands continued to gain success during the British Invasion, such as the Dave Clark Five,^[25] who followed the Beatles, and had almost equal American success to that they had in Britain.

Over in the United States, less pop rock artists gained major success, with the former surf music scene which had much popularity in the earlier 1960s losing all major prominence with the Beatles gaining success. The only artist from that genre to make a continuous mainstream impact was the Beach Boys, who successfully incorporated elements of pop rock into their music.^[26]

As the middle and late 1960s came along, a shift to counterculture music gained momentum. Popular artists like the Beatles shifted to sounds inspired by folk rock, and later psychedelic rock. The Beatles later returned to pop rock before breaking up, all while having major hits. The Beach Boys followed a similar path, eventually opting for a more symphonic path and having the critically acclaimed Pet Sounds.^[27]

Younger audiences, especially teenagers, felt a longing for the pop rock artists and style of the past with the artists which were popular having had major stylistic shifts. Out of the artists who emerged in this void, the Monkees gained the most success. They were a made-for-TV band,^[28] who had major success with a number of hits. They later underwent similar stylistic shifts to the Beatles before breaking up.

Other artists pursued pop rock related sounds in the form of fusion genres, combining those sounds with other genres. These artists included the Turtles, the Mamas and the Papas, who pursued a folk-rock related sound,^[29] and the Zombies, who opted for symphonic rock.

As the decade came to a close, pop rock was no longer as dominant, but still an important genre. However, as hard rock and heavy metal^[30] gained success, and progressive rock gained respect as an underground genre, the genre gradually would begin a shift into soft rock-related territory.

As the decade rolled in, the most major event was the breakup of the Beatles. Despite continuing commercial success, internal tensions caused a breakup. All four members continued to have successful careers. Ringo Starr was the least successful of them, but still topped charts.^[31] George Harrison pursued a more spiritual-inspired pop rock genre, yet had multiple hits for over a decade and had extreme influence.

John Lennon also had a large amount of success. With his work with his wife Yoko Ono, solo work, and work with his band, the Plastic Ono Band, Lennon continued to have chart-topping hits in both the United States and the United Kingdom.^[32] Lennon's career was cut short due to his death due to murder in 1980, but his memory and influence lives on.

However, out of all the Beatles, the member who pursued the purest pop rock sound and became one of the defining artists of the genre was Paul McCartney. Despite starting off his solo career with the lo-fi album McCartney, he soon formed the band Wings with his wife Linda McCartney and former symphonic rock and Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine. The band had a number of major hits such as "Live and Let Die", "Mull of Kintyre", and "Band on the Run". Wings continued its success for slightly under a decade before breaking up.

Also, pop rock and soft rock continued to have artists falling under both genres. One of the most prominent artists to do this was Elton John, a British singer-songwriter and pianist. He had a string of chart-topping albums^[33] combining influences from both genres, along with others such as glam rock. John's success was so big that he is amongst the most streamed rock artists of all time. Another major artist with a similar level of success, albeit slightly less so than Elton John is Billy Joel. While Elton John was British, Joel was an American pianist and singer-songwriter. He first experienced success with his hit "Piano Man", and skyrocketed to success with The Stranger, a 1977 album. Both artists have had continuous long lasting success to modern times.

Arguably one of the most influential albums of all time, and of the pop rock genre, was Rumours by British rock band Fleetwood Mac.^[34] Fleetwood Mac started off as a blues rock group but found their footing in the pop rock genre and became a major artist due to a string of hit songs such as "Dreams", "Go Your Own Way", and "Don't Stop".

A related genre to pop rock, dubbed arena rock, also began gaining prominence. Three of the major artists of the genre, Styx,^[35] Foreigner,^[36] and Boston^[37] had large success with their albums The Grand Illusion, Foreigner, and Boston respectively, all of which sold very well.

During this decade, mega-hit albums were of abundance, like The Stranger, Rumours, and Breakfast in America. However, as the decade came to a close, changes in the music scene such as the advent of punk rock and new wave would change pop rock and its style as it continued to adapt in order to survive.

As the 1980s rolled in, a new style of music was gaining prominence. This style of music was synth-pop. The genre combined punk rock influences and pop music^[38] in a new context, with instrumentation led by the synthesizer. Many synth-pop duos and groups are considerable in the pantheon of pop rock music, such as but not limited to the Human League, Icehouse, and Tears for Fears, who once again brought a form of pop rock to the mainstream, despite differences from music of the past.

New wave was another similar style of music to synth-pop, except in a fully rock context,^[39] with similar influences to that of synth-pop. Major artists which released hits in a new wave setting included Duran Duran,^[40] Culture Club, and INXS.

Amongst the biggest pop rock groups of the 1980s was the Police.^[41] From the late 1970s to the early 1980s, the band released a number of huge hits which continued the momentum of rock music, such as "Every Breath You Take" and "Message in a Bottle". However, they broke up after being dubbed "the biggest band in the world", and left a void.

Women also had a major role in pop rock music that often goes unlooked at. All-female pop rock groups gained success, such as the Go-Go's, and by extension lead singer Belinda Carlisle, and the Bangles. Co-lead singer of Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks,^[42] also enjoyed a long and successful pop rock career.

A subgenre of heavy metal music, glam metal, gained success in the later part of the decade. Glam metal appealed to both genders, and gained success due to a widespread audience. Bands like Def Leppard,^[43] Europe, and Bon Jovi^[44] had major chart successes, with Bon Jovi in particular being a mainstay of the charts until the 2000s. However, while the 1990s rolled in, the glam metal scene fell as quickly as it had risen as new genres took its place.

Traditional pop rock had fallen as the advent of grunge occurred. Grunge was a heavy^[45] style of music based out of the Seattle music scene, consisting of punk rock and heavy metal influences. However, grunge itself, similarly to its influences, was not a form of pop rock music.

In the United Kingdom, grunge did not catch on with the population, who decided to explore the concept of Cool Britannia, and a new genre of music rose to prominence. This genre was Britpop.^[46] Britpop was a genre of music containing lyrics inspired by the United Kingdom and influenced by pop rock bands like the Beatles. Britpop did not gain mainstream success in the United States, but significantly impacted the British music scene. However, some Britpop songs did become hits in the US by bands such as Oasis, Elastica and the Verve.

The battle of Britpop^[47] was a rivalry in the United Kingdom between bands Oasis and Blur. Blur won in the short run, but Oasis had longer lasting influence. Both bands, along with Pulp, Suede, and Supergrass experienced major success in the United Kingdom.

However, in the United States another genre emerged. This genre was dubbed pop-punk.^[48] Pop punk was a fusion genre between the genres of pop rock and punk rock, which gained success in the mid-1990s.

Pop-punk had many important bands which contributed to its success, such as Green Day,^[49] Blink-182, and many others, who oftentimes worked in a power trio format. Despite Britpop ending up falling in the late 1990s due to commercial failure and stylistic shifts, pop-punk lived on much longer.

By the time the new millennium rolled in, Britpop had already declined commercially.^[50] Despite pop-punk's continued success, other genres took its place in terms of commercial success. However, this decade also experienced a loss of commercial success for rock,^[51] but many artists still experienced success.

One of the many genres to emerge was post-Britpop. Post-Britpop explored Britpop music in a typically softer, poppier way than beforehand.^[52] Post-Britpop experienced a greater level of success in the United States, with bands such as Keane, Travis, and (disputably) Radiohead.

However, the most successful and popular band that came out of the post-Britpop scene was Coldplay. Coldplay pursued a pop rock style and had hits in both the United States^[53] and the United Kingdom, and enjoy a lasting legacy to this day. Coldplay, much like pop rock of the past, managed to enjoy a multitude of mainstream hits.

Other styles of rock were still prominent during the decade, but oftentimes had a less poppy style, such as post-grunge and emo. However, artists from past decades such as Bon Jovi and U2 had continued success. As the next decade rolled in, the pop rock scene became less prominent and more commercial.

In the modern-day music scene, since 2010, pop rock has been marginalized to a greater extent.^[54] Despite some bands having success, the genre is not as popular as before due to the onset of popularity for hip-hop and trap music.

Pop rock artists often pursued a more pop-inspired sound in the 2010s, such as what happened in artists like Panic! at the Disco, a former emo band that shifted to the mainstream,^[55] and Fun., another pop rock band with major pop influences.

Amongst the most prominent artists of modern-day pop rock is Imagine Dragons, who pursued a genre combining the genres of pop rock, alternative rock, and pop.^[56] They had success with hit singles like "Radioactive" and "Believer", along with many other chart hits.

Other artists from previous decades continued to have large chart success as well. These artists include Maroon 5,^[57] a pop rock band influenced by blue-eyed soul that later shifted to pop, and the Arctic Monkeys, who experienced large critical success with the album AM.