Nordic popular music, also referred to as Scandinavian popular music, includes pop and rock music of the Nordic countries. The musical scene is known for its biggest bands like ABBA, Roxette, A-ha, Michael Learns to Rock, Ace of Base, and Aqua. These are by far the biggest non-metal acts to come out of Sweden, Norway and Denmark.

The popular music of the Nordic countries exhibits great diversity. Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden^[1] have all had successful domestic record industries for many years. Because the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were under Soviet control for much of the 20th century, when recording technology and popular music spread around the world, those three countries have a more tenuous connection with the popular industries of Finland, Sweden and the rest. However, since the fall of the Soviet Union, Western popular music in general has gained audiences in the Baltic states; this includes popular music from the other Nordic nations, as well as the United Kingdom, United States and elsewhere.

The Nordic metal scene is highly visible compared to other genres from the region. Many big names such as Dimmu Borgir, Lordi, Mercyful Fate, Blind Channel, Skálmöld, Hamferð, Mnemic, Opeth, Meshuggah, Children of Bodom, Amon Amarth, LAMORI from Åland and to an extent Estonia's Metsatöll - if considering Estonia as Nordic, hail from Nordic nations. Nordic or Scandinavian metal bands have had a long and lasting influence on the metal subculture alongside their counterparts in Great Britain and The United States.

Nordic number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100

Nordic number-one singles in the UK

Some notable artists by country

Further reading

• White, John David; Christensen, Jean, eds. (2002). New Music of the Nordic Countries. Pendragon Press. ISBN 1-57647-019-9.
• Holt, Fabian; Kärjä, Antti-Ville, eds. (2017). The Oxford Handbook of Popular Music in the Nordic Countries. New York: Oxford University Press.

References