Seven pop acts that alternative people will admit they love

The world is by no means split into those who like alternative music and those who like pop music, but we can't help but get excited when we see a hugely diverse fanbase for an artist generally considered a chart act. Here are seven artists that bring together some very different music fans.

Billie Eilish

The alternative crowd are naturally used to turning the other way when a new face hits the charts, but there's something about this moody, quirky teen that has caught everyone's attention. Not only does she come across as a real person we can all relate to, as opposed to another manufactured, vapid popstar, her music has a weirdness and a darkness to it that has the alternative folk enchanted. And yet, her debut album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? is still as catchy and accessible as you'd expect from a chart-topping record.

Billie Eilish at Coachella 2019 / Photo Credit: USA Today Network/SIPA USA/PA Images

CHVRCHES

For the alternatives who love a bit of synth-pop, Glasgow's Chvrches ticks all the boxes. They're heavily electronic-influenced with an indie aesthetic, and they even worked with synth-pop legend David Stewart of Eurythmics on their last album Love Is Dead. They may be polished and perfect dance club material, but several very different crowds are united in their love of Chvrches.

Chvrches performing at Rock City, Nottingham in 2019 / Photo Credit: Alice Mills/RMV/Zuma Press/PA Images

Grimes

Her blend of dream-pop and electronic is unique, and you wouldn't be surprised to discover that she has a number of alternative influences on her work including Aphex Twin, Cocteau Twins, Nine Inch Nails and Skinny Puppy. She just doesn't fit neatly into a genre box, and yet she blends so well with the pop music of the moment.

Grimes at the 2018 Juno Awards / Photo Credit: Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press/PA Images

Halsey

There's something about this New Jersey star that just oozes cool. We don't know if it's her idiosyncratic and often androgynous style or her activism in the LGBT community, but she demands respect from all music lovers. Her brand of electropop is seductive and moreish, but even if you don't like her music, you can't help but like her as a person.

Halsey at the Billboard Music Awards 2019 / Photo Credit: O'Connor/AFF/PA Images

Bjork

She is, and will continue to be, one of the weirdest musicians in music history. Nobody sings like her and you can never predict what she's going to throw out next, her brand of avant-garde pop being so eclectic. She's one of those artists where everyone has a song they love and everyone has a song they hate, regardless of their musical tastes.

Bjork performing in New York in 2015 / Photo Credit: PBG/Empics Entertainment/PA Images

The Twilight Sad

Okay, so they're not really pop in the traditional sense, but they did hit number one in the Scottish charts and the top 20 in the UK with their latest album It Won/t Be Like This All the Time. The band's first release on Mogwai's Rock Action label, the album proves they are very much an easy band for indie rock lovers to like, while still maintaining a post-punk ethos for the more hardcore of alternative fans.

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Bring Me The Horizon

You could argue that this band's venture into the pop arena is only recent, but we're adding them to the list simply because despite their controversial decision to ditch their metalcore aesthetic, they have managed to produce a pop record that maintains their singularity while being accessible and thoroughly enjoyable. While sixth album Amo will no doubt have cost them a lot of fans, we're sure they've more than made up for it in their new audience.

Bring Me The Horizon at Lollapalooza Brasil 2019 / Photo Credit: Fotoarena/SIPA USA/PA Images