Originally a label rock critics used in the mid-90s to describe a genre of music which was a poppier (“bubblegum”) version of the harder sound of the alternative/grunge genre which had prevailed in the early 90s. Representative groups include Collective Soul, Bush, Third Eye Blind, and Matchbox Twenty.

The term took on new meaning in the early 2020s, where it was used as an obscure genre tag describing indie rock bands/musicians which blend fuzzy, feedback-lush instrumentation, peppered with sweet-sounding vocals and subject matter. The term gained popularity through the music streaming service Spotify, as it was curiously included in many users' year-end Wrapped lists in December 2021.