Schlager

Schlager (German Schlager, literally "something that hits" or, more loosely translated, "a hit") is a style of popular music that is prevalent in

Schlager (German Schlager, literally "something that hits" or, more loosely translated, "a hit") is a style of popular music that is prevalent in northern Europe, in particular Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Scandinavia, Latvia and Lithuania, but also to a lesser extent in France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Typical schlager tracks are either sweet, highly sentimental ballads with a simple, catchy melody or light, pleasant, throwaway pop tunes. Its lyrics are typically centred around love and relationships, and feelings. The northern variant of schlager, most notably in Finland, has taken elements from Nordic and Slavic folk songs, with texts tending towards melancholia and elegiac themes.

The style has been frequently represented at the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been popular since it started in 1956, even though it is increasingly replaced by other pop music styles. While at one time music of this style was also fairly popular in the UK and USA, due to the constant change of fashion in popular culture, since the 1970s schlager has fallen out of favour. Most young people today consider Schlagermusik to be camp.