CBS Airs Segment on Emo’s Return With Demi Lovato, Mod Sun + Landon Barker

Emo is back, according to a CBS Mornings segment this week that features emo-indebted pop star Demi Lovato, pop-rocker Mod Sun and emo hip-hop artist Landon Barker, son of blink-182's Travis Barker.

The piece points to events such as Emo Nite that bring emo — the term "emo" originated from the emotional hardcore of the '80s before it evolved to represent stirring pop-rock or mascara-smeared rock — to the masses. Watch the segment down below.

"I grew up listening to this music," Lovato tells CBS of their emo-tinged HOLY FVCK album. "I wanted to go back to my roots. Whether you're going through depression or you're having fun with your friends, there's so many emotions that's in this music. I think that this generation is hungry for [emo]." (via Stereogum)

READ MORE: 10 Emo Songs That Are Actually Heavy

Focusing on the role fashion in emo, Mod Sun remarks, "Look at how people are dressing again. People are falling in love with this world that was created back then that wasn't cool, and it's embraced now."

Naturally, the segment drew reactions on Twitter. "Balance & Composure drops *one* reunion single…" Pitchfork writer Ian Cohen quipped, referring to the Pennsylvania emo band who this week staked a comeback with their new single, "Savior Mode."

Other responses came from emo fans who jokingly illustrated the genre has always been there for them. "CBS running a story right now on the 'return of emo music' and I'm sitting here like 'it never left,'“ news anchor and meteorologist Kelly Dobeck tweeted.

Another fan of emo music on Twitter said, “There's no better authority on the emo scene than CBS News.”

Is Emo Really Coming Back?

Indeed, the last big emo revival that peaked in the 2010s was spearheaded by bands such as Balance and Composure, Joyce Manor, Title Fight, Citizen and more. But those groups mostly hew closer to the style drawn from emo's roots that culminated in the '90s and 2000s emo from acts such as American Football and Sunny Day Real Estate, as opposed to the harder style of emotive guitar rock now widely considered emo.

Regardless, is emo — however you want to look at its past — back for good? Perhaps not for Lovato. "I don’t know what I’m going to write about on my next album because I’m so happy," they told the show.

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Emo Comeback Segment on CBS Mornings - April 12, 2023