Frank Kogan

I think "power pop" is too entrenched as genre to be uprooted from that. (How 'bout "pipedream pop"?)

Semi-related, I've been thinking a bit about something that I've been calling A-Pop, that is American pop whose influence from K-, J-, Euro- etc. pop equalizes its outward force to those places. Or, put less nationally and more intuitively, A-Pop is the American version of what you're calling power pop here, electronic-based "extreme/scene"/disco-promise of bringing the dance to the whole world (and taking the dance from the whole world).

So maybe one middle ground would be to sidestep the power-qua-actual power (since, like, zero genres that incorporate the word "power" are actually about power, right?) and use ALPHA-pop, the pop that promises new beginning and dance dance liberation and all that stuff? (I don't like the leadership/aggressive connotations of alpha, except that in all of your examples the acceptance into the "power" part of "power pop" also suggests a kind of aggressive leadership. Also don't like the extraversion connotations, since introverted alpha-pop would be like the coolest, though I'm not sure who's making it.)

Who makes A-pop? LMFAO. will.i.am (sometimes). Pitbull (sometimes). Fergie did, Rihanna often does, Gwen Stefani tried but only did occasionally, Katy Perry tries so very hard. Nicki sometimes, Beyonce now more than before (but not really), Madonna made A-pop when there wasn't "A-pop" but doesn't now that there is.

Alpha-pop lets the rest of the world in, the Saxobeats and Crayons and Scooters.