Pop metal (sometimes confused with or used interchangeably with glam metal) is an umbrella term for commercial heavy metal and hard rock styles which feature prominent pop music elements such as catchy hooks and anthemic choruses. The term could also be used to reference bands within the heavy metal music subgenres that perform more accessible forms of metal, most notably nu metal, glam metal and metalcore, due to the heavy usage of techniques used in pop music that permeate bands within these genres.

Similarly, metal bands who do well commercially or move away from the genre they debuted in to more popular or commercial genres are often referred to as pop metal, due to their heightened status or what some believe to be an attempt at ''selling out''.

The genre's popularity was at its peak between 1982 and 1991 and the arrival of grunge in 1991 largely turned audiences away from pop metal. Despite the decline in popularity, the term "pop metal" is also sometimes applied to a number of rock and heavy metal bands and artists that are usually not associated with glam metal.