Alternative Bubblegum Pop is a term perhaps sometimes applied to more recent examples of bubblegum pop that carries the same chief characteristics of it's predecessor however, while still being upbeat and childlike in sound has a slightly punk and pop-punk ambience. Origins When "alternative" music because a buzzword with the mainstream success of Nirvana in 1991, it was inevitable that the word "alternative" would be prefixed to all types of music produced in that wake. There is absolutely no common agreement as to what bands or groups are in the genre. Etymology Alternative Bubblegum Pop is a portmanteau of Bubblegum Pop and Alternative Rock.