glam rock

noun

: rock music characterized by performers wearing fanciful costumes and flamboyant makeup

It was 1972 and a new musical craze, glam rock, was on the rise. Characterised by glittery flamboyant outfits, extravagant make-up, androgynous stage personas, and loud anthemic songs, its prime exponents included David Bowie, Slade, Sweet, Alice Cooper, Roxy Music, Suzi Quatro and Mott The Hoople.—

David Morton

—often hyphenated when used before another noun

Taking their inspiration from the old glam-rock bands like Alice Cooper and the New York Dolls, today's metal bands … arrived in carnival costumes and heavy make-up, singing catchy melodies and riding any one of the ever-popular bad boy myths.—

Divina Infusino

called also glam, glitter rock

Examples of glam rock in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web An iconic band rooted in hard rock and heavy metal, with glam rock influences, KISS was formed in New York City by Stanley, Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss in 1973. —

Matt Grobar, Deadline, 12 Sep. 2024 Rubik’s Cubes, Beanie Babies, and glam rock might not have survived the test of time. —

Darpan Munjal, Forbes, 8 Sep. 2024 In the past fifteen years, Gaga’s discography has ranged from electronic pop and glam rock to opera and old Vegas jazz, her expertise from records to film. —

Livia Caligor, Vogue, 5 Sep. 2024 The hair got even bigger as Heart moved into their glam rock phase, but these days Wilson favors tousled braids, while letting her powerhouse voice do the talking. —

John Russell, Peoplemag, 17 Aug. 2024 The androgynous, disfigured Marc Bolan glam rock vibe was topped off with powdered makeup inspired by Bob Dylan. —

Bill Desowitz, IndieWire, 7 Aug. 2024 This is the iconic horror baddie he was meant to play, a deeply unnerving dollmaker who warbles with musical malevolence, confounds the law with his Zodiac-like ciphers, and lives for glam rock and killing sprees. —

Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 11 July 2024 The arts complex became the place where glam rock, performance and video art, and underground theater collided into this wonderful world of experimental creativity. —

Charles Moss, SPIN, 8 July 2024 Jay de la Cueva is saying goodbye to Brian Amadeus, the alter ego that has accompanied him since 1999 fronting the Mexican glam rock band Moderatto. —

Natalia Cano, Billboard, 2 Aug. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'glam rock.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.