Italo dance, also known as nu Italo disco, nu-Italo or just Italo, is an offshoot of the Eurodance music genre, which was especially popular in Europe in the late 1990s to the early 2000s.
The term "Italo dance" originates from its early counterpart Italo disco in the 1980s. Except for their name, origin, and categorization within dance music, Italo dance and Italo disco do not have much to do with each other musically.
Originally it was considered an invention by Italian DJ Gigi D'Agostino and was called "Mediterreanean Progressive" in the mid-1990s, but it became mainstream after the release of the single "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" by Eiffel 65, although by this time it had a more commercial appeal than was usual in D'Agostino's music.
Italo dance is predominantly nightclub-oriented music and mainly produced in Italy. The genre never really became mainstream enough for the whole European market, but received much airplay on Italian radio, especially the dance radio station m2o, and in southern parts of Europe. Italo dance was also very popular in Malta. .
