A type of electronic dance music and a subgenre of house music characterized by upbeat tempo (120 – 130 BPM), singable lyrics, and a simple 4/4 time signature that was popular during the late 80s and early 90s, especially in gay dance clubs.
Frequently performed by female vocalists (Whitney Houston, Amber, Kristine W, Deborah Cox) and punctuated with dramatic "break downs" or "dropouts" (where the music builds to a frenetic high, drops off to virtual silence, only to build again), handbag
house is also known as "happy
house," or "diva
house," (and, more derisively, as "
plastic disco"). Declined in popularity as harder, less melodic music (aka "tweaker music") became de rigueur.
Name pokes fun at deliriously
happy dancers waving their handbags—imaginary or not—in the
air. Alternatively, it may refer to a group of club-goers dancing around their handbags thrown on the floor.
That last set was some of the best handbag
house I've heard in eons. I’m dizzy from spinning around out there, waving my hands in the
air. Grrrrl, I gotta
go hydrate!