text: help! what is "emo?" i searched it on here and read the other answers and still am unsure what exactly it is?? i keep hearing people say stuff like he/she is so emo...what in the heck does that mean?? "emo" is actually a style of music as well.  try searching for the emo music style and you will find out a lot about the culture.  many bands are becoming mainstream emo like taking back sunday and a few others.  most hardcore emo bands are characterized by very emotional singing that has screaming (screamo) or even spontaneous crying in the middle of songs.  sometimes the lyrics are unintelligible because of this.  rich