If you haven't already heard of dubstep -- the form of electronic dance known for its heavy, heavy use of bass -- you might soon. YouTube data shows that the genre has been picking up broader interest throughout 2011. (It's even been spotted crossing over into the a cappella territory recently.) Here's a quick comparison for illustration:

Original	Dubstep remix

To be clear, dubstep is not a brand new genre, it's been well-known to electronic/dance aficionados for some time. And numerous mixes and even dubstep tutorials for DJs have existed on YouTube for a few years.

What is new is the major growing appetite for dubstep from the dance-music-loving public, and search data indicates the genre becoming more and more mainstream.

Here's a chart showing weekly, relative search interest in the term "dubstep" dating back to 2009. (The accomanying video first started trending back in May. It's also very loud.)



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As you can see, searches have been at their highest in just the past few weeks.

There are over 40,000 "dubstep"-related videos on YouTube -- and nearly 25,000 results for "dubstep remix." This was the year that we began to see the "dubstep remix" become a part of the pop-culture parody arsenal as well. Some musicians are exploring the genre on instruments not usually associated with it.

The UKFDubstep channel is based in the UK and is the most-subscribed music channel in that country. The channel has become a dubstep leader on YouTube, owning 4 of the top 5 most-viewed dubstep-tagged videos.

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Want to hear more? Check out these knowledgable playlists from experts Modestep and Magnetic Man.