Dangdut is a genre of Indonesian dance and folk popular music originated from Java. Dangdut is partly derived and fused from Hindustani, Arabic, Malay music, and to lesser extent, local folk music. Dangdut is a most popular musical genre in Indonesia and a very popular in other Malay World countries as well because of its melodious instrumentation and vocals. Dangdut features a tabla and gendang beat.

One of the most popular Dangdut musicians and singers such as Rhoma Irama, known as the "King of Dangdut"; Mansyur S.; Meggy Z; and Ellya Khadam include strong Indian-music influence in the basis of harmony, theme, and beat to their songs and also by other popular dangdut singers.

A dangdut band typically consists of a lead singer, male or female, backed by four to eight musicians. Instruments usually include a tabla, gendang, flute, mandolin, guitars, sitar, drum machines, and synthesizers.The term has been expanded from the desert-style music to embrace other musical styles.Modern dangdut incorporates influences from Middle Eastern pop music, Western rock, house music, hip hop music, disco music, contemporary R&B, and reggae.

The popularity of dangdut peaked in the 1990s. By 2012, it was still largely popular in the western parts of Indonesia, but the genre was becoming less popular in the eastern parts, apart from Maluku. Meanwhile more regional and faster-paced forms of dangdut (as opposed to slower, Bollywood-influenced dangdut) have risen in popularity.