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What is a power ballad?
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- Aerosmith - I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing (1998) Aerosmith toyed with the power ballad formula as early as 1973 with the floaty Dream On. 25 years later, with the help of composer Diane Warren and exposure in the film Armageddon, I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing hit No1.
- Poison - Every Rose Has Its Thorn (1989) Poison had previously shown few signs of having a soft centre (Talk Dirty To Me, anyone?) so when they released the fragile EveryRose Has Its Thorn it shocked the hell out of people.
- Journey - Open Arms (1982) In the US, Journey were the undisputed sultans of the surge-athon (this song reached No.2 over there). But with typical British reserve we found it difficult to embrace a band that advocated plenty of lovin’, touchin’ ’n’ squeezin’ among their fans.
- Guns N’ Roses - November Rain (1991) Guns N' Roses achieved a delicate balance with November Rain: it’s beautiful without being sappy, tormented without being wrist-slashing.
May 6, 2024 · Journey, Heart and Bon Jovi were among the acts leading the charge, but power ballads came from unexpected sources as well, like Ozzy Osbourne, Motorhead and Metallica. And while power...
- Corey Irwin
- I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing’ - Aerosmith. Power ballads are traditionally based around grandness. With that considered, being the theme to 1998’s Armageddon — a film about an asteroid threatening to destroy Earth — is about as over-the-top as it gets.
- Purple Rain’ - Prince. Similar to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird,” Prince’s “Purple Rain” isn’t typically in the power ballad conversation, because the idea of a power ballad is traditionally reserved for metal bands.
- Open Arms’ - Journey. “Open Arms” truly took power ballads to a new level upon its release on Escape in 1981. The entire ‘80s decade saw a massive boom in the release of power ballads, and one could argue that Journey had a lot to do with that considering the success of “Open Arms.”
- I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)’ - Meat Loaf. This delightfully over-the-top classic resurfaced following the untimely death of Meat Loaf, which sadly happened just nine months after the death of songwriter Jim Steinman.
- Top 10 Power Ballads of The 1980s
- What Are Power Ballads?
- #11—20
- Glam Metal Power Ballads of The ‘80s
- #21—40
- Soft Rock Power Ballads of The ‘80s
- #41—60
- Pop Power Ballads of The ‘80s
- #61—80
1. “I Want to Know What Love Is”—Foreigner 2. “Faithfully”—Journey 3. “With or Without You”—U2 4. “Every Rose Has It’s Thorn”—Poison 5. “Sweet Child o’ Mine”—Guns N’ Roses 6. “I’ll Be There for You”—Bon Jovi 7. “I Remember You”—Skid Row 8. “Keep On Loving You”—REO Speedwagon 9. “Amanda”—Boston 10. “The Flame”—Cheap Trick
Power ballads are slow tempo emotional love songs that often build with a highly emotive chorus or verse. The soul-stirring vocals are brought to life with a guitar-driven sound backed with drums, bass, and keyboards. Gut-wrenchingly passionate vocals give unique identity to numerous power ballads from different genres. While hard rock and glam met...
11. “Heaven”—Bryan Adams 12. “It Must Have Been Love”—Roxette 13. “Angel”—Aerosmith 14. “Hungry Eyes”—Eric Carmen 15. “Carrie”—Europe 16. “Almost Paradise”—Mike Reno and Ann Wilson 17. “Is This Love”—Whitesnake 18. “All Out of Love”—Air Supply 19. “Waiting for a Girl Like You”—Foreigner 20. “Can’t Fight This Feeling”—REO Speedwagon
Glam Metal, also known as hair metal made a big impact in the ‘80s. Hair bands of the decade had a great deal of success with their unique blend of hard rock and heavy metal. Noteworthy for their heartbreakingly romantic power ballads and acoustic rock ballads, glam metal acts and hair acts in their lipstick and leather attire became the talk of th...
21. “Total Eclipse of the Heart”—Bonnie Tyler 22. “Africa”—Toto 23. “Don’t Dream It’s Over”—Crowded House 24. “(I Just) Died In Your Arms Tonight”—Cutting Crew 25. “Eternal Flame”—The Bangles 26. “Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone)”—Cinderella 27. “Right Here Waiting”—Richard Marx 28. “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”—U2 29. “The P...
In the ‘80s alongside hard rock and glam metal acts, soft rock bands came into their own. These bands dominated the AOR (album-oriented rock) playlists with radio formats taking an instant liking to the slickly crafted commercial production-heavy sound. Soft rock power ballads in the ‘80s were known for their flawless vocal harmonies in the chorus....
41. “When It’s Love”—Van Halen 42. “Wanted Dead or Alive”—Bon Jovi 43. “Eyes Without a Face”—Billy Idol 44. “Alone Again”—Dokken 45. “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You”—Michael Bolton 46. “Broken Wings”—Mr. Mister 47. “Patience”—Guns N’ Roses 48. “First Time”—Robin Beck 49. “Open Arms”—Journey 50. “Here I Go Again”—Whitesnake 51. “Home Sweet Ho...
Several bands with a pop-rock sound emerged in the ‘80s. Although these bands adopted a pop and rock ethos in their sound, they garnered mainstream attention for their silk-smooth pop-centric attributes. Although the music of these bands was streamlined for pop audiences, they found a great deal of crossover success with their unique sounding pop p...
61. “Kayleigh”—Marillion 62. “When the Children Cry”—White Lion 63. “Love Bites”—Def Leppard 64. “When I’m With You”—Sheriff 65. “Sara”—Starship 66. “The Search Is Over”—Survivor 67. “Don’t Stop Believin’”—Journey 68. “Without You”—Motley Crue 69. “Close My Eyes Forever”—Lita Ford and Ozzy Osbourne 70. “Living Eyes”—Bee Gees 71. “This Could Be the ...
- “Open Arms” By Journey. It should come as no surprise that the first of our power ballads comes from Journey. “Open Arms” is an instantly relatable song that details the plea from one lover to another for forgiveness after a mess-up.
- “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” By Aerosmith. Next up on our list is an Aerosmith classic, “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.” Even though it was originally written for the Armageddon soundtrack and wasn’t intended for radio play, it became so instantly popular that it wasn’t long before it was picked up in the regular rotation.
- “I’ll Be There For You” By Bon Jovi. You had to know that Bon Jovi would show up on this list. With his distinctive voice and chart-topping singles, “I’ll Be There for You” perfectly captures the essence of a rock power ballad.
- “With Arms Wide Open” By Creed. Since the beginning, Creed has been a powerhouse of emotional songs. It’s no wonder their song “With Arms Wide Open” got so popular!
Jan 7, 2024 · From the hardest rock bands to the pop savants, the best power ballads transcend time and genre to pull at your heartstrings.
Jul 2, 2018 · There's nothing quite like belting out your favourite power ballad at the top of your lungs... Whether you're in the shower, in the car or at the karaoke, these are the greatest power ballads of all time.
