| 1 | Basically, a slow and soft song using some of the bombastic elements of HardRock and HeavyMetal. |
| 2 | |
| 3 | A typical Power Ballad will open with [[ProgressiveInstrumentation a solo keyboard or acoustic guitar, with more instruments and more elaborate melodies brought in as the song progresses]], building up to a dramatic finale. A loud drum fill leading into the chorus (to reassure fans that this is still a rock song) is common, and an electric guitar solo around the halfway point is pretty much obligatory. A SongStyleShift to something louder and faster can also occur toward the end of the song. The lyrics usually talk about love, but not always. If done wrong, power ballads are very susceptible to becoming {{Narm}} and called "cheesy" as a result; if done right, they can be powerful {{tear jerker}}s and be considered "epic". [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs Or]] a [[NarmCharm mix of the two]]. |
| 4 | |
| 5 | While those particular genres don't have a monopoly on the style by any means, Power Ballads are closely associated with HeavyMetal and especially HairMetal, with bands looking to switch up things by doing a song of a noticeably slower style than most of their fare, often as a way to showcase their singer's voice. It often intersects with SurprisinglyGentleSong, but a key distinction is that Power Ballads still try to shoehorn in some HardRock stylings. |
| 6 | |
| 7 | While some early prototypes of the style date to the end of TheSixties, it was fully formed by the start of TheEighties. The term "power ballad" itself became familiar enough for ''Billboard'' magazine to use it in 1982, the same year that one possible TropeCodifier candidate, "Open Arms" by Music/{{Journey}}, was a huge hit (a TropeCodifier case can also be made for Music/REOSpeedwagon's "Keep On Loving You" from 1981). Practically every HardRock band in that decade had a few of these in their set lists. Many Power Ballads broke through and became big hits, which often led to this trope overlapping with BlackSheepHit. |
| 8 | |
| 9 | ---- |
| 10 | !!Examples: |
| 11 | * Although far from the type of band typically associated with the style, Music/AirSupply's "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" is very much a power ballad. Thanks in no small part to an accidental meeting between them and producer-composer Music/JimSteinman, best known for similar power ballads with Music/MeatLoaf and Bonnie Tyler. |
| 12 | * "[[Music/WhosNext Behind Blue Eyes]]", by Music/TheWho, is possibly the UrExample. |
| 13 | ** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smUFDvltYrA "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You"]] by Music/LedZeppelin, and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW3nPqPPBDw "Heartbreaker"]] by Music/GrandFunkRailroad predate that by a good two years. The Zeppelin song is more musically-advanced and influential, but "Heartbreaker" is no less definitive. |
| 14 | *** Although it's ''not'' an example, a lot of the musical ingredients of Power Ballads can be found in "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" by Music/TheBeatles, mainly in the heaviness of the backing Music/PaulMcCartney (on bass and keyboards) and Music/RingoStarr (on drums), and especially in both guitar solos by Music/EricClapton. |
| 15 | *** [=McCartney's=] "Maybe I'm Amazed" also could be considered a Power Ballad ancestor. In the Music/{{Wings}} era you have "My Love" (Henry [=McCullough=] more-or-less invented the Power Ballad guitar solo in this song) and "Warm and Beautiful". Post-Wings, "No More Lonely Nights" and "Beautiful Night" count. |
| 16 | ** The main {{trope codifier}}s are probably [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bfd_LJA_A8o "In Trance"]] by Music/{{Scorpions|Band}}, and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrIo0783XpI "Love to Love"]] by [=UFO=]. "In Trance" is the earliest example of the Scorpions' style of power ballad that was so popular during the 1980s, while "Love to Love" was the model for power ballads with lush arrangements, and had a very slow build-up. Triumph's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mZxOk0SYqU "Lay it on the Line"]] is pretty much the blueprint for [[HairMetal the hair band]] version of the power ballad, with its vocal harmonies and borderline-MaritalRapeLicense lyrics, although Triumph themselves were not a hair band. |
| 17 | *** The chorus of "Lay it on the Line" borrows from the solo and later vocal section of "Stairway to Heaven" by Music/LedZeppelin, itself an early example and influence on many power ballads. |
| 18 | ** As for the rest of the Who's catalogue, "[[Music/{{Quadrophenia}} Love, Reign O'er Me]]" could also be considered an early precursor to this trope, although "Behind Blue Eyes" predates it by two years. |
| 19 | * 38 Special's "Second Chance". |
| 20 | * Music/BryanAdams has many, like "Heaven", "Everything I Do (I Do It for You)", and "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman". Also "All for Love" (from ''Film/{{The Three Musketeers|1993}}'') with Music/RodStewart and Music/{{Sting}}. |
| 21 | * Music/{{Adele}}'s "Someone Like You". |
| 22 | * Music/{{Aerosmith}}'s "Dream On", "Angel", "Hole in My Soul", "Cryin'", and "[[Film/Armageddon1998 I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing]]". |
| 23 | ** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE5jo6iqJew Seasons of Wither]]" is a good, and rather unusual, example from before they were slick. |
| 24 | * The Music/JasonAldean and Music/KellyClarkson duet "Don't You Wanna Stay", despite being a country song, oozes 1980s power ballad so strongly that one critic said it sounded like a lost collaboration between Music/BryanAdams and {{Music/Heart|Band}}. |
| 25 | ** Music/KellyClarkson herself has "[[Series/AmericanIdol A Moment Like This]]", "Because of You", "Already Gone", among others. |
| 26 | * Music/{{Alice Cooper}} has a few, notably "Only Women Bleed". |
| 27 | * Music/{{Alphaville}} - "Forever Young". A rare synthpop case. |
| 28 | * Anders Enger Jensen's [[https://soundcloud.com/eox-studios/song-for-thelma "Song for Thelma"]] is an instrumental example. A more traditional vocal example is [[https://youtu.be/2md7VKhJqAk "Let's Fly,"]] featuring Gina Evjen. |
| 29 | * Music/{{Anthrax}}'s "In The End", from ''Worship Music'', which gets a bit heavier than your standard ballad, but whose lyrics tell [[GriefSong a heartfelt song]] [[InMemoriam in honor of]] [[Music/{{Pantera}} Dimebag Darrell]] and Music/RonnieJamesDio. Ironically enough, much earlier in their career they also parodied power ballads with their AntiLoveSong "N.F.B. (Dallabnikufesin)". |
| 30 | * Music/{{Arch Enemy|Band}} - "Reason to Believe" from the band's tenth album ''Will to Power'' is a primarily clean-sung power ballad which showcases [[Creator/AlissaWhiteGluz Alissa White-Gluz]]'s vocal range.[[note]]Although there are still death growls in the song.[[/note]] The other songs on that album follow their usual Main/MelodicDeathMetal style. |
| 31 | * Music/{{Aqua}} - [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ls0WfopgR9k "Turn Back Time,"]] which is unusual for a bubblegum dance group. |
| 32 | * Music/{{Aviators}} - "Red". |
| 33 | * Music/AvengedSevenfold have a couple on every album. "Warmness on the Soul" in ''Sounding the Seventh Trumpet'', "I Won't See You Tonight, Part 1" in ''Waking the Fallen'', "Seize the Day" in ''City of Evil'', "Dear God" and "Gunslinger" in ''Avenged Sevenfold'', "So Far Away" and "Victim" in ''Nightmare'', "Crimson Day" and "Acid Rain" in ''Hail to the King'', "Angels" and "Roman Sky" in ''Music/TheStage''. And then there is "Fiction", which drummer The Rev wrote just before his death, and doesn't feature a single note of guitar. |
| 34 | * Music/{{AURORA|Singer}}'s "It Happened Quiet" and "Infections of a Different Kind". |
| 35 | * Stevie B.'s "Because I Love You (The Postman Song)". |
| 36 | * "Eternal Flame" by Music/TheBangles. |
| 37 | * Music/PatBenatar's "We Belong". |
| 38 | * Music/{{Berlin}}'s "Take My Breath Away", from ''Film/TopGun''. |
| 39 | %%* Music/BonnieBianco's "Miss You So". |
| 40 | * The second half of the TitleTrack from Music/BillieEilish's ''Happier Than Ever''. |
| 41 | * Music/TheBirthdayMassacre's "Movie". |
| 42 | * Music/BlindGuardian has several, including "A Past and Future Secret" and the "The Bard's Song (In the Forest)". |
| 43 | * Music/BonIver has "Beth/Rest", an affectionate homage to cheesy 80s ballads. It's actually louder than most of their (his?) other work, which is usually subtle, acoustic IndieRock. |
| 44 | * Music/BonJovi had a ton, with the best being "I'll Be There for You", "Bed of Roses", "(You Want to) Make a Memory", "This Ain't a Love Song", "Always", "Never Say Goodbye" and more. |
| 45 | * {{Music/Boston}}'s "Amanda". |
| 46 | * Music/ToniBraxton - "Unbreak My Heart". |
| 47 | * {{Music/Bush}} updated the form to the grunge era with "Glycerine" and arguably "Letting the Cables Sleep". |
| 48 | * [[Music/{{Caramell}} Caramella Girls]] - "How Can You Say Goodbye" |
| 49 | * An unexpected proto-example is the 1972 Music/{{Carpenters}} hit "Goodbye to Love". It mostly just sounds like one of their typical ballads, but it starts out with just vocal and piano before the ProgressiveInstrumentation kicks in, and halfway through there's a fairly heavy fuzztone guitar solo that gives the song a bit of an extra bite. There's a also a TruckDriversGearChange toward the end, and the guitar returns for the long fade-out section. Their 1975 version of Music/NeilSedaka's "Solitaire" lacks the guitar, but has most of the other Power Ballad staples (especially the drums). |
| 50 | * Music/{{CHVRCHES}} - "Afterglow" |
| 51 | * {{Music/Cinderella}} has "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)". |
| 52 | * Music/CheapTrick has "The Flame" (their sole #1 hit). |
| 53 | * Music/{{Chicago}} were kings when it came to power ballads, with "You're the Inspiration", "Hard Habit to Break", "If You Leave Me Now", "Will You Still Love Me?", "Hard for Me to Say I'm Sorry", and "Look Away" being the best examples and their most popular hits as well. |
| 54 | * Cold War Kids "First". Unusual in that it's more drum-led than most power ballads. |
| 55 | * The Cover Girls' [[https://youtu.be/CY143BglPfA "Promise Me"]] and [[https://youtu.be/d-zjcWMKu0E "We Can't Go Wrong,"]] the latter of which was [[BlackSheepHit their only Top 10 hit]] on the Hot 100. |
| 56 | * ''Series/CrazyExGirlfriend'': Parodied with the song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-anbK8DUOw "You Go First,"]] seemingly heavily inspired by "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and others in this list. |
| 57 | * Music/TheCruxshadows' songs of this type include "Walk Away" on ''Telemetry of a Fallen Angel'', "Spectators" and "Go Away" on ''Wishfire'', "A Stranger Moment" on ''Ethernaut'', "Infinite Tear" and "Matchstick Girl" on ''As the Dark Against My Halo'', "Home" and "Astronauts" on ''Astromythology'', and the acoustic version of "Winterborn". |
| 58 | * Music/CyndiLauper - "True Colors" |
| 59 | * Music/DavidGlenEisley's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp3jda591M4 "Sweet Victory"]] was featured in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' as one of these. |
| 60 | * Taylor Dayne's "Love Will Lead You Back". |
| 61 | * Music/DefLeppard has many popular ones: "Hysteria", "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad", "Love Bites", "Love and Affection", "Stand Up (Kick Love Into Motion)", "Tonight", and "Foolin'" to name a few. |
| 62 | ** They had their first U.S. success with a power ballad, "Bringin' on the Heartbreak". |
| 63 | * Music/DemonsAndWizards has "Wicked Witch" and "Fiddler on the Green". |
| 64 | * "Stripped" by Music/DepecheMode. |
| 65 | * DHT - "My Dream". |
| 66 | * This is Music/CelineDion's main theme in the '90s. |
| 67 | * Music/TheDillingerEscapePlan have a few songs that could be considered their equivalent of this trope, although most of them are pretty heavy by the trope's standards. "Widower" is probably the best example. |
| 68 | * While Music/{{Disturbed}} lacks any of these in their discography, they did perform a LighterAndSofter acoustic version of their song "Remember" for the Music as a Weapon tour IV... which then steers right back to heavy in the last chorus. |
| 69 | * Music/DragonForce has one per album: "Starfire", "Dawn Over a New World", "Trail of Broken Hearts", "A Flame for Freedom", an acoustic version of "Seasons", "You're Not Alone" and "Silence". |
| 70 | * Music/DreamEvil has "Losing You". |
| 71 | ** Dream Evil also has a parody in the form of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sch7MiUoNH8 "The Ballad."]] |
| 72 | * Music/DreamTheater has a few of their own. "Another Day" and "Hollow Years" are the most popular. |
| 73 | ** From Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory, "The Spirit Carries On" and "Through Her Eyes" both count. |
| 74 | * Music/DuranDuran's "[[Music/TheWeddingAlbum Ordinary World]]". |
| 75 | * Dyce, a short-lived Eurodance group from Sweden, had "Colors", "Painting", and "Storm", the last of which was [[NoExportForYou only released on the European version of their album]]. |
| 76 | * "Carrie" by Music/{{Europe}}. |
| 77 | * Music/{{Edguy}}'s "Scarlet Rose", "Holy Water", "Forever", "When A Hero Cries", "Save Me", and the incredibly awesome "The Spirit Will Remain". |
| 78 | * Music/{{Evanescence}}'s "My Immortal". (The radio version; the album version and its prior appearances on their early demos are just plain piano ballads.) |
| 79 | * Escape The Fate - "The Day I Left the Womb" and "Harder Than You Know". |
| 80 | * Music/ExistTrace have a few traditional power ballads, such as "Cradle". [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_RbOqW3Pe4 "Little Mary to Utsukushimi Nikushimi no Danube"]] is probably one of the few examples of a power ''waltz''. |
| 81 | * Exposé's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0vr9TOR1-s "When I Looked at Him."]] |
| 82 | * Faderhead's "Let Me Go", "The Moth and the Fire", "Ballad of the Weak", "Atoms and Emptiness", and "My Heart is Safe". |
| 83 | * "Captive" and "Rian" by Faith Assembly. |
| 84 | * Music/FaithHill - "There You'll Be", from ''Film/PearlHarbor''. |
| 85 | * Music/{{Falco}} - [[https://youtu.be/YwcgBVQ3rb0 "Out of the Dark."]] |
| 86 | * Firehouse has "Love of a Lifetime", "When I Look Into Your Eyes", and "I Live My Life for You". |
| 87 | ** The last song listed should get mentioned in particular because it was Top 40 hit (#26 to be exact) from a glam metal band. '''In 1995'''; a time when the glam metal genre was virtually dead for at least 3 years and the post-Music/KurtCobain [[DeadArtistsAreBetter suicide headlines were still going strong]]. |
| 88 | * Music/FiveFingerDeathPunch has "Far From Home" and "Remember Everything", both songs being completely different than [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge their]] [[UnstoppableRage usual]] [[RatedMForManly fare]]. |
| 89 | * FM-84 featuring [[Music/WhenInRome Clive Farrington]] - "Goodbye" |
| 90 | * Music/{{Foreigner|Band}} - "I Want to Know What Love Is" (now [[CoveredUp displaced]] by Music/MariahCarey's version). |
| 91 | * ''Music/FrankieGoesToHollywood's "The Power of Love" (unrelated to the Jennifer Rush ballad that was a UK hit around the same time). |
| 92 | * "Afterlife" by Music/FrontLineAssembly. |
| 93 | * Korean idol rock band Music/FTIsland are well-known for their rock ballads which generally consist of many high and/or IncrediblyLongNote's courtesy of main vocalist Lee Hongki (and sometimes subvocalists Lee Jaejin and Song Seunghyun), melancholy piano and angsty electric guitars. Their most successful one is debut song "Lovesick" and others include "Distance", "Severely" and "Madly". |
| 94 | * Future Perfect's "Confessions", "Discover Me", "Silent Scream", and "Complicated Machine". |
| 95 | * [[{{Industrial}} Future Pop]] artists usually do this at least once per album, such as: |
| 96 | ** Music/{{Covenant}}'s "Bullet" from ''Northern Light'', "The World is Growing Loud" from ''Skyshaper'', "The Road" from ''Modern Ruin'', and "Not to Be Here" from ''Leaving Babylon''. |
| 97 | ** Music/VNVNation's "Endless Skies" from ''Matter + Form'', "Nova" from ''Automatic'', "Teleconnect 1 and 2" from ''Transnational'', "Collide" from ''Noire'', and "At Horizon's End" from ''Electric Sun''. |
| 98 | ** Assemblage 23's "Old" from ''Meta'', "The Cruelest Year" from ''Compass'', and "Otherness" from ''Bruise''. |
| 99 | * The Music/GooGooDolls were an alternative rock band before crossing over with a string of them, such as "Iris", "Name", and "Black Balloon". |
| 100 | * Great White's "Save Your Love." |
| 101 | * Music/GreenDay has had many: "Last Night on Earth", "Viva La Gloria", "Brutal Love", "The Forgotten", "Oh Love", "When It's Time", "Good Riddance", "Macy's Day Parade", and "Wake Me Up When September Ends", to name a few. |
| 102 | * Music/{{Guns N Roses}} has the "Illusions trilogy" ("November Rain", "Don't Cry" and "Estranged") and "Patience" (although the latter, originally acoustic, is played electrically in live concerts). |
| 103 | * Music/{{Hammerfall}}'s "Glory to the Brave", "Always Will Be", and "Send Me a Sign". |
| 104 | * Music/{{Heart|Band}}'s "Alone", "What About Love?", "These Dreams", and many other songs they made during the mid-to-late Eighties. |
| 105 | * Helalyn Flowers' "Utopia" and "I Saved an Angel". |
| 106 | * Music/{{Helloween}}'s "A Tale That Wasn't Right", "In the Middle of a Heartbeat", "Forever and One" and "Light the Universe". |
| 107 | * Hinder's "Lips of an Angel". |
| 108 | * Music/WhitneyHouston's [[CoveredUp cover version]] of Music/DollyParton's "I Will Always Love You". |
| 109 | * Music/TheHumanLeague's "Human". |
| 110 | * Music/IronMaiden's "Wasting Love". The acoustic song "Journeyman" kinda counts (though the lyrical content is pure Maiden). Also, "Strange World". |
| 111 | * Music/{{Journey|Band}}'s "Faithfully", "Open Arms", and "Why Can't This Night Go On Forever?", etc. |
| 112 | ** Steve Perry's biggest solo hit, "Oh Sherrie", alternates between power ballad-ish verses and a more uptempo chorus, but somehow still gets airplay on "Soft Hits" stations. A purer example of his is another hit from the same album, "Foolish Heart". |
| 113 | * Music/JudasPriest's "Beyond The Realms Of Death", "Prisoner Of Your Eyes", "Out In The Cold", etc. |
| 114 | * Music/{{Kamelot}} has several: "What About Me," "Once a Dream," "Temples of Gold," "Abandoned," "Love You to Death," "Song for Jolee," "Under Grey Skies," "Static." |
| 115 | * Music/{{Kansas}} has several, among them "Dust in the Wind", "Hold On", " Play the Game Tonight", "The Wall", and "All I Wanted". |
| 116 | * Music/KatyPerry's "Wide Awake". |
| 117 | * Kid Moxie & Maps - "[[https://youtu.be/iV9xYYN0v5c?si=uDIRZg-N_sR-vMz8 Better Than Electric]]" |
| 118 | * Most of Laserdance's albums included at least one ballad, and ''Ambiente'' consisted entirely of these. |
| 119 | * "Amazed" by Music/{{Lonestar}} is a rare country music example. |
| 120 | * Music/{{KISS}}'s "Beth", "Reason to Live", and "Forever" are their most well-known. "I Still Love You", "God Gave Rock And Roll to You II", and "We Are One" probably count as well. |
| 121 | * Kristine - "Sleepless Nights", "Last Left Standing" |
| 122 | * [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6Dgj0K1oL8 "Screaming in the Night,"]] by Krokus. It's pretty fast for a ballad, but they are what they are. |
| 123 | * "I'll Be Over You" by The Kyoto Connection. |
| 124 | * Leæther Strip's "Carry Me". |
| 125 | * Music/{{Lights}} - "Pretend". |
| 126 | * Music/LinkinPark has "Shadow of the Day" and "My December". |
| 127 | * Music/{{Loudness}} has "Ares' Lament / So Lonely", "Silent Sword / Losing You/Never Again", "In My Dreams", "25 Days from Home", "Love of My Life" and most recently, "Never Comes". |
| 128 | * Music/{{Loverboy}} have "Heaven In Your Eyes" on the aforementioned ''Film/TopGun'' soundtrack. |
| 129 | * Luba had a few, with "Everytime I See Your Picture", "No More Words", and "When A Man Loves A Woman" being the most notable. |
| 130 | * Music/LynyrdSkynyrd's "Free Bird", "Simple Man" and "Tuesday's Gone". |
| 131 | * Music/{{Madonna}}'s "Live to Tell", from ''Music/TrueBlue''. |
| 132 | * Music/YngwieMalmsteen's "Dreaming". |
| 133 | * Music/{{Marillion}}'s "Lavender" manages to pull this off with only one verse. |
| 134 | * Music/TheMarsVolta has Televators, Miranda That Ghost Just Isn't Holy Anymore, and to a lesser extent The Widow. |
| 135 | * Music/{{Manowar}}'s "Master of the Wind", "Hymn of the Immortal Warrior", "Blood Brothers", and "Father". There is one in almost every album they've put out, really. |
| 136 | * Music/RickyMartin's "She's All I Ever Had" and "Nobody Wants to be Lonely" (the latter a duet with Music/ChristinaAguilera). |
| 137 | * Music/MeatLoaf has several, including "I'd Lie for You (And That's the Truth)", "For Crying Out Loud", "It's All Coming Back to Me Now", and "I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)". Indeed, his style of performance tends to turn ''any'' song into this trope. |
| 138 | * Music/{{Megadeth}}'s "À Tout le Monde". |
| 139 | * Music/{{Metallica}}'s "Fade to Black", "Hero of the Day" and "Nothing Else Matters". "The Unforgiven" and "The Unforgiven III" too. |
| 140 | * Music/MichaelBolton's stock in trade. Most of the songs he's written for ''other'' artists are saccharine power ballads too. |
| 141 | * Michael Oakley's [[https://youtu.be/WMamFwFZTfY "Control"]] and [[https://youtu.be/uBmuC7jeNko "Now I'm Alive"]](featuring Dana Jean Phoenix). |
| 142 | * Midnight Resistance's "Sheltering Skies". |
| 143 | * Mike Mareen's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuzwihcixQU "Days I Remember"]] is a rare ItaloDisco example. |
| 144 | * Music/MindInABox's "Whatever Mattered" is an unusual {{chiptune}} infused example. Also, "Not Afraid" and "Second Reality" ([[SimilarlyNamedWorks no relation to]] the Future Crew {{demoscene}} production). |
| 145 | * Music/MotleyCrue's "Home Sweet Home", which made the power ballad a staple for all Hair Metal bands after that point. [[CoveredUp Better known now]] from the cover by Music/CarrieUnderwood on ''Series/AmericanIdol''. |
| 146 | * Music/MrBig's number one hit "To Be With You" was probably the last really successful hair metal power ballad. |
| 147 | * German Eurodance act Mr. President have [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEZ0waLxpl0 "Sweet Lies."]] |
| 148 | * Mýa's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0qoxlVYyTU "My First Night With You."]] |
| 149 | * Music/MyChemicalRomance had one on almost every album: "The Ghost of You", "Welcome to the Black Parade", "Disenchanted", "I Don't Love You", "Cancer", "The World Is Ugly", and "The Light Behind Your Eyes". Their last released song, "Fake Your Death", was also one. |
| 150 | * Nazareth's 1974 cover of "Love Hurts" (first recorded by Music/TheEverlyBrothers) has been described as the first proper Power Ballad (or at least, the first one to become a big hit). |
| 151 | * Music/{{Nickelback}} - "Never Gonna Be Alone" and "Far Away" both have many elements of a classic power ballad (acoustic intro, intensity builds, lyrics about love). |
| 152 | * Music/NightRanger's "Sister Christian". |
| 153 | * NINA's [[https://youtu.be/h3sn2P3BANg "The Distance."]] |
| 154 | * Music/NoDoubt's "Don't Speak" uses a lot of the basic elements in an AlternativeRock setting. |
| 155 | * It's been stated that the first rule of Music/{{Oasis}}' singles discography is "for every rock out, there must be a heartbreaking follow-up". Examples include "Live Forever", "Wonderwall", "Stop Crying Your Heart Out", and "I'm Outta Time". |
| 156 | * Music/TheOffspring's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=numCZoBFcv4 "Gone Away,"]] from their fourth album. One of the very few ballads the band has ever written. |
| 157 | * Ollie Wride's [[https://youtu.be/9gFuvwY-U80 "Luna."]] |
| 158 | * "On The Wings of Love" by Jeffrey Osborne of LTD. |
| 159 | * Music/OTown's "[[https://youtu.be/TG8IkUoZ6j0?si=tZDIhKIiXl3rfb5M All Or Nothing]]". |
| 160 | * Music/OzzyOsbourne's two most successful songs are the ballads "Mama, I'm Coming Home" and the duet with [[Music/TheRunaways Lita Ford]] "Close My Eyes Forever". The former is his only top 40 hit as the sole credited artist, even though the hard rocker "Crazy Train" from his debut album is widely considered to be his signature song (despite not appearing on the Hot 100 at all, nor having the studio version promoted by a contemporary music video like his hit ballads were). |
| 161 | ** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9usWeNO8vBQ "Revelation (Mother Earth)"]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DcgpARcTCY "Diary of a Madman"]] are structured this way, but are too scary and intense be described as "ballads". |
| 162 | * Music/{{Pantera}} had a few, like "Cemetery Gates", "Hollow", and "Floods". |
| 163 | * Parallels has [[https://youtu.be/Mlm6G62BNBg "Alchemy"]] on ''Supersymmetry''. |
| 164 | * Music/{{Paramore}} has "The Only Exception" |
| 165 | * [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNhGeguo2OU "Stevie"]] by Pat Travers, modeled after [=GFR=]'s "Heartbreaker". |
| 166 | * Music/PearlJam has "Black". One of the few power ballads written by a grunge band. |
| 167 | ** Similarly, "Down in a Hole" by Music/AliceInChains. |
| 168 | * Music/PetShopBoys' "It Couldn't Happen Here" and "King's Cross", both from ''Actually''. |
| 169 | * Music/PinkFloyd had "Comfortably Numb" and "On the Turning Away". |
| 170 | * Piston Damp's [[https://youtu.be/yillukls08M "Another Pain."]] |
| 171 | * Music/{{Poison}} has "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" and "Something to Believe In". |
| 172 | * Project Pitchfork has "Green World", "Ghosts of the Past", "We Will Descend", "Contract", et al. |
| 173 | * Music/PoetsOfTheFall has a couple |
| 174 | ** [[https://youtu.be/GLxb7m0j5Jg?list=PLjACqN5i5sDUo3MfGtqogz7P3u5JUm3c- "The Poet and the Muse,"]] ''VideoGame/AlanWake's'' folky story-song by their HeavyMithril FakeBand Old Gods of Asgard, which reveals the terrible fates of the protagonist's predecessors, and offers a way for him to escape their EternalRecurrence. |
| 175 | ** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIG1xnYdlFo "War"]] the sweeping epic devotional about unexpectedly finding someone you could fight a common enemy with, also in ''VideoGame/AlanWake'' but credited (even in an in-game cameo) as a Poets song. |
| 176 | * [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LduJBDg4wGM "Invisible Sun"]] by Music/TheProdigy. |
| 177 | * One intriguing ancestor of the style is the 1963 {{Instrumental}} "Our Winter Love" by pianist Bill Pursell (a #9 hit in the US). It's a fairly standard GenreMotif/EasyListening tune, except a fuzztone guitar shows up about a minute into the song and starts doubling the melody riff. |
| 178 | * Music/{{Queen}} had "Save Me", "Jealousy", "All Dead, All Dead", "White Queen (As It Began), "We Are the Champions", "Lily of the Valley". "Sail Away Sweet Sister", "Las Palabras de Amor", "Teo Toriatte", "Is This the World We Created?", "Who Wants to Live Forever", "The Show Must Go On", and "These Are the Days of Our Lives", to name a few. |
| 179 | * Music/{{Queensryche}} had the song "Silent Lucidity". |
| 180 | * Music/TheRadiatorsUS had a couple: "I Want to Go Where the Green Arrow Goes" and "Lila", with their long, slow, almost mournful buildups to epic guitar solos. |
| 181 | * The Rain Within's "Sleep", "Soul In Me", "Nothing Here, Nothing There", and "Forward In Reverse", as well as his SofterAndSlowerCover of Music/CyndiLauper's "Time After Time". |
| 182 | * Music/TheRamones' "Poison Heart". |
| 183 | * Music/{{Rammstein}}'s "Amour", "Ohne Dich", "Klavier", "Nebel" and the most recent "Zeit". |
| 184 | * Almost everything Music/RascalFlatts has released since 2004, starting with "What Hurts the Most". Having noted rock producer Dann Huff behind the boards helps. |
| 185 | * Music/TheRedJumpsuitApparatus had "Your Guardian Angel", probably their biggest and best known song. |
| 186 | * Music/{{Rednex}} of "Cotton-Eyed Joe" fame has "Wish You Were Here" and "Hold Me for a While". |
| 187 | * Music/REOSpeedwagon proved capable of truly EpicRocking before TheEighties set in (see "Riding The Storm Out"), but their first two #1 hits in the United States fall under this category: "Keep On Loving You" and "Can't Fight This Feeling". |
| 188 | * Music/RiseAgainst's "Swing Life Away" and "Hero of War". |
| 189 | * Tiziana Rivale's "Don't Walk Away" and "Kiss on My Lips". A throwback to 80's ballads complete with the use of [[AwardBaitSong Award Bait]] sparkle synth. |
| 190 | ** Galaxy Hunter, who produced Rivale's ''True'' album, has a couple power ballads of his own, namely "How Can You Be So Cruel" and "I Miss You So Much". |
| 191 | * Every other hit Music/{{Roxette}} had was one of these. The more well-known are: "Listen to Your Heart" (which they later admitted was [[StealthParody a deliberate]] ClicheStorm featuring every possible element of the style), "It Must Have Been Love", "Spending My Time", "Almost Unreal" and "Fading Like a Flower". |
| 192 | * Roxi Drive, a British UsefulNotes/{{synthwave}} artist, has "Behind The Mask", "Lost in the Game", and "Night Waves". |
| 193 | * Music/{{Rush|Band}} with "Emotion Detector", "Open Secrets", "Ghost Of A Chance", and "Cold Fire", although these were a lot more fast paced compared to other ballads. |
| 194 | * Military History-drenched power metal band Music/{{Sabaton}} has a fair number of these, often having to with the human cost of war. Some notable examples: |
| 195 | ** The Art of War has Cliffs of Gallipoli and The Price of a Mile. |
| 196 | ** Carolus Rex has three: En livstid i Krig/A lifetime of war, Konungens likfärd/Long live the King, and Ruina Imperii. |
| 197 | ** Heroes has the haunting Inmate 4859, The Ballad of Bull, |
| 198 | * Salt Ashes - "Runaway" |
| 199 | * Music/EmeliSande - [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye-3d2QCz2o "Breathing Underwater."]] |
| 200 | * Aside of "In Trance", Music/{{Scorpions|Band}} had "Still Loving You" and "Wind of Change", and "Believe In Love". Probably also "Send me an Angel".(no relation to the synthpop song by Real Life) |
| 201 | * Post-grunge metal band Music/{{Seether}} covered George Michael's "Careless Whisper" in this manner. |
| 202 | * Music/{{Sentenced}}'s "Killing Me, Killing You" on ''Crimson'' and "We Are But Falling Leaves" on ''The Funeral Album''. This being [[Main/GothicMetal Sentenced]], they're a bit on the more depressive side. |
| 203 | * "When I'm With You" by Sheriff. A minor hit in 1983, it was re-released and hit #1 in 1989, four years after the band had broken up. After lead singer Freddy Curci and guitarist Steve [=DeMarchi=] unsuccessfully tried to talk the others into reuniting, they grabbed some ex-members of Music/{{Heart|Band}} and formed Music/{{Alias}}. ''Their'' biggest hit, "More Than Words Can Say" (not to be confused with Extreme's "More Than Words") could serve as the textbook example of a PowerBallad. |
| 204 | * Music/{{Sigh}}'s "Requiem - Nostalgia" could be considered a BlackMetal take on this trope, though by the standards of most other genres it would be too heavy to be considered a ballad, thanks to the MetalScream. It is, of course, subverted in Sigh's inimitable fashion when it [[MoodWhiplash ends]] with a StandardSnippet (Music/FryderykChopin's Minute Waltz, to be precise) overlaid with hundreds of samples of giggling babies. |
| 205 | * Music/SimplePlan has a song titled "Untitled" (alternatively, "How Could This Happen To Me"). |
| 206 | * Music/JessicaSimpson & [[Music/NinetyEightDegrees Nick Lachey]] - "Where You Are". |
| 207 | * Music/SkidRow has "18 and Life", "I Remember You", "In a Darkened Room", and "Wasted Time". Actually, if you only knew Skid Row's hits, you might think the band only plays power ballads. |
| 208 | * Music/{{Skillet}}: "Yours to Hold". |
| 209 | * Trance act Solarstone has "Filoselle Skies" on ''Rain Stars Eternal''; "There's a Universe" on ''Touchstone''; and "Indestructible" on ''...--''. |
| 210 | * Music/SonataArctica has lots, such as "Tallulah", "Draw Me" and "The Misery". Some fans complain that too many of them are played at concerts. |
| 211 | * Music/SpandauBallet - "True" |
| 212 | * Music/SpiceGirls - "2 Become 1" |
| 213 | * Music/{{Starship}} - [[https://youtu.be/3wxyN3z9PL4 "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now"]] |
| 214 | * Music/{{Suicide|Band}} - [[https://youtu.be/mwMjhWn3OQ4 "Surrender"]] |
| 215 | * Music/TearsForFears have "Head Over Heels", "Shout", "Famous Last Words", and "Swords and Knives". |
| 216 | * Music/{{Theocracy}} has "Sinner" and everything before the solo in "The Gift of Music". "Drown" could also count. |
| 217 | * American rock and borderline HairMetal band Steelheart recorded multiple power ballads, such as "I'll Never Let You Go (Angel Eyes)", and "She's Gone (Lady)". These are particularly noteworthy for showcasing lead singer Miljenko Matijevic's ''phenomenal'' vocal range, with a clear and powerful upper register. |
| 218 | * Music/{{Slipknot}} has "Snuff" and possibly "Dead Memories". |
| 219 | * ''Music/{{Testament}}'': "Trail of Tears" |
| 220 | * Music/TinaTurner's "Don't Turn Around" (not the Music/AceOfBase cover, though). |
| 221 | * Music/BonnieTyler's "[[Music/{{TotalEclipseOfTheHeart}} Total Eclipse of the Heart]]" is by far her most famous. |
| 222 | * A little heavy for a ballad, perhaps, but Music/ThreeDaysGrace have "Over and Over" off One-X. |
| 223 | * "Evening Star" by Týr. |
| 224 | * Vandal Moon have at least one per album, notably "Little Toy Soldier" from ''Teenage Daydream Conspiracy'', "Crying on the Dancefloor" from ''Wild Insane'', "We Live Forever" and "Pretend to Die" from ''Black Kiss'', and "War" and "Diamonds and Pearls" from ''Queen of the Night''. |
| 225 | * Music/VanHalen had a few, most notably "I'll Wait" and "Not Enough". |
| 226 | * Music/TheVeronicas' "In Another Life". |
| 227 | * Music/{{Versailles}} has at least one power ballad per album: "The Love from a Dead Orchestra" on ''Lyrical Sympathy'', "windress" on ''Noble'', "Amorphous" and "Serenade" on ''JUBILEE'', and "DESTINY -The Lovers-" and "Remember Forever" on ''Holy Grail''. The [[TranslatedCoverVersion Japanese]] [[RearrangeTheSong version]] of "Love will be born again" is also a power ballad (the original [[GratuitousEnglish English]] version is just a ballad). |
| 228 | * Music/{{Warrant}}'s "Blind Faith", "Heaven" and "I Saw Red". |
| 229 | * Music/WeirdAlYankovic has [[Music/{{Alpocalypse}} "Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me"]], a pastiche of Jim Steinman-penned power ballads. |
| 230 | * White Lion's "When the Children Cry". |
| 231 | * "Is This Love" and "Here I Go Again" by Music/{{Whitesnake}}. |
| 232 | * Music/KimWilde's "Storm in Our Hearts". |
| 233 | * Music/ConchitaWurst - "Rise Like A Phoenix", winner of the Series/EurovisionSongContest 2014. |
| 234 | * Music/XJapan has "Endless Rain", "Voiceless Screaming", "Say Anything", "Crucify My Love", "Forever Love", and "Without You". "Jade", at least in its current form, straddles the line between PowerBallad and a heavier rock song. |
| 235 | * "Outer Space" by X-O-Planet. |
| 236 | * Music/{{Yazoo}}'s "Winter Kills". |
| 237 | * "Endless History", the [[AwardBaitSong ending credits theme]] from the ''VideoGame/{{Ys}}'' anime, which is also a vocal remix of "The Morning Glow" from the first game. |
| 238 | * Music/{{Ylvis}}'s [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbyzgeee2mg "Stonehenge,"]] although this is probably more of a parody. |
| 239 | * Music/ZZTop's "Rough Boy". |
| 240 | |
| 241 | !!References: |
| 242 | * The ''VideoGame/RockBandWorld'' challenge "The Power Ballad Challenge" is all about these. |
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