CLASSIFICATIONS
The ten best power ballads of all time
A 'power ballad' is defined as a slow, melodic song characterised by sweet, strongly emotional and evocative sounds that explore sentimental themes.
These songs often touch on sentimental themes, but also more serious ones such as abandonment, death or complex moments, and represent the most moving songs in the repertoire of a band (even rock bands) or an artist.
VH1, Paramount's music television network, has compiled its own ranking of the best power ballads of all time: here are the top 10.
The ranking of the best power ballads was compiled by VH1
A 'power ballad' is defined as a slow, melodic song, characterised by sweet, strongly emotional and evocative sounds. These songs often touch on sentimental themes, but also more serious ones such as abandonment, death or complicated moments, and represent the most moving songs in a band or artist's repertoire. VH1, a music television network, has compiled its own ranking of the best power ballads of all time: here are the top 10 positions.
10. "Is This Love" - Whitesnake
Written by singer David Coverdale together with guitarist John Sykes, it seems that this song was originally intended for Tina Turner. Subsequently, the British band decided to keep the song for themselves and the choice proved to be the right one, given the immense success of the single.
9. "Sister Christian" - Night Ranger
'Sister Christian' was written by Night Ranger drummer Kelly Keagy for his sister. The song represents the greatest success of this band from San Francisco.
8. "Love Bites" - Def Leppard
The lyrics of 'Love Bites' describe a man's suffering from unrequited love. The song is taken from Def Leppard's most commercially successful album, 1997's 'Hysteria'.
7. "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" - Poison.
"Every Rose Has Its Thorn" was born from an autobiographical experience of singer Bret Michaels, who wrote the song while in a laundry room, distraught over the end of a relationship with a stripper in Los Angeles. This was the only Poison single to reach the top of the Billboard 200, staying at number one for three weeks.
6. "November Rain" - Guns N'Roses.
The lyrics of 'November Rain' talk about moments of crisis and the difficulties of a romantic relationship. The video clip of this famous song is also very emotional: the video shows various moments of the marriage between singer Axl Rose and a hypothetical partner, until her tragic death.
5. "I'll Be There For You" - Bon Jovi
'I'll Be There For You' is one of the most significant tracks in Bon Jovi's repertoire. The song reached the top of the Billboard charts, the band's fourth and last single to achieve this prestigious result.
4. "With Arms Wide Open" - Creed
'With Arms Wide Open' won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song in 2001. Scott Stapp wrote the song when he knew he was about to become a father to a child, whose name is Jagger.
3. "Beth" - Kiss
The song was made by the group's drummer Peter Criss with Stan Penridge. According to the group's manager at the time, the song was included on the album 'Destroyer' at the last minute, against the wishes of Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley who considered 'Beth' too far from the group's style.
2. "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing" - Aerosmith
Written by Diane Warren, 'I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing' debuted at number one on the Billboard 100, becoming the first Aerosmith single to do so in 28 years. The song was part of the soundtrack to the film 'Armageddon', which starred Liv Tyler, daughter of the band's frontman.
1. "Open Arms" - Journey
The song was composed by keyboardist Jonathan Cain when he was part of The Babys, but was not recorded by the group. It was later taken over by Cain with the collaboration of Steve Perry for Journey's album 'Escape', despite the contrary opinion of the other members who did not like ballads. In the end, Perry was right, as 'Open Arms' topped the list of the best power ballads of all time according to VH1.