This subject has caused me great concern lately. I'm sure you've all noticed it. I'd like to think my worry is caused more by my recent disconnect with popular music, but I fear it is the product of the very real demise of the Power Ballad. When was the last great pop Power Ballad? When was the last time you heard a song on the radio, and were compelled to whip out your lighter and sway? So: what gives? Are Power Ballads a thing of the past, a relic of a forgotten era, like beta-max, 8-tracks, and sporks? Or are we just mired in a 15-year lull? I'd appreciate your thoughs.
sporks never went out. they are still all over. sammy hagar has a new album out, you might find a power ballad on it. not too sure though. good luck and keep safe.
I'm hearing plenty of power ballads from angsty nu-metal bands, actually. They're a little more depressing, to be sure, but the pedigree seems to be there. Staind springs to mind. And don't both Bon Jovi and Def Leppard have new albums? No power ballads there? Later, COZ
I think it's a combination of factors - fewer of the type of bands around who would be prone to write power ballads, and less airplay for the PBs that have been written. The same bands that used to do power ballads are still doing them. It's just that they are not getting airplay and thus no one is buying the records. Ever notice that the disappearance of power ballads has coincided with the disappearance of balls-out rockers too? It's no coincidence. The new Bon Jovi record is about half ballads, although only a couple of them are power ballads and none of them are very good (i.e. nothing with the potential to be classic like "Never Say Goodbye", "I'll Be There For You," etc.). The new Def Leppard record is all syrupy ballads, but the same story there - nothing exciting like Love Bites, Bringing On The Heartbreak or the like. Oddly enough, the new Poison record doesn't have any ballads on it, although God knows Poison can write cigarette lighter songs with the best of 'em.
"Don't Wanna Miss A Thing" was the only power ballad (though it was more ballad than power) that was an actual hit in recent years that I can think of. But as other posters have already said, power ballads may be around but both the quantity and quality are hitting rock bottom.
True, I completely forgot about Creed. Though none of their songs compel me to wave a lighter in the air the way the power ballads of yore did.
It's cause they're so friggin' serious. Power ballads are supposed to be light-hearted serenades to big-haired, spandex-clad ditses, not semi-religious odes to a firstborn child.
I think all the power ballads are being used to plug the hole in the ozone layer to make up for all the hairspray the c0ck-rock bands used in the 80's .