4 Power Ballads That Flopped At Home But Became A Smash Overseas

With sentimental verses that rise into anthemic choruses, power ballads are emotional tsunamis, and from roughly the mid-'70s to the early '90s, they often ruled the charts. But some bands working in this genre saw success everywhere but at home; their power ballads flopped in their backyards, even as audiences around the world sang along and made them hits.

Nonetheless, these songs and others crossed oceans and transcended language barriers because the emotions they expressed were undeniable and universal. Who hasn't felt longing, undying love, or heartbreak? The rising intensity and cathartic emotional release of the power ballad formula made Jennifer Rush a massive hitmaker in the U.K., Canada, and Germany, though not in her home neighborhood of Queens, New York. Similarly, Ozzy Osbourne's contribution to the genre, a duet with Lita Ford, became his biggest charting single in the U.S., while barely making a dent in his native England.

These power ballads are every bit as infectious as any of the genre's defining songs. And although they traveled further to get there, they eventually found their audiences.

It took international success for Rockford, Illinois, rockers Cheap Trick to make it at home. Their breakout "At Budokan" is a live album recorded while on tour in Japan, where their first three records — flops in the U.S. — had already achieved Gold status. In the '80s, the band perfected the power ballad formula, scoring a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 with 1988's "The Flame." But before that, in 1982, they released "If You Want My Love," which, despite its obvious appeal, only reached No. 45 on the U.S. charts. Its audience was on the other side of the world, in Australia, where it was a legitimate hit, climbing all the way to No. 2 on the AMR Singles chart. 

With "If You Want My Love," Cheap Trick introduced Beatles-style hooks and arrangements to the genre. Perhaps that's why it didn't land in the U.S. or their native Illinois; it's among the more British-sounding examples of power ballads. It's punctuated by bridges that add tension, akin to something Paul McCartney or John Lennon might devise: "'Cause lonely is only a place / You don't know what it's like / You can't fight it / It's a hole in my heart, in my heart." But of course, that dam breaks in the chorus, which carries us off on a wave of swelling emotion. Though fans stateside didn't catch the wave, the Australians were ready to surf.

Largely unheralded back home, singer Jennifer Rush, born Heidi Stern in Queens, New York, is one of the U.K. and Europe's most iconic pop stars. Her aptly titled "The Power of Love" became her biggest and most defining hit, reaching No. 1 in a long list of countries, from Australia to Norway and Canada. Topping the U.K. singles charts for five weeks, it became that country's best-selling single in 1985. But when "The Power of Love" peaked at No. 57 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early April 1986, American audiences were more interested in Falco's new-wave No. 1 hit "Rock Me Amadeus." 

Co-written by Rush, "The Power of Love" proves that power ballads don't have to be sung by long-haired, sensitive men. As they all do, it starts softer and more sentimental, before slowly rising into an unforgettable chorus, punctuated by reverberating '80s snare. It takes just one listen for the lyrics to get stuck in your head: "'Cause I'm your lady / And you are my man / Whenever you reach for me / I'll do all that I can." You can hear why global audiences couldn't get enough.

It took another power ballad queen, Céline Dion, to break "The Power of Love" stateside. Her version sat at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks in 1994.

What happens when you pair the "Prince of Darkness" with a trailblazing songwriter and guitar queen? When Ozzy Osbourne and ex-Runaways guitarist Lita Ford linked up in the studio, "Close My Eyes Forever" emerged: a moving power ballad and massive hit for both in 1989. Not only did it help catapult sales of Ford's "Lita" album, but it gave Ozzy Osbourne a Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 hit. However, in Ozzy's native England, it hardly cracked the Top 50 of the U.K. singles charts, peaking at No. 47.

Ford recalls that their chemistry was immediate, and the two wrote the song in one night. "He came up with the idea for the song, and we went into this little closet-type area ... until the sun came up," she told Sweetwater. The singers swap verses, highlighting their unique voices, and the lyrics are darker than those of most power ballads. It questions and interrogates the emotions that drive most songs of the genre, with Ford singing, "Like a dagger, you stick me in the heart / And taste the blood from my blade / And when we sleep, would you shelter me / In your warm and darkened grave?"

Though it's grim, "Close My Eyes Forever" is a power ballad in form and carries the same emotional impact. The chorus — "If I close my eyes forever / Will it all remain unchanged?" — evokes mortality to make the point that love is timeless.

After Mr. Big hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with "To Be With You" in 1992, subsequent releases from the Los Angeles, California, band didn't make much of an impact in the U.S. However, the band became and remained massive in Japan. So, while Mr. Big's power ballad "Stay Together" never saw a stateside release as a single, it crashed the Top 10 of Japan's singles charts in 1997. 

Appearing on the compilation album, "Big, Bigger, Biggest! The Best of Mr. Big," "Stay Together" is about as hard-edged as power ballads can get. The opening electric guitar riffs push the song toward pop or hair metal territory, but the overall emotional build and release are 100% power ballad. Depicting a collapsing relationship, the choruses are the crest of a wave of heartbroken longing: "Even though I want you / Even though I need you / Even though my heart is screaming / Still believing / We could fall in love." 

By the late '90s, the classic power ballad was entering its bargain bin era. But the success of "Stay Together" in Japan proved that audiences the world over could be carried away by bombastic, deliciously sappy rock 'n' roll.