The ballad originated as a poem to be sung. But also as a song you could dance to. You’ll notice the word “ball” inside the word, as in a social dance. I tell you this not for the English lesson, but ...

Everybody loves power ballads, whether or not they admit it. There’s just something about a rock band slowing things down and cranking up the emotion. For generations, the force of power ballads has ...

There’s something about a rock ballad that stirs feelings of nostalgia even when the lyrics aren’t particularly wistful. The music of the 1980s arrived with heightened earnestness as the decade became ...

J.S. Gornael has a BA in English with a Creative Writing Emphasis in Poetry and an MFA in Fiction. He has taken workshops in poetry, fiction, and non-fiction (though mostly the second). Half-cinephile ...

Plus, listen to her voice memo to "John Candy: I Like Me" producer Ryan Reynolds, where the "Wicked" star sings a bit of the track. Grab some tissues because Cynthia Erivo is about to make you cry.