3 Emotional Songs From 1984 That Put the Power in Power Ballads

Not all power ballads are created equal. While many are defined by loud guitars, pounding drums, and arena rock choruses, others find their power in raw emotion. And 1984 was a memorable year for such dramatic hits. The drama was matched only by the decade’s vivid fashion, blockbuster music videos, and new technology that helped create the sounds our current pop stars now recycle.

Videos by American Songwriter

 So let’s revisit three emotional songs from 1984 that put the power in power ballads.

“The Beautiful Ones” by Prince

A drama unfolds onstage in Purple Rain when Prince, as The Kid, performs “The Beautiful Ones” with The Revolution. He directs the song at his love interest, Apollonia, who sits at a table inside the club with The Kid’s nemesis, Morris Day. The performance slowly builds until The Kid finally demands an answer: “Do you want him? Or do you want me? ’Cause I want you.” Utterly cathartic, unhinged, and heartbreaking. It’s my favorite Prince vocal on a masterpiece soundtrack full of favorite Prince vocals. He’s a one-man band on the track, writing, arranging, and performing all instrumentation.

Paint a perfect picture,
Bring to life a vision in one’s mind.
The beautiful ones,
Always smash the picture.
Always, every time.

“Bad” by U2

“Bad” became a pivotal song for U2. Though “Pride (In The Name Of Love)” remains the biggest hit from The Unforgettable Fire, a live performance of “Bad” at Live Aid 1985 seems to have ignited U2’s final launch to global rock stardom. Bono sings in vague metaphors, in grand ambition, about escape, and transforms a stadium of music fans into a kind of church congregation. “Revelation, in temptation.” U2’s music always had its DNA in hymns. But this hymn gives you an idea of what it sounds like when Irish punks wind up in church on Sunday.

“We Belong” by Pat Benatar

Pat Benatar had already made clear that love was a battlefield. “No promises, no demands.” However, “We Belong” describes what happens on the other side of the battle when a long-term relationship becomes an enduring war of attrition. Over a blipping synth, Benatar says she’s invested too much time to give up. The couple, the “we,” becomes its own kind of force of nature. “We belong to the light / We belong to the thunder.” Also, the groove feels like a march. Synchronized steps over various trenches and land mines that could trap or destroy a relationship at any moment. Yet Benatar’s powerful voice pleads, Let’s keep going.

Photo by Ross Marino/Getty Images