As a lover of music in many of its various forms, I'd like to say that I would never even think of listening to really formulated, cheesy songs that were obviously written to hit high on the Billboard charts. However, I cannot deny that many of these songs, cheesy and formulaic as they may be, are still pretty rad, and this is a list of the ten that are just my absolute favorites, in no particular order.
10. "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing" by Aerosmith
This late '90's power ballad put Aerosmith in another stratosphere, no pun intended. It happens to be the only Aerosmith song ever to reach #1 on the charts, and now can often be heard as the slow dance song at proms across America. For many diehard and hipster Aerosmith fans, this is the bane of their existence, but this song is absolutely fantastic and those people are wrong. The song's lyrics are in the cheesy category, but the sound behind it is masterfully crafted, complete with the orchestra and the piano, and all of the elements of the song fit well together. Cheesy or not, a fantastic song.
9. "I'll Be There For You" by Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi has several quality options to choose from. "Never Say Goodbye" and "Livin on a Prayer" were definitely considered, but "I'll Be There For You" tops them both. A six minute power ballad with a man telling the love of his life who just left him that whatever life brings, he'll always be there. As if the subject matter might not already give away the fact that the song is a 90% chance of cheesy, towards the end, the key changes and they actually wrote a part to wave your lighters in the air, where the only lyrics for about thirty seconds are "whoooooa" repeated 6 times. That being said, I never ever turn this song when it comes up on my iPod or the radio, because it's just good to listen to.
8. "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" by Poison
If you live on planet earth, there's an overwhelmingly good chance you've heard this song at least once in some part of your life. One of Poison's biggest hits, this song does the maneuver of starting soft with acoustic guitar, and then going electric just before the second verse. What makes this song unique from most other songs on this list is that almost none of the rhymes are standard rhymes, but rather slant rhymes, which I personally find very interesting. Regardless of the cheesiness factor, I both can't and refuse to help entertaining myself with this song on a semi-regular basis. It's so good.
7. "A Moment Like This" by Kelly Clarkson
Kell Bell's first major hit (yes I said Kell Bell, stop looking at me in that tone of voice) after winning American Idol is probably one of the cheesiest songs written in the 2000's. A song about the moment when you fall in love, this song hit #1 on the Billboard hot 100 and is still one of Kelly's most recognizable songs. This song is musically and lyrically crafted to perfection, and the choir in the last minute or so of the song set the cheese meter over the top. Nevertheless, it's a necessary part of my life, as is Kelly Clarkson in general, and I highly recommend this song.
6. "Drops of Jupiter" by Train
Train's biggest hit was inspired by lead singer Patrick Monahan's late mother, and illustrates a spirit pondering their life and wandering around space. Complete with a string arrangement and all, this song ended up topping the Billboard charts and winning a Grammy. A diversion from Train's more rock sound, it was a song that both boosted the album's sales and their popularity, and is now their signature song. It's one for the ages.
5. "Lips of an Angel" by Hinder
Hinder's claim to fame is this one song. A hard rock ballad written about two estranged lovers who still feel the flame after being gone from each other for so long, it peaked at #3 on the Billboard top 100 and put Hinder into the spotlight for at least 10 seconds worth of fame. As a result, the album went platinum, and the single itself sold 3.6 million copies, making it one of the most downloaded rock songs of all time. Although a little more hard rock in nature than many of the others on the list, this song is nonetheless very well crafted, albeit cheesy.
4. "The Flame" by Cheap Trick
"Wherever you go, I'll be with you" is such a familiar message in power ballads, isn't it? "The Flame" was Cheap Trick's ticket to a comeback after several years of commercial flops. At first, the band did not like the song, but eventually they decided to record it, and I'm sure they do not regret doing so, as it helped Lap of Luxury go platinum. With power chords, sentimentality for a past love, and a willingness to do almost anything for the relationship, the song has all the making of a cheesy power ballad, but Cheap Trick did it so well and I can't deny that it's my favorite Cheap Trick song probably.
3. "Heaven" by Bryan Adams
On an album loaded with top 15 songs such as "Run to You" and "Summer of '69," "Heaven" was the only song of them all to reach #1. This Bryan Adams power ballad showcased his versatility, as this was his first hit song that wasn't rock n roll driven. In addition, Adams stayed as close as he could to the sound of the rest of the album, as the guitar is prominently featured with solos that were unlike many in other power ballads, as Bryan's solos didn't use as many power chords. It's still cheesy, but still a masterfully crafted song by an often underrated artist.
2. "Never Tear Us Apart" by INXS
Kick is the crown jewel of the INXS catalog, as they defined their pop-rock sound and put themselves on another level of popularity. Written for all the songs to be singles, "Never Tear Us Apart" was the outlier song, as it was the only song that didn't have many rock elements at all. It featured a prominent string arrangement and is about how nobody can ever tear apart their love. The string arrangement spells cheesy almost every time, but as thing song illustrates, cheesy doesn't equal bad. This song is one of their best songs in my opinion, and it showcases that INXS can do these kind of songs as well as their normal in equally good fashion.
1. "November Rain" by Guns N' Roses
The more I read about this song, the more it fascinates me. According to a former guitarist, Tracii Guns, Axl Rose was working on November Rain since at least 1983, and it wasn't until 1991 that the song was released. Once it was, it became the longest song to enter the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at #3. Topping the song with a complex music video, Guns made themselves more cinematic than they'd ever been. Axl Rose and co. did a masterful job at arrangement of every element of the song, and it's criminal that this song does not get more airplay today.
