I read on online dictionary, that says that a ballad "is a song of a romantic or sentimental nature.

 

I read an other dictionary, which said "A slow, sentimental song"

 

And another one, which said "A simple, often sentimental song"

I read on online dictionary, that says that a ballad "is a song of a romantic or sentimental nature.

 

I read an other dictionary, which said "A slow, sentimental song"

 

And another one, which said "A simple, often sentimental song"

 

To be honest, when I classify songs as something, they don't have to fit all the defition of it anyway.

 

Like rapping and sampling are primary characteristics of a hip hop song, but if a song doesn't have rapping in, you can still classify it as hip hop (e.g. Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart by Alicia Keys, We Belong Together by Mariah Carey, E.T. by Katy Perry), because their instrumentals are very similar to what you get in hip hop. Even the vocal delivery by the singers is close to rapping.

 

Talking about E.T., I've seen it classified as a ballad a few times actually, so that's another ballad in our top 10.

 

This thread should really be titled "Are pop songs that don't have a kick drum on the first beat of every bar making a comeback?". :lol:

Edited May 2, 201114 yr by Eric_Blob

E.T is NOT a ballad :P the other songs you listed I would class as a ballad- although the tempo is slightly higher

Edited May 2, 201114 yr by chart wizard

E.T is NOT a ballad :P the other songs you listed I would class as a ballad- although the tempo is slightly higher

 

The other songs are ballads, yes, but in that case I was saying that they get classified as hip hop songs sometimes, even though they don't have rappping or sampling in, two key characteristics of a hip hop song.

 

Seriously, I've seen E.T. called a ballad in quite a few reviews *searches through browsing history*.

 

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1638572/n...s-hit-net.jhtml

Each track seems to confirm what Perry has already told MTV News about the new album, mainly that it's a "summer record" filled with bubbly, electro-tinged pop tunes that recall "roller-skating ... [the]'90s ... Ace of Base ... [and] Cyndi Lauper." "E.T." is a whooshing, electronic ballad that has Perry singing about a lover from "a different dimension" "In Between" is a shiny, slinky love song, complete with synths, loose bass and strings; and "California Gurls" — which Perry actually tweeted about on Tuesday — is backed by a big beat and features an assist from none other than Snoop Dogg.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/zmcg

But on the evidence of Circle the Drain’s menacing undertones or the rave-influenced quasi-ballad E.T., there’s a resolute aptitude for sober, dark deliberations which introduce a very different Katy Perry to the one with the unsolicited residency in many a showbiz column.

 

http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/blogs/...th-e-t-20110331

Katy Perry's latest hit "E.T." – the Number One single on Billboard's Hot 100 chart this week – may be named after Steven Spielberg's adorable Eighties space alien, but its video has more to do with grim modern sci-fi. In fact, the clip looks as though it could be the trailer for either a sequel to Avatar or a Katy Perry video game. It's a bold move away from Perry's usual silliness and sexuality, but the song itself is too – it sounds more like Evanescence's hard rock balladry than her cheerful radio hits "California Gurls" and "Teenage Dream."

 

And these are big companies, like MTV, BBC, Rolling Stone magazine, who hire people with a wide musical knowledge to review music for them.

Edited May 2, 201114 yr by Eric_Blob

Seriously, I've seen E.T. called a ballad in quite a few reviews *searches through browsing history*.

 

That does not make it a ballad. If enough sources called Adele a rapper would you believe them?

 

Anyway, there are loads of songs in the chart that could technically be counted as a 'ballad' but the point is that *traditional* ballads are dying out.

well, those magazines certainly are using that term lightly :wacko: I would not class it as a ballad in the slightest, as its not particularly sentimental, is fairly upbeat and uses a lot of production (ballads are usually quite simple), if there was any Katy perry song I'd class as a ballad, it would be Thinking of You

 

and I don't think traditional ballads are dying out- they just need the right level of anticipation and hype like Adele has- granted, its pretty rare these days- up-tempo just needs to connect with the public more these days

Edited May 2, 201114 yr by chart wizard

That does not make it a ballad. If enough sources called Adele a rapper would you believe them?

 

Anyway, there are loads of songs in the chart that could technically be counted as a 'ballad' but the point is that *traditional* ballads are dying out.

 

You're not going to find professional music critics, who have been employed by massive companies like MTV and the BBC calling Adele a rapper.

 

I do agree with the main premise of this thread. The use of the term "ballad" is questionable, but yes, there are possibly fewer simple, slow-tempo, love orientated songs that you can't dance to in the charts than possibly ever!

 

well, those magazines certainly are using that term lightly :wacko: I would not class it as a ballad in the slightest, as its not particularly sentimental, is fairly upbeat and uses a lot of production (ballads are usually quite simple), if there was any Katy perry song I'd class as a ballad, it would be Thinking of You

 

Yeah, it appears that we all have different, I guess, tolerance levels, to what we consider a ballad. Like we have extremes, of some people here suggesting that even Just the Way You Are isn't a ballad, and then on the other extreme, we have people suggesting that the likes of E.T. is a ballad.

 

As I kind of jokingly said earlier, this thread should probably be more like a discussion of whether pop songs without a kick on the first beat of every bar are making a comeback, because I never really thought ballads had gone anywhere. However, the charts are extremely dance and electro at the moment, where it's gotten to the point that songs like Someone Like You and Fast Car almost seem out of place in amongst everything else.

Edited May 2, 201114 yr by Eric_Blob

I think people need to distinguish the difference between a "ballad" and a "love song". There's plenty of examples given already of what I would say are "love songs" set to uptempo beats. A ballad, imo, is a track that is stripped back to its bare essentials - the vocals and an additional instrument (be it piano, or acoustic guitar). For me, 'Someone Like You' definitely falls into the category "ballad".

I think people need to distinguish the difference between a "ballad" and a "love song". There's plenty of examples given already of what I would say are "love songs" set to uptempo beats. A ballad, imo, is a track that is stripped back to its bare essentials - the vocals and an additional instrument (be it piano, or acoustic guitar). For me, 'Someone Like You' definitely falls into the category "ballad".

 

Yeah, I think for some people, they'll categorize almost any love song as a ballad.

 

If I had to get the iTunes top 10, and score them in terms of balladness, Someone Like You would probably be 99%, Fast Car would almost be 100% too. :lol: E.T. maybe like 45%. Sweat and The Lazy Song maybe like 5%, and the rest all like 1 or 2%.

 

And then some people need a song to be at the 90% level to consider it a ballad, and other people might consider a ballad anything above the 30% level. I hope I'm making sense here. :lol:

To be honest, when I classify songs as something, they don't have to fit all the defition of it anyway.

 

Like rapping and sampling are primary characteristics of a hip hop song, but if a song doesn't have rapping in, you can still classify it as hip hop (e.g. Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart by Alicia Keys, We Belong Together by Mariah Carey, E.T. by Katy Perry), because their instrumentals are very similar to what you get in hip hop. Even the vocal delivery by the singers is close to rapping.

 

Talking about E.T., I've seen it classified as a ballad a few times actually, so that's another ballad in our top 10.

 

This thread should really be titled "Are pop songs that don't have a kick drum on the first beat of every bar making a comeback?". :lol:

 

TSWABH and WBT are R&B songs, not really Hip-Hop. Also, I wouldn't say E.T. is in anyway Hip-Hop without Kanye's rap.

 

I wouldn't say 'E.T.' is a 'proper ballad' but I can understand why it could be considered one. It's either an 'electronic ballad' or a mid-tempo. Arguably though, an electronic ballad defeats the whole point of a ballad.

 

I might as well add that the closest electronic chart hit that comes close to a ballad is Chris Brown's 'Beautiful People' but, again, it's not a ballad BECAUSE OF it being drenched in instruments. :lol:

Edited May 2, 201114 yr by SceneofSIXCrimes

TSWABH and WBT are R&B songs, not really Hip-Hop. Also, I wouldn't say E.T. is in anyway Hip-Hop without Kanye's rap.

 

I wouldn't say 'E.T.' is a 'proper ballad' but I can understand why it could be considered one. It's either an 'electronic ballad' or a mid-tempo. Arguably though, an electronic ballad defeats the whole point of a ballad.

 

Yeah, TSWABH and We Belong Together are primarily RnB, and E.T. is primarily electropop, but I've seen them classified as hip hop in a lot of places, and I listen to a lot of hip hop music, and I can certainly see why. They're very hip hop-esque, especially the percussion in the first two. If I had listened to the instrumentals of Try Sleeping and We Belong Together, without hearing the versions with vocals, I probably would've assumed they were from rap songs, if I'm honest. Mostly because both songs use hip hop percussion in them.

 

And if anybody here listens to mixtapes, they'll have noticed that since E.T. has gotten popular, all sort of rappers are rapping to it on their mixtapes.

 

Katy Perry talks about E.T. here, and mentions it's quite hip hop (the bit after 1:30). And the instrumental to E.T. was originally intended for a hip hop group for Three 6 Mafia.

 

There can be electronic ballads for sure, it doesn't defeat the purpous of a ballad because the tempo can still be slow, just the instruments are electronic. Now dance-ballads are a different story, they oppose each other because dance music is uptempo, ballads are slow. Although lots of people automatically think sad = ballad, which isn't exactly correct, otherwise songs like Alice DJ - Back In My Life would be called trance-ballads, which make no sense whatsoever.

Dancing On My Own by Robyn was always an interesting one for me. It's very dancey, but at the same time, I think I'd rank it fairly high on the ballad scale.

 

But as Euphorique said, dance songs can only be ballady to an extent, since the purpose of them is that you can dance to them.

Funny, because last time I checked an electro song was at #1.

Edited May 2, 201114 yr by Leviathan

Funny, because last time I checked an electro song was at #1.

 

There's more to the charts than just the #1.

Funny, because last time I checked an electro song was at #1.

 

If ballads (meaning the pure, traditional ballads) were making a comeback (I don't know if they are or not), it doesn't mean there'd be a ballad at #1 every single week. :lol: