Let's get something straight. Something that's cheesy isn't bad. In fact, quite the opposite. Cheesiness is beloved and holds an important place in our hearts.
Listen to Lighters in the Air, now on Audacy
If you're a connoisseur of cheesy music videos, you've come to the right place. This is especially true if you're yearning for something that screams 80s.
There's plenty of great 80s music videos to go around, but nothing quite captures the spirit of the decade like a power ballad music video. Big hair, wild outfits, scenes that make absolutely no sense. We've put together this list of seven fantastically cheesy 80's power ballad music videos that we absolutely love.
If you're in the mood for more power ballads, be sure to check out Audacy's Lighters in the Air station and fire up those speakers like it's 1985 all over again!
Def Leppard - Love Bites
The video begins with a woman lying on a mattress that's placed directly on the floor and then abruptly cuts to Joe Elliott singing in the shadows. The woman appears throughout the rest of the video, but rarely for more than a few seconds. The random jump cuts between Elliott's right and left side of his face also make it great.
REO Speedwagon - Can't Fight This Feeling
For a song from 1984, the music video features some fantastic special effects graphics and animation. While the video is all about life and the various cycles in it, something about the opening shot of zooming in on a baby and abruptly cutting to a close up of Kevin Cronin makes us smile.
Whitesnake - Is This Love
Nothing about this video makes sense, which is why it's so great. The video opens inside of what looks like an apartment as a woman wearing a nightgown frantically packs her bags while a man leans against the wall as if they're going through a breakup. The next scene cuts to Whitesnake playing outside in an environment that looks like Stonehenge. That's all you need to know.
Poison - Every Rose Has Its Thorn
The Poison classic may just be the GOAT of 1980's power ballad music videos. It has EVERYTHING! Brett Michaels strumming a guitar alone in the dark? Check. Random slow motion shots of the band performing live with no context? Check. General tomfoolery of the 80's? Check. Insinuating heartbreak? Check.
Mötley Crüe - Home Sweet Home
Perhaps the best part of this video is that the first 40 seconds begin with plot development that goes absolutely nowhere. Vince Neil emerges from the ocean with seaweed around his arms and a snorkel on his face. Mick Mars is sitting at the head of a table of some vampire dinner. Nikki Sixx is sitting by himself at the bar of some jazz club. Then it all ends with Tommy Lee picking up a broken phone in the midst of a party in his living room. The video then just cuts to a Mötley Crüe concert making the previous 40 seconds all but irrelevant.
Warrant - Heaven
Extreme closeups, matching outfits, slow motion shots of the boys strolling down the streets and fooling around, "Heaven" is an essential 80's power ballad video.
Europe - Carrie
You know you're in for a treat when the first two scenes of a music video are a close up of someone playing the piano before transitioning to a silhouette of the singer in a spotlight. That's how the "Carrie" video starts out as it sets the tone for 80's power ballad excellence throughout.
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Celebrate the golden era of the power ballad
