Despite their ancient origin, slow-paced tempo, themes of love, and minimalism in acoustic instruments, ballads have become highly popular due to their integration into various other genres. Some ballads may require dance, some rhythm, and some drumming. However, balladry stays the same in every improvisation. Therefore, the latest and modern English ballads have witnessed various additions and changes. The top 10 latest English ballads have been given below with their major features.
Example #1
Wonder by Shawn Mendes
I wonder what it’s like to be loved by
Right before I close my eyes
The only thing that’s on my mind
Been dreamin’ that you feel it too
I wonder what it’s like to be loved by you
First released in 2020, this beautiful ballad was sung by Shawn Mendes. Since then, the ballad has bagged the Kids’ Choice Award and MTV Award. Shawn Mendes himself wrote this song with the help of Thomas Hill and other colleagues. Despite its pop/soul genres, the ballad presents the situation of uncertainty through a rhetorical question like that of a child. This uncertainty continues until the end, where it seems that this anaphoric use of “I wonder” and its refrain take the listener to the love expressed by the singer. These innocent expressions and literary devices have made this latest ballad a memorable experience, as its last stanza demonstrates it amply.
Example #2
When I Was Your Man by Bruno Mars
Same bed but it feels just a little bit bigger now
Our song on the radio but it don’t sound the same
When our friends talk about you, all it does is just tear me down
‘Cause my heart breaks a little when I hear your nameIt all just sounds like ooh, ooh, ooh, hoo
Mm, too young, too dumb to realize
That I should have bought you flowers
And held your hand
Should have gave you all my hours
When I had the chance
Take you to every party ‘cause all you wanted to do was dance
Written by Andrew Wyatt and his colleagues, this beautiful ballad was sung by Bruno Mars. It was first released in his album, Unorthodox Jukebox, in 2012. A reggae and pop genre, this song has set the stage for other songs of unrequited love in which a man recalls with poignant thoughts how he used to love a woman with whom he did not have a chance to dance, but now his daughter is dancing with some other man. He feels remorse and wishes that he could have danced with her. This thematic strain with the refrain of “That I should have brought flowers” bring this ballad second in this order of ranking. The ballad also won Premio Juventud for Favorite Hit song with some nominations. Its first stanza shows its excellent qualities.
Example #3
Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran
When your legs don’t work like they used to before
And I can’t sweep you off of your feet
Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love
Will your eyes still smile from your cheeksAnd darling I will be loving you ‘til we’re 70
And baby my heart could still fall as hard at 23
And I’m thinking ‘bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways
Maybe just the touch of a hand
Oh me I fall in love with you every single day
And I just wanna tell you I am
Sung by Ed Sheeran, this beautiful ballad was first released in 2014 and since then has set records in ballad singing. Although it was only nominated for Grammy Award, this hip-hop-rap genre has made its lyrics rung in the ears of the audiences. Written by Amy Wadge and Edward Christopher Sheeran, it expresses the strong desire of the singer and his resolution that he would be loving his beloved until he is seventy. However, the interesting thing about his love is to try all the mysterious ways that other people enjoy during this loving exercise. The use of the refrain of “we found love right where we are” has brought this song third place in our order of ranking. The first stanza of this ballad shows its qualities.
Example #4
When the Party’s Over by Billie Eilish
Quiet when I’m comin’ home and I’m on my own
I could lie, say I like it like that, like it like that
I could lie, say I like it like that, like it like that
Sung by Billie Elish, this ballad was first released in her album, When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go. It was released in 2019 and hit new records. Written by Finneas Baird O’Connell, this song presents a new situation where a lady tells her lover that she is habitual of lying, saying “like this or like that,” but actually, she is not interested in him as she thinks that she is of no good to him and that he knows it. Using different literary devices such as rhetorical questions and refrains, she has beautifully presented her case. That is why the ballad stands fourth in our order of ranking, as its second stanza shows this.
Example #5
Someone like You by Adele
Never mind, I’ll find someone like you
I wish nothing but the best for you, too
“Don’t forget me, “ I beg
I remember you said
“Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead”
“Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead”
Sung by Adele in 2011 and included in her album 21, this ballad was written by her in collaboration with Daniel Dodd. The ballad talks about the beloved who is settled by recalling her lover who has also settled with his girl. She sees in her mind’s eyes his girl that does not seem good to her. Therefore, she could resist his charm and love and implored him to keep her in his mind. This intense expression of unrequited love has made this song come fifth in our order of ranking. Its stanza clearly shows the use of refrains, dialogs, and repetitions that have made it a memorable ballad.
Example #6
Delicate by Taylor Swift
This ain’t for the best
My reputation’s never been worse, so
You must like me for meWe can’t make any promises
Now can we, babe?
But you can make me a drink.
Released in 2017 through her album, Reputation, this song by Taylor Swift proved a tour de force and grabbed the first-ever iHeartRadio Award. It also won several nominations in pop-cum-country music genre. With its short and long verses, the ballad demonstrates the best that the poet can offer through his own composition in collaboration with Martin and Karl Schuster. However, the interesting thing about this ballad is the use of repetitions and rhetorical questions, two rhetorical devices. Therefore, the ballad has been placed sixth in our order of ranking as its two stanzas given below show these features.
Example #7
Daisies by Katy Perry
Told them your dreams, and they all started laughing
I guess you’re out of your mind ‘til it actually happensI’m the small town
One in seven billion
Why can’t it be me?
Sung by Katy Perry, this song was first released in 2020 in his album, Smile. Written by him in collaboration with several other comrades, Parry presents the situation of dreams in this pop ballad that people start making fun of you when you tell them dreams. The singer, then, goes on to state that people always discourage others but he would continue sticking to his resolution. He has already faced this bickering and jokes and that he would not submit. This expression of resolution expressed through paradoxes, rhetorical questions, repetitions, and truths has made this ballad come seventh in our order of ranking. Its first stanza shows its qualities.
Example #8
Wrecking Ball by Miley Cyrus
We clawed, we chained, our hearts in vain
We jumped, never asking why
We kissed, I fell under your spell
A love no one could denyDon’t you ever say I just walked away
I will always want you
I can’t live a lie, running for my life
I will always want you
Miley Cyrus sang this song in 2013. The ballad song instantly won MTV Award along with many more nominations. Written by Henry Russell Walter, Kim Kiyani, and their colleagues, it presents the confusion of the post-love period when the lover sees that he cannot stay or go away from his beloved. Presented in a typical ballad fashion with short stanzas, the ballad shows its intensity of emotions through this confusion of love. The lover knows that his beloved is showing him attitudes as he has shown her in the past. Therefore, he expresses his doubts about her and his love for her through several figures of speech such as metaphors and repetitions. That is why the ballad comes eighth in our order of ranking.
Example #9
Lose You to Love Me by Selena Gomez
You promised the world and I fell for it
I put you first and you adored it
Set fires to my forest
And you let it burn
Sang off-key in my chorus
‘Cause it wasn’t yoursI saw the signs and I ignored it
Rose-colored glasses all distorted
Set fire to my purpose
And I let it burn
You got off on the hurtin’
When it wasn’t yours, yeah
Sung by Selena Gomez in 2020, this song appeared on the scene in her album, Rare. Although it failed to win awards, it was nominated for its lyrics written by Selena in collaboration with several of her colleagues. The pop genre ballad presents love, rejection, acceptance, and pangs of love through simple lyrics bedecked with repetitions and refrains. However, the interesting thing is the combination of short and long verses, matching the very emotions of love. That is the reason that the song comes up at the top and is placed ninth in our order of ranking. Its first stanza shows these qualities.
Example #10
All of Me by John Legend
What would I do without your smart mouth?
Drawin’ me in and you kickin’ me out
You’ve got my head spinnin’, no kiddin’
I can’t pin you down
What’s goin’ on in that beautiful mind?
I’m on your magical mystery ride
And I’m so dizzy, don’t know what hit me
But I’ll be alright
My head’s under water, but I’m breathing fine
You’re crazy and I’m out of my mind
Released in 2013, this beautiful song was recorded in the same year. Written by Toby Gad and John Stephens in collaboration with Justin Fredericks, this beautiful ballad occurred in his studio album Love in the Future. Due to its strong lyrics about love, the song was dedicated to Legend’s wife, Chrissy Teigen. The beauty of the song lies in its hook-like first line, which is a rhetorical question and call for love that continues until the end of the song. The physical description of the body of his beloved shows the sensual sensibilities of the poet and the singer. Therefore, the song has been placed tenth in our order of ranking. Its stanzas given below show this excellence in art.
