As jelly shoes and radioactive neon hues started to fade from our local malls, so too did the awesomeness that was ‘80s power ballads. Those “manly” hair bands slowing it down and showing a more sensitive side and often coming up with some of their catchiest and most-career defining hits. From Poison to Journey to Def Leppard, going the route of the power ballad was an absolute given in the 1980s if you were in a hard rock band. And yes, we do take responsibility for keeping these songs popular and the artist’s careers alive.