Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. Soft rock was prevalent on the radio throughout the 1970s and eventually metamorphosed into a form of the synthesized music of adult contemporary in the 1980s.
"Boulevard of Broken Dreams" is a song by American rock band Green Day. The power ballad is the fourth track from their seventh studio album American Idiot (2004). Reprise Records released "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" as the second single from American Idiot on November 29, 2004. The song's lyrics were written by lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong, and the music was composed by the band. Production was handled by Rob Cavallo and Green Day.
"Where Do Broken Hearts Go" is a song recorded by American singer Whitney Houston for her second studio album, Whitney (1987). It was released as the fourth single from the album on February 25, 1988. The song was written by Frank Wildhorn and Chuck Jackson and produced by Narada Michael Walden. A pop ballad set in the key of D major, the record is about someone seeking for a former lover to return after a breakup. Upon its release, the song received mixed reviews from critics.
The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by Billboard magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to Billboard by stations that are members of the Adult Contemporary radio panel. The chart debuted in Billboard magazine on July 17, 1961. Over the years, the chart has gone under a series of name changes, being called Easy Listening(1961–1962; 1965–1979), Middle-Road Singles(1962–1964), Pop-Standard Singles(1964–1965), Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks(1979–1982) and Adult Contemporary(1983–present). The current number-one song on the chart is "Flowers" by Miley Cyrus.
Tremaine Aldon Neverson, known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. His debut album, I Gotta Make It, was released in 2005 through Atlantic Records. His follow-up album, Trey Day, spawned his first top 20 single, "Can't Help but Wait". Songz released his third album, Ready, in 2009 and a single from the album, "Say Aah", peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 making it Songz's first top 10 hit. Ready was nominated for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance at the 2008 Grammy Awards. The following year saw Songz's highest-charting song to date, "Bottoms Up", from his fourth studio album, Passion, Pain & Pleasure (2010).
"(They Long to Be) Close to You" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. The best-known version is that recorded by American duo the Carpenters for their second studio album Close to You (1970) and produced by Jack Daugherty. Released on May 14, 1970, the single topped both the US Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts. It also reached the top of the Canadian and Australian charts and peaked at number six on the charts of both the UK and Ireland. The record was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in August 1970.
"Broken Wings" is a 1985 song recorded by American pop rock band Mr. Mister. It was released in June 1985 as the lead single from their second album Welcome to the Real World. The song peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1985, where it remained for two weeks. It was released as the band was just about to embark on a US tour opening for Tina Turner. "Broken Wings" became the first of two consecutive number ones of the band on the American charts, the other chart-topper being "Kyrie". Outside of the United States, "Broken Wings" topped the charts in Canada, peaked within the top ten of the charts in Australia, Belgium (Flanders), the Netherlands, Norway, the Republic of Ireland, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and West Germany, and the top twenty of the charts in Austria, New Zealand, Spain and Sweden.
"Before He Cheats" is a song by American singer Carrie Underwood from her debut studio album, Some Hearts (2005). Written by Chris Tompkins and Josh Kear, it was released as the fourth single from the album. The song tells the story of a woman taking revenge on her unfaithful partner.
"These Dreams" is a song by American rock band Heart from their 1985 self-titled eighth studio album Heart. It was released on January 18, 1986, as the album's third single, becoming the band's first song to top the Billboard Hot 100. The single's B-side track, "Shell Shock", was also the B-side of Heart's previous single "Never".
"Alone" is a song composed by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, who recorded it under the name i-Ten on their 1983 album Taking a Cold Look.
"Nothing Broken but My Heart" is a song by Canadian singer Celine Dion, recorded for her second English-language album, Celine Dion (1992). It was released as the third single in Canada, United States and Japan in August 1992, and fourth in Australia in January 1993. Written by Diane Warren and produced by Walter Afanasieff, it topped the adult contemporary charts in both the United States and Canada. The song was the second Dion's single which reached number-one position on the US Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart. It peaked at number three in Canada and number 29 in the United States. In 1994, "Nothing Broken but My Heart" won an ASCAP Pop Award for most performed song in the United States.
Canadian singer Celine Dion has released 137 singles in both English and French discography as a lead artist. According to Billboard, Dion is the world's best-selling contemporary female artist of all time. As of 2021, she has reportedly sold around 200 to 250 million records worldwide. Referred to as the "Queen of Power Ballads", Dion has released a string of worldwide hits, with "My Heart Will Go On" being her career's biggest hit, with estimated physical sales of over 18 million worldwide, making it the 2nd best-selling physical single by a woman in history. It reached over 117 million radio impressions during its peak, becoming the most-played radio hit in history and became the best-selling single of 1998 worldwide. "Because You Loved Me" is her biggest hit on Billboard Hot 100, spending six weeks atop the charts and sold six million copies in its first six months of availability worldwide. "Pour que tu m'aimes encore" was the 4th biggest hit of the 1990s in France and has sold over four million copies worldwide.
"Say" is a song by John Mayer written for the Rob Reiner film The Bucket List in 2007. The ballad was released as a single on November 20, 2007, and was the first commercial single in Mayer's career that was not originally released on one of his albums but added to the special edition re-release of his album Continuum. The song earned Mayer his record-tying fourth and final Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.
"Faith of the Heart" is a song written by Diane Warren and performed by Rod Stewart, for the soundtrack to the 1998 film, Patch Adams. Stewart's version charted at number 3 on the US Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks and at number 60 on the UK Singles Chart. It was warmly received by critics. The song was later covered in 1999 by Susan Ashton for her album Closer and released as her first single in the country music genre.
American R&B singer Trey Songz has released nine studio albums, two extended plays (EPs), seven mixtapes and fifty-nine singles. His music has sold an overall 25 million records worldwide in singles and albums.
Mark Mueller is an American songwriter. A two-time winner of the ASCAP Pop Award for writing one of the Most Performed Songs of the year, he has had three Billboard Hot 100 Top Ten singles and one #1 Adult Contemporary hit. He co-wrote #1 hits "Crush" by Jennifer Paige and "That's What Love Is For" by Amy Grant and wrote both words and music for the Top 10 hit "Nothin' At All" by Heart. Songs he has written have been featured on RIAA-certified gold and platinum records in four consecutive decades: the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010s; and on the Billboard Top 10 charts for 30 years.
"Broken Hearted Me" is a song written by Randy Goodrum, originally recorded by England Dan & John Ford Coley for their album Dr. Heckle and Mr. Jive, and later covered by Canadian country and pop music singer Anne Murray. It was released in September 1979 as the first single from her album I'll Always Love You. The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in December, Murray's fourth No. 1 single on that chart. She also recorded a version of the song in Spanish, which was released on vinyl, and later on CD.
"Half of My Heart" is a song by American singer-songwriter John Mayer featuring American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It is the third single from Mayer's 2009 album, Battle Studies. Mayer was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance in 2011 for his solo version of the song.
"Heart Attack" is a song by American singer Trey Songz. It was produced by Benny Blanco and Rico Love and released as the lead single from Trey Songz's fifth studio album, Chapter V on March 26, 2012. It reached the top 40 in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 28 on the UK Singles Chart and peaked at number 35 in the United States on the US Billboard Hot 100. "Heart Attack" received a nomination for Best R&B Song at the 2013 Grammy Awards.
"Me and My Broken Heart" is a song performed by English pop band Rixton. It was written by Benny Blanco, Ammar Malik, Steve Mac, Wayne Hector, and Rob Thomas and produced by Blanco and Mac. The song was first released on 14 March 2014 as the lead single from Rixton's debut studio album, Let the Road (2015).
