Yeah, rarely done. Here’s a standout candidate though, albeit not exactly in the Celine Dion genre.
Hmm, we seem to have a consensus!
Biggirl, I’ve got a deep cut that you’re really going to love, by Falco (of Rock Me Amadeus fame). It’s got everything:
- Heavy synth
- Wailing with chest pounding-esque gestures
- Cheesy German(/Austrian) talk/singing verses
- Angelic backing chorus
- Rain sound effects plus a TV report that tells you the plot (if you speak German)
- NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Plus a bonus cliffhanger (?) ending…
Could be the best ever!
Duuuudes!!! This whole thread and only one mention, and that in passing, of the queen of bombastic songs, Dame Shirley Bassey???
Goldfinger!
Diamonds are Forever!
Moonraker!
And (I can’t link to it, because I’m at work) an amazingly Basseyish version of P!nk’s “Get This Party Started”. Check it out on YouTube - it’s an awesome cover (if you like Bassey’s style) and the vid is OMG wonderful.
Winner winner, chicken dinner! Whenever any of her songs come up, whether on the radio or just in conversation, I automatically, involuntarily find myself doing “Shirley hands” (whereby I hold out my hands and alternately clench and make claw fingers).
Second place has to be Meatloaf, with his hanky clenching.
Kelly Clarkson is definitely in the running. She’s become a real whinger.
Sort of like the call Bob Uecker used to make “Juuuuust a bit outside.”
How about some old glurge like “To Dream The Impossible Dream”. It’s progress in that crap like that would never fly today.
Oh my god.
It’s like the Downfall of bombastic songs!
Again, that’s a musical theatre song, which really shouldn’t be eligible in a thread like this. The whole point of it is to serve the dramatic structure, so outside of theatre it will seem over-the-top, much like an actor who’s not able to switch between acting for the stage and acting for the screen.
I just heard a contender: Disturbed doing a cover of “The Sound of Silence.”
“The Warrior” by Patty Smythe
Most anything by Rick Astley.
Fire, Arthur Brown
How about some Aerosmith ballads, especially from their '80s-'90s comeback period? Like, I dunno - “What it Takes”?, which was co-written with the guy who wrote the previously mentioned Bon Jovi song.
Coming late to this thread I am genuinely surprised that there is nothing from No Doubt.
Over-wrought melodramatic lyrics full of shallow angst, all gurned and hand-wrung by Gwen Stefani with the emotional depth of paper.
I only know their hits, so my answer is ‘No Doubt’s Greatest Hits’.
The 1998 animated film Quest for Camelot featured a song called “The Prayer.” In the movie , it was sung by Jane Seymour’s character (but not by Miss Seymour). Over the closing credits, it was an English-and-Italian duet between Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli. He gets up to about a high C in that, which strikes me as a little bombastic.
Another performer/over-the-top song choice is Josh Groban with “[del]How Great Thou Art[/del] You Raise Me Up.”
And, as much as I love the man, I’d be disingenuous if I omitted Steve Lawrence’s rendition of “A Portrait of My Love.”
Let’s not forget Gary Puckett with his brace of bombastical hits: “Young Girl,” and “Woman (Have You Got Leaving On Your Mind?)”
Honestly, that dude might have been better off dating guys.
Elvis Presley’s American Trilogy. I love it because I am a big Elvis fan, but man is it overdramatic!
Yes, good pick!! “Crying” is another one that gets very dramatic.
*You’re wondering who I am (secret secret, I’ve got a secret)
Machine or mannequin (secret secret, I’ve got a secret)
With parts made in Japan (secret secret, I’ve got a secret)…
Domo arigato… Mr. Roboto… domo. Domo.*