There’s something about a piano ballad that just tugs at our heartstrings. There’s something about someone sitting at a piano and singing an emotional song that has the potential to be incredibly moving.
If you think about the songs that give you goosebumps and bring a tear to your eye, there’s a good chance that they’re sung to piano accompaniment. From their iconic opening notes, they lure us in and don’t let go until the final fade-out. It’s no wonder that some piano ballads can be counted among the absolute best songs in history.
While a guitar-based singer-songwriter certainly has the potential to move us – James Taylor, anyone? – it’s the pianists who tend to become most renowned as balladeers. Elton John, Alicia Keys, Adele, John Legend, and Chris Martin of Coldplay have all scored massive hits as pianist-vocalists – but even singers we may not associate with the keyboard, from Phil Collins to Mariah Carey, count piano ballads as some of the biggest hits of their careers. (Strangely enough, the “Piano Man” himself – Billy Joel – didn’t make the list. These, however, are Billy Joel’s greatest hits.)
Click here to see the most popular piano ballads, according to Billboard
To determine the biggest piano ballads, 24/7 Tempo reviewed performance data on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Songs were ranked based on an inverse score wherein a week at No. 1 is worth 100 points, a week at No. 2 worth 99 points, and so on, up to a week at No. 100 worth one point. Only ballads that feature just vocals and piano or are primarily piano-driven were considered. Chart data is current through the week of Nov. 19, 2022.
40. Elton John, “Your Song”
> Entered Hot 100: Nov. 28, 1970
> Peak position on Hot 100: #8 (for 4 weeks)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 14
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39. John Legend, “Ordinary People”
> Entered Hot 100: Jan. 8, 2005
> Peak position on Hot 100: #24 (for 1 week)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 20
38. Barry Manilow, “Mandy”
> Entered Hot 100: Nov. 16, 1974
> Peak position on Hot 100: #1 (for 1 week)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 16
37. Coldplay, “Clocks”
> Entered Hot 100: Feb. 1, 2003
> Peak position on Hot 100: #29 (for 3 weeks)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 22
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36. The Beatles, “Let It Be”
> Entered Hot 100: March 21, 1970
> Peak position on Hot 100: #1 (for 2 weeks)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 14
35. Simon & Garfunkel, “Bridge Over Troubled Water”
> Entered Hot 100: Feb. 7, 1970
> Peak position on Hot 100: #1 (for 6 weeks)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 14
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34. Five For Fighting, “100 Years”
> Entered Hot 100: Feb. 14, 2004
> Peak position on Hot 100: #28 (for 1 week)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 22
33. Barry Manilow, “Looks Like We Made It”
> Entered Hot 100: May 7, 1977
> Peak position on Hot 100: #1 (for 1 week)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 19
32. Minnie Riperton, “Lovin’ You”
> Entered Hot 100: Jan. 18, 1975
> Peak position on Hot 100: #1 (for 1 week)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 18
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31. Debbie Gibson, “Lost In Your Eyes”
> Entered Hot 100: Jan. 21, 1989
> Peak position on Hot 100: #1 (for 3 weeks)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 19
30. Christina Perri, “A Thousand Years”
> Entered Hot 100: Nov. 5, 2011
> Peak position on Hot 100: #31 (for 1 week)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 26
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29. Barbra Streisand & Neil Diamond, “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers”
> Entered Hot 100: Oct. 28, 1978
> Peak position on Hot 100: #1 (for 2 weeks)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 17
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28. Richard Marx, “Right Here Waiting”
> Entered Hot 100: July 8, 1989
> Peak position on Hot 100: #1 (for 3 weeks)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 21
27. Tiffany, “Could’ve Been”
> Entered Hot 100: Nov. 28, 1987
> Peak position on Hot 100: #1 (for 2 weeks)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 20
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26. Nilsson, “Without You”
> Entered Hot 100: Dec. 18, 1971
> Peak position on Hot 100: #1 (for 4 weeks)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 19
25. Mariah Carey, “I’ll Be There”
> Entered Hot 100: May 30, 1992
> Peak position on Hot 100: #1 (for 2 weeks)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 20
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24. Roberta Flack, “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”
> Entered Hot 100: March 4, 1972
> Peak position on Hot 100: #1 (for 6 weeks)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 18
23. Commodores, “Still”
> Entered Hot 100: Sept. 29, 1979
> Peak position on Hot 100: #1 (for 1 week)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 20
22. Barry Manilow, “I Write the Songs”
> Entered Hot 100: Nov. 15, 1975
> Peak position on Hot 100: #1 (for 1 week)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 20
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21. Stevie B, “Because I Love You (The Postman Song)”
> Entered Hot 100: Oct. 6, 1990
> Peak position on Hot 100: #1 (for 4 weeks)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 23
20. Bette Midler, “The Rose”
> Entered Hot 100: March 22, 1980
> Peak position on Hot 100: #3 (for 3 weeks)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 25
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19. Barbra Streisand, “The Way We Were”
> Entered Hot 100: Nov. 24, 1973
> Peak position on Hot 100: #1 (for 3 weeks)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 23
18. Phil Collins, “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)”
> Entered Hot 100: Feb. 25, 1984
> Peak position on Hot 100: #1 (for 3 weeks)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 24
17. Kenny Rogers, “Lady”
> Entered Hot 100: Oct. 4, 1980
> Peak position on Hot 100: #1 (for 6 weeks)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 25
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16. Akon, “Don’t Matter”
> Entered Hot 100: Feb. 3, 2007
> Peak position on Hot 100: #1 (for 2 weeks)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 23
15. Diana Ross & Lionel Richie, “Endless Love”
> Entered Hot 100: July 11, 1981
> Peak position on Hot 100: #1 (for 9 weeks)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 27
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14. Janet Jackson, “Again”
> Entered Hot 100: Oct. 23, 1993
> Peak position on Hot 100: #1 (for 2 weeks)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 23
13. Debby Boone, “You Light Up My Life”
> Entered Hot 100: Sept. 3, 1977
> Peak position on Hot 100: #1 (for 10 weeks)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 25
12. Rihanna, “Take A Bow”
> Entered Hot 100: April 26, 2008
> Peak position on Hot 100: #1 (for 1 week)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 27
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11. Vanessa Williams, “Save the Best for Last”
> Entered Hot 100: Feb. 1, 1992
> Peak position on Hot 100: #1 (for 5 weeks)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 27
10. Sarah McLachlan, “Angel”
> Entered Hot 100: Dec. 5, 1998
> Peak position on Hot 100: #4 (for 2 weeks)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 28
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9. Mariah Carey, “Hero”
> Entered Hot 100: Oct. 23, 1993
> Peak position on Hot 100: #1 (for 4 weeks)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 30
8. Rihanna featuring Mikky Ekko, “Stay”
> Entered Hot 100: Feb. 23, 2013
> Peak position on Hot 100: #3 (for 2 weeks)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 32
7. Bruno Mars, “When I Was Your Man”
> Entered Hot 100: Dec. 22, 2012
> Peak position on Hot 100: #1 (for 1 week)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 35
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6. Alicia Keys, “Fallin'”
> Entered Hot 100: June 16, 2001
> Peak position on Hot 100: #1 (for 6 weeks)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 34
5. Kelly Clarkson, “Because of You”
> Entered Hot 100: Sept. 3, 2005
> Peak position on Hot 100: #7 (for 1 week)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 37
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4. Adele, “Someone Like You”
> Entered Hot 100: March 12, 2011
> Peak position on Hot 100: #1 (for 5 weeks)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 39
3. Queen, “Bohemian Rhapsody”
> Entered Hot 100: Jan. 3, 1976
> Peak position on Hot 100: #2 (for 1 week)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 44
2. Elton John, “Candle in the Wind 1997/Something About the Way You Look Tonight”
> Entered Hot 100: Oct. 11, 1997
> Peak position on Hot 100: #1 (for 14 weeks)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 42
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1. Alicia Keys, “If I Ain’t Got You”
> Entered Hot 100: March 6, 2004
> Peak position on Hot 100: #4 (for 1 week)
> Total weeks on Hot 100: 40
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