Ballad

The ballad is the slow, narrative song form at the centre of popular music: a strophic, verse-and-refrain setting of a story or emotional confession, sung at a measured tempo over simple, memorable melody. Descended from the folk ballads of Britain and America, the popular ballad became the standard vehicle for romantic expression in the recording era, from *Frank Sinatra*'s saloon songs to the power ballads of arena rock and the piano ballads of *Adele*. Its defining contract is sincerity: one voice, one feeling, delivered directly, with arrangement subordinated to the words and the singer's phrasing.