10 Metal Cover Songs That Sound Nothing Like The Original
4. Bringing On the Heartbreak - Mariah Carey
The idea of R&B mixing with metal seems like something that just shouldn't work on paper. I mean, unless you're someone with impressive chops like Stevie Wonder or even Anderson Paak., the idea of the smooth sounds of soul music mixed with heavy riffs doesn't really seem to make for the smoothest fit. Though Mariah Carey might not have been a contender for metal goddess, she did find a bit of a common thread in Def Leppard's ballad Bringin on the Heartbreak.
Granted, it's not like this has no potential to work, with Leppard's trademark hookiness being a gateway drug for the radio-friendly side of metal. Taking the foundation of the first hair metal ballad, Carey sells this tune as if she wrote it herself, letting her powerhouse of a voice wail where you would normally find the guitar solos. As much as this could come off as hokey, you can still hear that same love and affection on display in this version though.
While the entire concept of metal is based around heavier topics, both of these genres do know what it's like to deal with heartache and what it means to be left out to dry by your lover. With even the members of Leppard praising this version of the tune in recent years, this was the moment where hair metal transcended its poodle haired origins.