Arena Rock / AOR · 1980s Career
Foreigner carried its late-1970s success into the 1980s with polished rock built around Mick Jones’s songwriting and Lou Gramm’s powerful voice.
Early-decade success
4 produced major hits including “Urgent” and “Waiting for a Girl Like You,” expanding the band’s use of keyboards without abandoning guitar-driven rock.
Power ballad peak
“I Want to Know What Love Is” became one of the decade’s defining rock ballads and brought the group an even broader pop audience.
Why they matter
Foreigner helped define the polished AOR and power-ballad sound that dominated mainstream rock radio in the 1980s.