@Music Is Life (10) — "This manages to stay away from being cheesy while still being inspirational, not to mention being a gorgeously produced ballad with great vocals."
@WhatKindOfKylie? (10) — "The ultimate signature song of Mariah Carey's record breaking career, and one that still packs a punch over 25 years on. Whilst I prefer Make It Happen with its similar empowering theme, there is no denying that Hero is an utter masterpiece and why it continues to bring hope and inspiration during good times and bad for so many people. Myself included."
@bonnieetclyde (10) — "seriously, who doesn't love/connect deeply to this song? Simply beautiful - lyrically, musically, vocally. No faults to be found."
@tylerc904 (10) — "A little played out these days but I cannot deny the mastery here."
@Sprockrooster (10) — "People do the absolute most when it comes to this track at times on this forum and I am kind of hoping us raters can recognize it sheer brilliance. I mean the belting power - ballad that is chill-inducing from the start with those opening chords and her divine vocals. A high 11-contender and definitely part of my holy trinity of Mariah tracks from this rate."
@Pinky25 (10) — "Stunning. I know it sounds silly but this song really does give me strength and courage. Almost my 11."
@pop3blow2 (10) — "Is this Mariah's version of 'Greatest Love Of All'? Yes. Do I love it more in all its over the top, borderline corny glory. Yes I do. The video was a moment for me. She got her first NBC primetime concert on Thanksgiving that year. The amount of excitement had for that was through the roof. She looked like a goddess signing this song."
@Slice of Life (10) — "One of first Mariah songs I heard so of course it's getting a 10. A karaoke staple for yours truly. xoxo"
@Blond (10) — "The lyrics might be a little trite and it might have been done to death on singing competitions, but it still comes across as sincere. It's probably Mariah's most memorable big ballad(?) and I'm sure its message still resonates with people all these years later. Remember the X Factor finalists version though? How did we collectively let that happen?"
@Seventeen Days (9.75) — "Anyone else out there old enough to remember when Mariah sang this during her primetime special on NBC? This song remains a moment, and is easily one of her most beautiful tracks."
@ohaimanabu (9) — "It's the quintessential feel good song. You've all had this song HIT you in the feels."
@abael (9) — "This would get a 10, but I've watched too many singing competitions to truly enjoy this song anymore."
@londonrain (9) — "Yes, it's hugely overdone, and Rihanna's cover made my ears bleed... but I struggle to give this anything less than a 10. It was the first Mariah song I ever heard on the radio and Music Box and Daydream were the first albums I ever bought, so I can't NOT give it a 10."
@Veeis (9) — "It can be schmaltzy but it's an undeniable classic. Everyone knows Hero and I enjoy how uplifting it is."
@The Hot Rock (8) — "Not gonna lie, I kinda rolled my eyes and thought this was gonna be a sappy ass mess but it's good."
@RUNAWAY (7.5) — "¯\_(ツ)_/¯ she's a cute girl, and you know I am a sucker for a ballad, but god this one is just so schmaltzy and A LOT. I've never understood why this became such a signature song for her."
@DominoDancing (7.5) — "Considering this is something of a signature song, it has always left me a bit cold."
@Oceandrive (7) — "Part of me wants to score this lower, however I will take the Mariah approach when she lets everyone know that she basically hates the song but it helped a few people through some things so we'll give it some fan service for that reason and that reason only."
@godspeed (6.5) — "Alright, alright... I know that this song is not really appreciated on this forum or even by Mariah herself, and for good reasons! I personally don't really care about it and rarely listen to it. It is Mariah on autopilot, as so many people pointed out when talking about
Music Box, and it's not a very interesting song lyrically or musically speaking. But I'm not gonna go and pretend that when this song comes on the radio, I don't sing along and belt it out. It is a hit and an iconic song even though we are so tired of it."
@Jimmyandroid (6) — "I've never connected with this one. I feel like I always knew she didn't write it for herself."
@Imagineitwasus (6) — "A bit too consensual and straight-forward for my taste."
@mokitsu (5) — "The most overrated song in her discography, the verses and bridge are cute but the chorus doesn't do it for me. It's just not up to her standards which makes sense given that she didn't originally write it for herself."
@Tigerlily (4) — "Dated. Corny. Boring. I can't stand this. 4 because of VOCALS. I'm ready for the stones."
@Ana Raquel (4) — "I... never really liked it."
@BreatheBox (4) — "the studio version is absolutely BORING but it has a great song underneath it."
@nikkysan (3) — "The blandest, most beige song she's ever done."
