change is hard...and you overcome that fear of change." The other REO Speedwagon members referred to "Can't Fight This Feeling" as "that stupid ballad" until it became a charting hit. Composition Can’t Fight This Feeling is in the key of A major. Reception Chicago Tribune critic Jan DeKnock said that the song "rode a pretty melody all the way to No. 1." DeKnock also said that it was "the latest in a series of ballads that have found success on the dance-dominated charts with a tried and true formula: A melody that is pretty enough for adult contemporary listeners, with instrumentation that is strong enough for rock-oriented radio stations. Billboard recommended the single, calling it a "midtempo rock ballad." Rapid City Journal writer Mike Sanborn called it one of REO Speedwagon's "best ballads." Palm Beach Post music writer Leslie Gray Streeter named it her 3rd greatest power ballad. Arizona Republic writer Andrew Means noted that the song "has a similar tone of emotional frailty [as some ballads on Hi Infidelity], which revives comparisons with such so-called 'corporate rock' entities as Foreigner and Journey." Streeter attributes the song's success to its combination of "frighteningly candid emotion with searing rock guitar. But Greg Kennedy of the Red Deer Advocate called it a "bland formula-fed composition." Austin American-Statesman writer Drew Carr felt that the performance of REO Speedwagon keyboardist Neal Doughty was particularly effective on this song. Music video Two different music videos exist for the song. Both videos have been shown at various times on VH1 Classic (now known as MTV Classic). Version 1: Studio (videotape) The videotaped version was produced by MTV for a special on REO Speedwagon and features the band in the studio. It begins with Kevin Cronin playing the piano, attempting to find the key in which he can best sing the song (starting off in G major, he later decides he can sing it better in A). After Cronin exchanges some laughs with his bandmates, the original track of the song plays, with the band members miming their respective parts. It concludes with Cronin uttering the line, "That warmed the cockles of my cockles!" Version 2: Film The second more famous version, directed by John Jopson, was considered a "more professional one" and makes various references to the life-cycle and shows the band singing the song. Personnel REO Speedwagon Kevin Cronin - lead and backing vocals, acoustic