Everyone has a different preference for what type of music they listen to and their favorite artist/artists. For me, my musical taste has shifted throughout the years. From Justin Bieber to One Direction, to Demi Lovato, to Queen, and now my latest obsession is Def Leppard. How it all started? I honestly have no idea, but Def Leppard has brought some great music into my life, and their songs have gotten me through many tough times. In this post, I will be discussing how I got into Def Leppard, how their music has impacted me, and how they reignited my love for music.
The funny thing is I already had some Def Leppard songs on my Spotify playlist, and I thought they were pretty good, but it wasn’t until last summer that I got into them. My dad is a big fan of Def Leppard, he has the Pyromania and Hysteria albums, and he saw them live when they came to Hawaii back in October 2018. My dad even showed me a picture of the band, and it was a pretty cool photo of them too. Flash forward to August 2019, where I was watching a YouTube video of adults reacting to 80s music, and a Def Leppard song comes on (it’s amazing how I still remembered their name from almost a year ago). The song was “Pour Some Sugar On Me,” I only heard a small bit of it, but it was insanely catchy. Then the adults had to guess the song and the name of the artist, and afterward, the announcer in the video mentioned Rick Allen, the greatest one-armed drummer in history!!! I didn’t even know that existed, so I had to look them up. It started small, where I got into a few of their songs, and then, I became a SUPER FAN!!!!
I started listening to hits like “Rock of Ages,” “Photograph,” “Pour Some Sugar On Me,” and “Armageddon It.” Then my dad introduced me to other hits like “Two Steps Behind” and my personal favorite, “Have You Ever Need Someone So Bad.” They have catchy songs, but they’re also friendly people that stood by their drummer after his accident. It can’t get any better than that! They faced so many hardships as a band overall, and for them to overcome those hardships, that makes them undefeated! Also, Rick got me to accept the fact that I have a disability, learn to live with it; and to be proud of my differences. If it weren’t for Rick, I would still be this shy and insecure girl who always worried about what people thought of her, and now, I like my uniqueness, so I’m ok with being myself. There are still days when I feel sad and insignificant at times, but I find a way to get through it in the end, and I’ve learned that it’s ok to be sad at times.
When my junior year of college started, I was a whole new person. I was more loud and outgoing, not right away; it took me a while to do so. Def Leppard’s music was all I thought about, and “Pour Some Sugar On Me” became MY SONG!!!! I have to sing along to it, and if I don’t, it feels like a crime. I would watch a Def Leppard concert every weekend (thank you, YouTube), and my day was not complete until I listened to a Def Leppard song. Throughout the semester, I started to get that same feeling I got whenever I sang, played guitar, and it made me remember why I love music so much! Music takes you to a whole new world and can express emotions that you never even thought were possible. Their songs spoke to me; “Long, Long Way to Go,” for example, Joe Elliott displays the pure emotion of lost love so beautifully.
Def Leppard taught me to love music again and just enjoy being in the moment. From then, I realized that I don’t have to make a career out of music in order for it to play a part in my life, I can enjoy music, while pursuing my other passions in life! For that, I am grateful for Def Leppard and their music. I will make it my mission to meet them one day, so that I can thank them in person!
Who are some of your favorite artists you enjoy? Let me know in the comments below!
For now, take care and see ya real soon!
Lana
Lana Teramae | Me, Myself and Time 
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