Originally posted by Dreamer:
even Michael Buble's "Home" could be labeled as a country ballad.
It's interesting that you say that, because FM country stations here in Canada were playing a country mix of that recording. All they had done was to add a steel player and upped the acoustic guitar track (these were absent on AOR/Light Rock stations) and left it at that.
It isn't unusual to hear songs 'tailored' for different markets - maximizing the bucks, that's all it comes down to.