"The Moment of Truth" is a song recorded by the rock band

Survivor Survivor(s) may refer to: * one who survives Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Survivors, characters in the 1997 KKnD series#Armies, ''KKnD'' video-game series * ''The Survivors'', or the ''New Survivors Foundation'', a fictional ...

. It was the first hit

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

with their new lead singer

Jimi Jamison Jimmy Wayne Jamison (August 23, 1951 – September 1, 2014) was an American singer. Best known as Jimi Jamison, he earned recognition as the frontman for the rock bands Target, Cobra, and Survivor from 1984 to 1988, performing the songs " Burni ...

, originally from

Cobra COBRA or Cobra, often stylized as CoBrA, was a European avant-garde art group active from 1948 to 1951. The name was coined in 1948 by Christian Dotremont from the initials of the members' home countries' capital cities: Copenhagen (Co), Brussels ...

, who replaced

Dave Bickler David Bickler (born March 31, 1953) is an American singer, best known as the lead singer for the rock band Survivor from 1978 until 1983, most notably on the #1 U.S. hit "Eye of the Tiger". In addition to his wide vocal range, his trademark loo ...

. After making the No. 1 hit "

Eye of the Tiger "Eye of the Tiger" is a song by the American rock band Survivor. It was written as the theme song for the 1982 film ''Rocky III'' and released that year as a single from Survivor's third album, '' Eye of the Tiger''. Sylvester Stallone, the di ...

" for ''

Rocky III ''Rocky III'' is a 1982 American sports drama film written and directed by, and starring Sylvester Stallone. The film is the sequel to ''Rocky II'' (1979) and the third installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise. It also stars Talia Shire, Burt You ...

'', the band was asked to perform a composed song for the 1984 film ''

The Karate Kid ''The Karate Kid'' is a 1984 American martial arts drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by Robert Mark Kamen. It is the first film in ''The Karate Kid'' franchise. The film stars Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue, an ...

.'' The song reached No. 63 on the Billboard Hot 100 on July 7, 1984, and stayed on the chart for seven weeks. The song was later re-issued on the ''

Vital Signs Vital signs (also known as vitals) are a group of the four to six most crucial medical signs that indicate the status of the body's vital (life-sustaining) functions. These measurements are taken to help assess the general physical health of ...

'' album in 2009 by Rock Candy.

Critical reception

In a September 1984 review, Vici MacDonald of ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' called the song a "horrible example of American pomp-rock."

Music video

The music video shows the band performing in a Japanese-style park with mixed scenes from the movie. The song is written by

Bill Conti William Conti (born April 13, 1942) is an American composer and conductor. He is best known for his film scores, including ''Rocky'' (1976), '' Rocky II'' (1979), '' Rocky III'' (1982), '' Rocky V'' (1990), '' Rocky Balboa'' (2006), '' The Karat ...

Dennis Lambert Dennis Earle Lambert (born May 18, 1947 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. Career Lambert began his music career in 1960 when he signed to Capitol Records as a recording artist. By the mid-1960s, ...

Peter Beckett Peter Beckett (born 10 August 1948) is an English musician and songwriter who has written songs for recording artists, his own bands, solo work, and films. He is the lead singer and guitarist for 1970s soft rock band Player, which scored a U. ...

and published by Karussell Label.

Charts

Cover versions

Mari Hamada is a Japanese rock singer and songwriter. Having performed in bands since high school, Hamada made her professional debut as a solo act in 1983. She quickly became known as the . In 2019, Hamada become the first Japanese musician to top the vo ...

covered the song for her 1985 album '' Rainbow Dream''. *

Carrie Underwood Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of ''American Idol'' in 2005, returning as a judge beginning with the twenty-third season. Underwood's f ...

covered the song for her appearance in the fourth season of the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

series ''

Cobra Kai ''Cobra Kai'' is an American Martial arts film, martial arts comedy drama television series created by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg, and distributed by Sony Pictures Television. It serves as a sequel to the first three ''The K ...

''.

References

Survivor (band) songs 1984 singles 1984 songs Songs written by Dennis Lambert Songs written by Bill Conti Songs written for films Songs written by Peter Beckett The Karate Kid (franchise) mass media {{1980s-rock-song-stub