Paramount Pictures asked Bonnie Tyler to record a song for the soundtrack to the 1984 film Footloose. She agreed on the condition that Jim Steinman, who was her producer at the time through CBS/Columbia, could work with her on the project. Steinman wrote the song with Dean Pitchford, who co-wrote every song on the soundtrack album. Tyler was invited to the Paramount film studios in Los Angeles to watch the film rushes to see how "Holding Out for a Hero" would fit into the plot.[4]
"Holding Out for a Hero" shares numerous musical elements with "Stark Raving Love", a track from Steinman's solo album Bad for Good (1981), including the piano riff and vocal harmonies.[5]
Critical reception
In a retrospective review, The A.V. Club's William Hughes stated that the song "displays some of the worst of its decade's (and composer's) typical excesses: The lyrics are laughable, and the heavy-handed synths and piano riffs come dangerously close to cheese", but adds, "The sum of those parts transcends their limitations, hooking directly into pure emotional need like only the greatest of torch songs can."[6]
Writing in Metal Hammer, Paul Stenning described the song as "the ultimate pop anthem", stating "Only Jim Steinman can get away with such bombastic overtones, in this case the perfect coupling with Tyler's inimitable voice."[2]
Music video
The accompanying music video for "Holding Out for a Hero" was produced by Jeffrey Abelson for Parallax Productions, directed by Doug Dowdle, with the concept by Keith Williams. It was filmed at the Grand Canyon, Arizona, and at Veluzat Ranch, California.[7] It was the second video released to promote Footloose while featuring no movie footage in the video.
The video sees Tyler escaping from a burning house; the video is set primarily in the vicinity of the burning house and on the edge of the Grand Canyon – interspersed with shots of angelic background singers in white dresses. Evil cowboys dressed in black, carrying neon whips appear before Tyler, threatening her; a cowboy hero dressed in white, brandishing a revolver, appears on horseback and the evil cowboys flee on horseback, with the hero in pursuit. As the song fades out, the hero cowboy appears in front of Tyler.
Two recorded performances of "Holding Out for a Hero" have been released on Tyler's concert DVDs Bonnie on Tour (2006) and Live in Germany 1993 (2011), and their respective CD editions.
Re-recordings and media usage
"Holding Out for a Hero" has featured in numerous commercials, film and television soundtracks, and the song has been covered by various artists. In 1984, E. G. Daily's version was used as the theme for the television series Cover Up.[8] The song was also used in the 1988 film Short Circuit 2.[9][10] In 2004, Jennifer Saunders recorded a version of the song for Shrek 2 which she performs in character as the Fairy Godmother. Frou Frou also recorded a version for the credits sequence.[11] Saunders' version would later be used in the opening ceremony for the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics. Ella Mae Bowen recorded a cover of the song for the 2011 Footloose remake.[12]
In 2021, the song was noted for its appearances in a trailer for Masters of the Universe: Revelation, another trailer for the Guardians of the Galaxy video game, and in "The Variant" the second episode of the Disney+ series Loki, all of which premiered in the same week.[13] This led to a significant increase in downloads and streams, and a placement atop Billboard’s Top TV Songs chart.[14] In February 2022, the song again received media coverage for its use in "The Trials and Tribulations of Trying to Pee While Depressed", the seventh episode of the American teen drama series Euphoria.[15]
In 2001, Tandi Iman Dupree and Dee St. James performed a dance routine to "Holding Out for a Hero" at the Miss Gay Black America pageant. Footage of the event went viral after it was uploaded to YouTube in 2009.[16]
Tyler has released re-recordings of the song in 2004 and 2011. In 2013, she recorded a new version of the song for use in a Children in Need fundraising campaign.[17]
Hero: Holding Out for a Hero (Japanese: ヒーロー HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO) is a cover version with Japanese lyrics written by Masao Urino. It was first released as a single by Takeshi Kitagawa [ja][46] in 1984.[47] It was then released as a single by Yuki Katsuragi [ja] on 5 July 1984 and reached number 50 on the Oricon Singles Chart.[48] It was then released as a single by Miki Asakura [ja] on 5 November 1984. This single reached number 19 on the Oricon Singles Chart[49] and number 20 on the Music Labo singles chart.[50] It sold 181,000 copies according to Oricon[51] and 200,000 copies according to Mamoru Murakami.[52]
