You probably have heard this ‘80s pop rock gem at one point in your life. Maybe it was while a gingerbread man was storming the Far Far Away palace in the Shrek universe. To Glee fans, it could have been during a duet performance in the band room set up for New Directions. Or maybe it was during the homoerotic musical number for the explosive high school play that closed out the second season of Euphoria. No matter where it blasted out of the speakers, it has made its own special place in pop culture, along with a queer legacy. Here are the seven times “Holding Out for a Hero” has been used to various exhilarating effect.

RELATED: From “No Time to Die” to “Dos Oruguitas”: The 2022 Oscar Nominated Songs, Ranked

9. RuPaul’s Drag Race

The first in the reality competition franchise Drag Race has RuPaul search each season for “America’s next drag superstar.” As the head judge, RuPaul mentors and hosts contestants as they’re given weekly challenges to compete against one another.

In the Season Nine episode “Draggily Ever After”, Brooklyn based Aja went up against Kimora Blac. They performed the song in a Lip Sync For Your Life challenge. The showdown was fast and fierce, with bursts of movement and color as the two queens gave their all. Or mostly Aja, as she won and Kimora Blac was sent home. It wasn’t the first time drag met with the theatrics of, “Holding Out For A Hero.” Predating Drag Race, was the Miss Gay Black America pageant in 2001. Tandi Iman Dupree literally dropped from the top of the stage into a split to the start of Bonnie Tyler’s vocals, almost taking “break a leg” to the extreme.

8. Cover Up

The life of fashion photographer Dani Reynolds (Jennifer O’Neill) spirals into uncertainty when her husband is killed. Upon learning he was a CIA agent, Dani gets pulled into taking over his role. Teaming up with Special Forces, Mac Harper (Jon-Erik Hexum), Dani sets off to continue her husband’s work.

This ‘80s spy show only had one season, ending due to low ratings and after a tragic on-set accident. Hexum had been playing around with a prop gun when he was fatally wounded by a blank cartridge. Although the show might not be well-known, it included an early precursor to the song used during action scenes. It’s heard in the opening credits, as a cover performed by E.G. Daily, an actress more well-known for her voice work in Rugrats.

7. Glee

Bang! Pow! The Secret Society of Superheroes Club has been called to order. And that would explain the costumes everyone at McKinley High is wearing. Four students in New Directions are at odds with each other. Who better to help one pair sort things out, than Bonnie Tyler?

In the Season 4 episode, “Dynamic Duets,” Ryder (Blake Jenner) and Jake (Jacob Artist) fight for the affections of Marley (Melissa Benoist). But she has other concerns. Being teamed up with mean girl Kitty (Becca Tobin), Marley suffers from bad self-esteem. But Kitty helps her through it, even if it comes with a hidden agenda, so they can duet to the song. What better way to keep up the queer themes in Glee, than for Kitty to pay tribute to the late Tandi Iman Dupree with her drop split. Did you buy this cover on iTunes, circa 2012?

6. Footloose

In 1984, Kevin Bacon starred as Ren, a Chicago teen who moves to a small town. What’s worse than being forced to leave the city? Try the local ban on dancing. It doesn't sit well with Ren, and he goes out of his way to bring back the fun and freedom of it all.

In what might be close to the Mandela Effect, “Holding Out” was not used in one of the dance sequences, instead it’s in a game of chicken. In an interview for Glide Magazine, Tyler explained the excitement for the process in recording the song: “We went to the film studio and they played me the rushes of the film of the part where he’s on the tractor and his lace gets caught in the accelerator pedal. I was in the actual film studio looking at the tiny screen in the little theatre to see part of the film and that was amazing to be in a film studio.” With its operatic synths and Tyler’s begging for a “streetwise Hercules,” the pop rock anthem was destined for even greater things.

5. Loki

Loki (Tom Hiddleton), the God of Mischief, gets himself into quite the ordeal when he’s apprehended by the Time Variance Authority. Existing outside time and space, the organization demands either Loki to be punished or to help de-escalate a major threat to the main timeline.

In Episode 2, then unknown variant Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) possesses one TVA agent and defeats all the others in the task force. This fight sequence is set in a role-playing medieval village to really ham it up. When the episode was first released, theories were quickly formed about the relationship between Tyler’s lyrics and Loki’s journey. Eric Francisco of Inverse, posed one. “But that’s why the song’s inclusion in Loki isn’t out of place,” he wrote. “It’s actually perfect, given the when and where of the scene, because it suggests the “hero” of this series isn’t Loki at all--at least the version of him we’ve been following up to this point.” It was proved to be right and wrong.

4. Masters of the Universe: Revelation

Picking up from the events of the 1980s cartoon series, the land of Eternia and Castle Grayskull is thrown into chaos. Friends and enemies of He-Man (Chris Wood) rally together, if begrudgingly so, to ensure all magic is not destroyed. Although this is a continuation of the original, not everything is the same old.

Heard in the teaser trailer, it made perfect sense. It creates a fun, campy vibe, to promote a radically different take on the fantasy series. Although He-Man would expertly represent what the lyrics plea for. Armed with macho muscles and a glowing, phallic-like sword, He-Man is totally “strong,” definitely “fast,” and in confronting nemesis Skeletor, he’s always, “fresh from the fight.” But it was Teela (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and the other women of the ensemble that came into their own here.

3. Bandits

Friends and convicts Joe (Bruce Willis) and Terry (Billy Bob Thornton) escape prison and restart a life of crime. This time, they plan to steal money to secure a dream they both have. Housewife Kate (Cate Blanchett) is in need of an out from her failing marriage, and she finds it with the two crooks.

Before she was fighting for housewives to stay “happily” in the kitchen with Mrs. America, Blanchett’s Kate couldn’t be more different. Puffing out plastic gloves to slip on and chopping up veggies as if she is competing on a cooking show, the bored housewife turns up the radio. In what should surprise no one, “Holding Out For A Hero” plays and Kate’s frantic movements turn into a completely unfiltered dance of ecstasy. Which is quite relatable. Funny enough, with what the next entry is, Sam Levinson is in this film’s cast.

2. Euphoria

From Rue’s (Zendaya) drug addiction to the aggressively dangerous toxic masculinity of Nate (Jacob Elordi), these LA high schoolers deal with a lot. What could bring the teen ensemble together than a play written by one of their one. And it brings along explosive effects.

Lexi (Maude Apatow) and Ethan (Austin Abrams) are the quieter characters among the cast, which makes this turn of events in Season Two’s penultimate episode unexpected in the best way. As the student playwright, Lexi relies on Ethan to be an actor with range, whether it’s in drag or gyrating his body in a locker room. In continuing the queer legacy associated with Tyler’s ‘80s song, choreographer Ryan Heffington goes all in with the homoeroticism. It works well with the golden spandex Ethan and his fellow dancers wear, as if they were pulled away from auditioning for The Rocky Horror Show.

1. Shrek 2

Shrek (Mike Myers) and his married bliss with Fiona (Cameron Diaz) is upended when her parents invite them to their kingdom of Far Far Away. Designed like a medieval Hollywood Boulevard, the royal setting has some hidden agendas at play. Namely, the not so good Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders) who wishes to end the ogres’ marriage.

Nothing can beat what this sequel offered pop culture. From premiering at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, through memes on social media and rewatches, Shrek 2 is close to being 20 years and not showing its age. Not known for her singing but very much for her comedic timing, Saunders’ glam villainess gave the cover to beat all covers. The big number was also a climatic set piece cutting to a colossal gingerbread cookie (RIP Mongo!) going on a rampage like a Kaiju. What might be more sinister than the Fairy Godmother’s motivations? The cover isn’t available on Spotify.