Warning: SPOILERS for Cobra Kai Season 4, Episode 9 – “The Fall”
Carrie Underwood’s surprise cameo in Cobra Kai season 4 calls back to The Karate Kid‘s original All Valley and closing credits. Cobra Kai season 4 culminates in the 51st Annual All Valley Under 18 Karate Tournament, where the Cobra Kai, Miyagi-Do, and Eagle Fang dojos competed for “the soul of the San Fernando Valley.” The stakes have never been higher because the losing dojo(s) pledged to shut down forever, according to the pact Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), and John Kreese (Martin Kove) made at the end of Cobra Kai season 3.
The All Valley tournament was introduced in The Karate Kid where the conflict between Daniel and Cobra Kai’s Johnny, who were teenagers back in 1984, was originally settled. Of course, The Karate Kid is a 1980s sports movie, and its soundtrack reflected the pop songs of the era, with kitchy tracks like Bananarama’s “Cruel Summer” and Baxter Robinson’s “Feel The Night” accompanying Daniel’s journey as a New Jersey transplant to Southern California training in karate under Mr. Miyagi (Noriyuki “Pat” Morita). Arguably the most memorable song in The Karate Kid, “You’re The Best” by Joe “Bean” Esposito is the theme song of the All Valley and plays during the All Valley montage as Daniel advances through the tournament while Cobra Kai tries to stop him. In fact, the lyric, “You’re the best/around/Nothing’s gonna ever keep you down!”, is as quotable as the film’s dialogue like “Sweep the leg!” and “Put him in a body bag!”
Cobra Kai season 4, episode 9’s cameo by Carrie Underwood continues the Netflix series’ nostalgic callbacks to The Karate Kid in grand fashion. One of country music’s biggest superstars, Grammy Award-winning Underwood performs “The Moment of Truth” to kick off the All Valley tournament. “The Moment of Truth” was a song by Survivor that played over The Karate Kid‘s closing credits. Underwood’s cover was a genuine surprise to the audience and to the All Valley Council, who had no idea Ron (Matt Lewis), was going to deliver on his promise to have a superstar celebrity appear as a special guest star at the 51st Annual All Valley Tournament.
Carrie Underwood has many acting credits to her name, including starring in 2011’s Soul Surfer, which was her feature film debut as Sarah Hill. Underwood also starred as Maria Rainer in NBC’s 2013 musical special, The Sound of Music Live! Additionally, Carrie is no stranger to appearing as herself in TV shows and movies like an episode of Blue Bloods and the 2016 comedy film, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. Carrie Underwood appearing as herself in Cobra Kai means she exists in The Karate Kid universe and is part of its referenced pop culture like Game of Thrones, Star Wars, Rocky, and WWE.
Although Carrie Underwood covers “The Moment of Truth,” Survivor also makes an unexpected cameo in Cobra Kai season 4. Survivor’s track “Burning Heart” is part of Johnny’s 1980s mixtape that he listens to while training to fight Daniel in Cobra Kai season 4, episode 5, “Match Point.” “Burning Heart” was part of the Rocky IV soundtrack as a follow-up to their 1982 chart-topping smash, “Eye of the Tiger,” which was the theme from Rocky III. Sylvester Stallone recently repurposed Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” as the song that closes out Rocky IV: Rocky Vs. Drago, his ultimate director’s cut. Carrie Underwood bringing back “The Moment of Truth” for Cobra Kai season 4 also continues the show’s Rocky connection by covering a Survivor track that hits the right note of nostalgia for longtime fans of The Karate Kid.
Cobra Kai season 4 is streaming on Netflix.
