Songfacts®:

• This distinctly '80s song is best known for its use in the 1984 movie The Karate Kid, where it plays over a long, dialogue-free scene where Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence win their matches in the big karate tournament on their way to a showdown in the finals. The song was included on the movie's soundtrack but wasn't released as a single; that honor went to "The Moment of Truth" by Survivor.
  
  With negligible radio play and no music video, the song lay dormant until the turn of the millennium, when waves of nostalgia - and the internet - pushed it to the fore. It became a cultural touchstone, used in various movies, TV shows and commercials to represent the indomitable - if slightly hokey - spirit of the '80s. Part of its appeal lies in its total lack of metaphor, as it states exactly what it means:
  
  You're the best!
  Nothing's gonna ever keep you down
• This music was composed by Bill Conti, who did the score for The Karate Kid, and the lyric was written by Allee Willis, who contributed to both "September" by Earth, Wind & Fire and the Friends theme.
  
  Conti had a #1 hit in 1977 with "Gonna Fly Now," the theme from the first Rocky movie. That song was also used in Rocky II, but for Rocky III in 1982, Sylvester Stallone wanted something more contemporary to draw a younger crowd. Conti and Willis wrote "You're The Best" for that film, but Stallone rejected it, going with "Eye Of The Tiger" instead.
  
  "You're The Best" found a home in The Karate Kid thanks to the film's director, John Avildsen, who loved the song. This according to Joe "Bean" Esposito, who recorded it.
  
  You can hear vestiges of Rocky III in the lyrics "you'll reach the final bell" and "history repeats itself."
• Joe "Bean" Esposito was a member of the group Brooklyn Dreams in the late '70s and early '80s; one of his bandmates was Donna Summer's husband, Bruce Sudano. He did a lot of soundtrack work in the '80s and released a solo album in 1995 called Treated And Released. He went on to become a popular act in Las Vegas.
• Movies to use this song include:
  
  The Wedding Ringer (2015)
  Nacho Mountain (2009)
  Big Stan (2007)
  The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)
  
  TV series include:
  
  The Simpsons ("A Father's Watch" - 2017)
  The Goldbergs ("The Kara-te Kid" - 2017)
  Brooklyn Nine-Nine ("Operation: Broken Feather" - 2014)
  Bob's Burgers ("Nude Beach" - 2013)
  It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia ("Hundred Dollar Baby" - 2006)
  South Park ("The Losing Edge" - 2005)
  Futurama ("The 30% Iron Chef" - 2002)
• The song made headlines in 2015 after Donald Trump used it at a rally in Detroit when he was running for president. The song's co-writer Allee Willis made it clear she didn't appreciate Trump using the song, but had no way to stop him. "It's all about bravado and fighting," she told the New York Post. "And Trump is the giant who comes and stomps on the village. I can see why he picked it."
  
  "I didn't think it was a great song," she added. "It's a very bombastic song, but that was the whole purpose of us writing it. It was supposed to be Rocky triumphing in the fight."