Five for Fighting
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| Five for Fighting | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Birth name | John Ondrasik | |
| Born | January 7, 1968 Los Angeles, California, United States |
|
| Genre(s) | Piano rock | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter | |
| Instrument(s) | Singing, guitar, piano | |
| Years active | 1997–present | |
| Label(s) | Sony | |
| Website | http://www.fiveforfighting.com/ | |
Five for Fighting is the stage name of American singer-songwriter John Ondrasik. His 2000 album America Town went platinum in the U.S. largely due to the success of the song "Superman (It's Not Easy)" in late 2001. The 2004 album The Battle for Everything has also enjoyed chart success in the United States. Ondrasik has also released a DualDisc of his 2004 album which has one side containing The Battle for Everything in its entirety and the other side being a DVD containing bonus footage and the "100 Years" music video. Five for Fighting's fourth album, Two Lights, was released on August 1, 2006.
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[edit] Early years
John Ondrasik was born on January 7, 1968 in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, a child of a musical family. As a teenager, he learned how to play the guitar as well and started to write music. While he also learned to sing opera briefly, he quickly decided that he would like to be a piano playing popular musician along the lines of Elton John and Billy Joel. He adopted the name "Five for Fighting," which is an expression in ice hockey when a player receives a five-minute penalty for fighting. This name was used for recognition purposes; that is, Ondrasik thought "Five for Fighting" would be more memorable than his real name. Ondrasik went to college at UCLA and studied applied mathematics, continuing to pursue music in his spare time.
In 1997, his first album Message for Albert was released by EMI. After the success of America Town, Capitol Records re-released this debut album.
[edit] America Town
In 2000, Five for Fighting signed with Columbia Records and released America Town on September 26, 2000. At first the album made little impact, but "Superman (It's Not Easy)" became an anthem after the September 11 attacks. Ondrasik would perform the song at The Concert for New York City in late 2001. In addition to its status as an anthem post September 11, 2001, Five for Fighting contributed a live performance version of their song "Superman" to the charity album Live in the X Lounge IV.
"Superman (It's Not Easy)" started climbing the charts reaching the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Billboard Adult Top 40. While America Town failed to make the top 50 of the Billboard 200 album charts, its consistent sales led to its going platinum. Superman (It's Not Easy) was also an international hit reaching number one on a composite adult international chart (based on performance in the U.S., Canada, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Australia). Second single Easy Tonight would make the top 20 of the world adult chart as well as going top 20 in New Zealand.
[edit] The Battle for Everything
His third album The Battle for Everything debuted at number 20 on the Billboard 200 in February 2004. Its first single "100 Years" was another top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and again reached number one on the World Adult Top 40. It also was number one on a composite world airplay chart and top 10 on a composite world modern rock chart. (based on USA, Germany, United Kingdom, Finland, Sweden, Canada and Australia).
The Five for Fighting song "100 Years" was used in an ubiquitous JP Morgan Chase commercial, an episode of Clubhouse on CBS, an episode of Smallville, and more recently in an episode of Scrubs. The song was also used in the last scenes of the final episode of JAG and in a retrospective during Katie Couric's last day on The Today Show. In 2005, Five for Fighting was one of five artists asked to appear on ESPN's SportsCenter during a weeklong segment series on the connections between music and sports. Again, Ondrasik performed "100 Years," as film clips of athletes were shown to match the years that Ondrasik would name. (As Ondrasik sang about "being 45 for a moment," Michael Jordan was shown in his #45 jersey during his 1995 comeback.)
Subsequent single releases failed to capitalize on the success of "100 Years", with second single "The Devil in the Wishing Well" and third single "If God Made You" both failing to chart the Billboard Hot 100.
[edit] Two Lights
Ondrasik's fourth release Two Lights became his first career Top 10 album, debuting at #8 on the Billboard 200 in August 2006. Its lead single "The Riddle" became Ondrasik's third career Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #40 thanks to strong iTunes single sales and wide Adult Top 40 airplay. "The Riddle" was also played in the Season 2 opener of Criminal Minds in the episode The Fisher King part 2.
The second single "World" is currently moving up the Adult Top 40 chart, entering the Top 20 in its third week on the chart this week, and was used in the Thanksgiving episode of Jericho (TV series) season 1.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- 1997: Message for Albert
- 2000: America Town
- 2004: Acoustic Live (EP)
- 2004: The Battle for Everything
- 2004: 2+2 Makes 5 (EP)
- 2006: The Battle for Everything (DualDisc)
- 2006: The Riddle (EP)
- 2006: Two Lights
[edit] Singles
| Year | Song | US Hot 100 | US Adult Top 40 | US AC Chart | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | "Superman (It's Not Easy)" | 14 | 3 | 2 | America Town |
| 2002 | "Easy Tonight" | - | 18 | - | America Town |
| 2002 | "America Town" | 108 | - | 80 | America Town |
| 2004 | "100 Years" | 28 | 3 | #1 | The Battle for Everything |
| 2004 | "The Devil in the Wishing Well" | - | 23 | - | The Battle for Everything |
| 2005 | "If God Made You" | - | - | 20 | The Battle for Everything |
| 2006 | "The Riddle" | 40 | 8 | 4 | Two Lights |
| 2006 | "World" | - | 15 | - | Two Lights |
[edit] Radio Gig
On the weekend of January 27/28, 2007, John Ondrasik was given the opportunity to fill in for legendary radio host Casey Kasem as he took the week off. John hosted Kasem's programs, American Top 20 and American Top 10. On AT20, he counted down his own hit World, and on AT10 he counted down his own hit The Riddle.
[edit] External links
- Five for Fighting Home Page
- What Kind Of World Do You Want Home Page
- Five for Fighting Official Store
- Five for Fighting Fansite
- Fan Club: Unofficial
- Five for Fighting All Music Guide article
- Chase Bank Commercial featuring "100 Years"
- FUZZ Music Magazine: The Suburban Poet/Five for Fighting
- Interview: John Ondrasik - Five for Fighting - Two Lights
- Podcast/interview of Ondrasik on The Glenn and Helen Show
- 2006 IMNO Interview with John Ondrasik
