Five for Fighting
Encyclopedia
Five for Fighting is the stage name of American singer-songwriter
John Ondrasik. He is best known for his piano-based rock, such as the Top 40 songs "Superman (It's Not Easy)
" (2001), "100 Years
" (2003), and "The Riddle" (2006).
, a child of a musical family. In his early years, Ondrasik learned the piano, and in his teens he learned to play the guitar and started to write music. While he also learned to sing opera briefly, he soon decided that he would like to be a singer/songwriter. Ondrasik graduated from UCLA
with a degree in applied science
and mathematics
. While in college he continuing to pursue music in his spare time. He adopted the name "Five for Fighting," which is an expression in ice hockey
, which he used to play, when a player receives a five-minute penalty
for fighting
. Ondrasik is a life-long fan of the NHL's Los Angeles Kings
.
, was released by EMI
in 1997. Capitol Records re-released this album after the success of America Town.
Aware Records' Mark Cunningham was a big fan of Five For Fighting and made contact with Ondrasik. Cunningham then passed on Ondrasik's demos to the label's new A&R Steve Smith. Smith loved the recordings and after a discussion with Aware head Gregg Latterman they met with Ondrasik and set up a deal shortly afterwards in partnership with Columbia Records
. The album America Town
on September 26, 2000. The album had impact, but "Superman (It's Not Easy)
" became an anthem after the September 11 attacks
. Ondrasik performed the song at The Concert for New York City
in late 2001. Five for Fighting contributed a live performance version of his song "Superman" to the charity album Live in the X Lounge IV
. While America Town failed to make the top 50 of the Billboard 200 album charts, its consistent sales eventually led to its going platinum.
His third album, The Battle for Everything
, debuted at number 20 on the Billboard 200 in February 2004. It included the single "100 Years", which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
chart and stayed at #1 for 12 non consecutive weeks. In October 2009, The Battle for Everything was RIAA certified Platinum.
Two years later, the album Two Lights
was released; this became his first career Top 10 album, debuting at number 8 on the Billboard 200 in August 2006. Its first single, "The Riddle
", became Ondrasik's third career Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 40. A video of the second single, "World", has been used to raise funds for various charities (see Philanthropy below).
On the weekend of January 27 and 28, 2007, Ondrasik filled in for radio host Casey Kasem
on the American Top 20 (where he counted down to his own hit "World"), and American Top 10 (where he counted down to his own hit "The Riddle").
On July 21, 2009, the first single from his album Slice
, called "Chances
," was released for download. The music video for the single debuted on VH1.com on September 22, 2009. The video shows the story of two teenagers falling in love, while Ondrasik narrates (sings) to the story. It was directed by Steven Drypolcher (Beyonce, Kanye West, Boyslikegirls) and produced by Partizan. In November 2009, "Chances" was featured in the end credits of the hit movie The Blind Side
. The song also appeared in the TV series The Vampire Diaries
, and in a promotional video package from WWE
for Shawn Michael's
2011 WWE Hall of Fame induction.
His fifth studio album, titled Slice, was released on October 13, 2009, and appeared on the iTunes
Top 10 Albums on the first day. The album was produced by Gregg Wattenberg ("Superman," "100 Years"). Academy Award-winning composer Stephen Schwartz
, who penned the songs for musicals such as Wicked
, Godspell
and Pippin
, co-wrote the title track, as well as the track "Above The Timberline."
On May 27, 2010, John Ondrasik announced that he had left Columbia Records
and his album Slice would be re-released on Wind-Up Records
along with the song "Slice" being released as a single in July 2010.
On February 20, 2011, Five For Fighting performed at the 2011 NHL Heritage Classic
in Calgary
, with the Calgary Flames
facing off against the Montreal Canadiens
.
John Ondrasik writes and co-writes music for other artists, including The Backstreet Boys
and Josh Groban
. He has also contributed to movie soundtracks, such as August Rush
, We Were Soldiers
, Chicken Little
, and Everyone's Hero
, and in 2008 Ondrasik wrote and recorded the song "Brothers in Arms" for the award winning documentary film Brothers at War
. He has twice collaborated with Sandra Boynton
, recording a song each for her Dog Train book and CD in 2005, and her Blue Moo album in 2007.
"). The charities the site raises money for include Augie's Quest,
Autism Speaks
, Fisher House Foundation
, Save the Children
, and Operation Homefront
.
Ondrasik, under the auspices of the USO, performed for service members on a USO/Armed Forces Entertainment tour of Guantanamo Bay and other bases in Cuba in February and March 2007. He followed up with another USO tour in November 2007 of Japan, Guam and Hawaii. "I am struck by the sacrifices the troops and their families make for our way of life and I felt was important to show my support," says Ondrasik.
In November 2007, Ondrasik coordinated the release of 13 free songs for US military members called CD for the Troops. Ondrasik worked with AAFES to deliver more than 200,000 CDs to US troops around the world and to offer the music from the CD as free MP3 downloads. The songs donated included tracks from Billy Joel
, Jewel
and Sarah McLachlan
. Subsequent volumes became available in 2008 (including songs by Gretchen Wilson
, Keith Urban
and Trace Adkins
), 2009 (an album of comedy tracks with material from comedians such as Chris Rock
, Ray Romano
and Adam Sandler
) and 2010.
Ondrasik has also performed on the annual Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon
and has done various events for the Muscular Dystrophy Association
and Augie's Quest, raising awareness and funds for ALS
(Lou Gehrig's disease).
In 2008, he got involved in the musical movement of spreading awareness about current slavery and human trafficking
by performing a live version of "World" for the rockumentary
, Call + Response
.
The singer received a special fatherhood award from the National Fatherhood Initiative's 2009 Military Fatherhood Award Ceremony.
and basketball
fan.
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
John Ondrasik. He is best known for his piano-based rock, such as the Top 40 songs "Superman (It's Not Easy)
Superman (It's Not Easy)
"Superman " is the title of a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Five for Fighting . It was released in April 2001 as the second single from his album America Town...
" (2001), "100 Years
100 Years
"100 Years" is the title of a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Five for Fighting . It was released in November 2003 as first single from the album The Battle for Everything.-Music video:...
" (2003), and "The Riddle" (2006).
Early years
John Ondrasik was born on January 7, 1965, in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, a child of a musical family. In his early years, Ondrasik learned the piano, and in his teens he learned to play the guitar and started to write music. While he also learned to sing opera briefly, he soon decided that he would like to be a singer/songwriter. Ondrasik graduated from UCLA
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
with a degree in applied science
Applied science
Applied science is the application of scientific knowledge transferred into a physical environment. Examples include testing a theoretical model through the use of formal science or solving a practical problem through the use of natural science....
and mathematics
Applied mathematics
Applied mathematics is a branch of mathematics that concerns itself with mathematical methods that are typically used in science, engineering, business, and industry. Thus, "applied mathematics" is a mathematical science with specialized knowledge...
. While in college he continuing to pursue music in his spare time. He adopted the name "Five for Fighting," which is an expression in ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
, which he used to play, when a player receives a five-minute penalty
Penalty (ice hockey)
A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,...
for fighting
Fighting in ice hockey
Fighting in ice hockey is an established tradition of the sport in North America, with a long history involving many levels of amateur and professional play and including some notable individual fights. Although a definite source of criticism, it is a considerable draw for the sport, and some fans...
. Ondrasik is a life-long fan of the NHL's Los Angeles Kings
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
.
Career
Ondrasik's first album, Message for AlbertMessage for Albert
Message for Albert is the debut album of Five for Fighting released independently in 1997 by Nettwerk.-Track listing:#"Bella's Birthday Cake"#"Day by Day"#"The Garden"#"Ocean"#"Happy"#"Love Song"#"Wise Man"#"White Picket Fence"#"2 Frogs"...
, was released by EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
in 1997. Capitol Records re-released this album after the success of America Town.
Aware Records' Mark Cunningham was a big fan of Five For Fighting and made contact with Ondrasik. Cunningham then passed on Ondrasik's demos to the label's new A&R Steve Smith. Smith loved the recordings and after a discussion with Aware head Gregg Latterman they met with Ondrasik and set up a deal shortly afterwards in partnership with Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
. The album America Town
America Town
America Town is the debut major label 2000 album by Five for Fighting released by Aware Records. It includes the hit single "Superman .". The song "Easy Tonight" appears in an episode of the sitcom Scrubs...
on September 26, 2000. The album had impact, but "Superman (It's Not Easy)
Superman (It's Not Easy)
"Superman " is the title of a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Five for Fighting . It was released in April 2001 as the second single from his album America Town...
" became an anthem after the September 11 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
. Ondrasik performed the song at The Concert for New York City
The Concert for New York City
The Concert for New York City was a benefit concert, featuring many famous musicians, that took place on October 20, 2001 at Madison Square Garden in New York City in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks...
in late 2001. Five for Fighting contributed a live performance version of his song "Superman" to the charity album Live in the X Lounge IV
Live in the X Lounge
Live in the X Lounge is a series of albums released by Birmingham, Alabama's former alternative rock radio station, WRAX.Though the station can no longer be found on the air, this series of live performances was produced while the station was known as 107.7 The X...
. While America Town failed to make the top 50 of the Billboard 200 album charts, its consistent sales eventually led to its going platinum.
His third album, The Battle for Everything
The Battle for Everything
The Battle for Everything is a 2004 album from United States singer-songwriter Five for Fighting, the stage name of John Ondrasik.-Making of the album:...
, debuted at number 20 on the Billboard 200 in February 2004. It included the single "100 Years", which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...
chart and stayed at #1 for 12 non consecutive weeks. In October 2009, The Battle for Everything was RIAA certified Platinum.
Two years later, the album Two Lights
Two Lights (album)
Two Lights is the fourth album from the piano rock artist Five for Fighting. The first single is titled "The Riddle". The song was released on June 14, 2006, and the album was released on August 1, 2006.-Track listing:# "Freedom Never Cries" – 4:22...
was released; this became his first career Top 10 album, debuting at number 8 on the Billboard 200 in August 2006. Its first single, "The Riddle
The Riddle (song)
"The Riddle" is the title of a song written and recorded by American singer/songwriter Five for Fighting. It was released in May 2006 as the lead single from the album Two Lights. The song peaked at number 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 during an 18-week chart stay...
", became Ondrasik's third career Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 40. A video of the second single, "World", has been used to raise funds for various charities (see Philanthropy below).
On the weekend of January 27 and 28, 2007, Ondrasik filled in for radio host Casey Kasem
Casey Kasem
Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem is an American radio personality and voice actor who is best known for being the host of the nationally syndicated Top 40 countdown show American Top 40, and for voicing Shaggy in the popular Saturday morning cartoon franchise Scooby-Doo.Kasem, along with Don Bustany and...
on the American Top 20 (where he counted down to his own hit "World"), and American Top 10 (where he counted down to his own hit "The Riddle").
On July 21, 2009, the first single from his album Slice
Slice (Five for Fighting album)
Slice is the fifth studio album by Five for Fighting, the stage name of American singer-songwriter John Ondrasik, released on October 13, 2009 by Aware Records and Wind-Up Records, his first album with WU...
, called "Chances
Chances (Five for Fighting song)
"Chances" is the title of a song written by Greg Wattenberg and John Ondrasik, and recorded by Ondrasik under his stage name Five for Fighting. The song was released on July 21, 2009 as the first single from the band's 2009 album, Slice. The song was the band's fourth single to chart on the...
," was released for download. The music video for the single debuted on VH1.com on September 22, 2009. The video shows the story of two teenagers falling in love, while Ondrasik narrates (sings) to the story. It was directed by Steven Drypolcher (Beyonce, Kanye West, Boyslikegirls) and produced by Partizan. In November 2009, "Chances" was featured in the end credits of the hit movie The Blind Side
The Blind Side (film)
The Blind Side is a 2009 American semi-biographical drama film. It is written and directed by John Lee Hancock, and based on the 2006 book The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis. The storyline features Michael Oher, an offensive lineman who plays for the Baltimore Ravens of the NFL...
. The song also appeared in the TV series The Vampire Diaries
The Vampire Diaries
The Vampire Diaries is a young adult vampire horror series of novels written by L. J. Smith. The story centers around Elena Gilbert, a high school girl torn between two vampire brothers. The series was originally a trilogy published in 1991, but pressure from readers led Smith to write a fourth...
, and in a promotional video package from WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
for Shawn Michael's
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...
2011 WWE Hall of Fame induction.
His fifth studio album, titled Slice, was released on October 13, 2009, and appeared on the iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
Top 10 Albums on the first day. The album was produced by Gregg Wattenberg ("Superman," "100 Years"). Academy Award-winning composer Stephen Schwartz
Stephen Schwartz (composer)
Stephen Lawrence Schwartz is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over four decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as Godspell , Pippin and Wicked...
, who penned the songs for musicals such as Wicked
Wicked (musical)
Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West , a parallel novel of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard...
, Godspell
Godspell
Godspell is a musical by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak. It opened off Broadway on May 17, 1971, and has played in various touring companies and revivals many times since, including a 2011 revival now playing on Broadway...
and Pippin
Pippin (musical)
Pippin is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Roger O. Hirson. Bob Fosse, who directed the original Broadway production, also contributed to the libretto...
, co-wrote the title track, as well as the track "Above The Timberline."
On May 27, 2010, John Ondrasik announced that he had left Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
and his album Slice would be re-released on Wind-Up Records
Wind-Up Records
Wind-up Entertainment, Inc. is a record label based in New York City. It was formed in 1997 by Alan Meltzer, former owner of CD One Stop, following his 1996 purchase of Grass Records. Wind-up is currently the largest independently-owned record label in the world...
along with the song "Slice" being released as a single in July 2010.
On February 20, 2011, Five For Fighting performed at the 2011 NHL Heritage Classic
2011 Heritage Classic
The 2011 Heritage Classic was a regular season outdoor National Hockey League game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Calgary Flames. The game was played at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alberta, Canada on February 20, 2011. The Flames defeated the Canadiens by a score of 4–0 before a crowd of...
in Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, with the Calgary Flames
Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is the third major-professional ice hockey team to represent the city of Calgary, following the...
facing off against the Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
.
John Ondrasik writes and co-writes music for other artists, including The Backstreet Boys
Backstreet Boys
The Backstreet Boys are an American vocal group, formed in Orlando, Florida in 1993. The band originally consisted of A. J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, Nick Carter and Kevin Richardson. They rose to fame with their debut international album, Backstreet Boys...
and Josh Groban
Josh Groban
Joshua Winslow "Josh" Groban is an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and record producer. His four solo albums have been certified at least multi-platinum, and in 2007, he was charted as the number-one best selling artist in the United States with over 21 million records in that country...
. He has also contributed to movie soundtracks, such as August Rush
August Rush
August Rush is a 2007 drama film directed by Kirsten Sheridan and written by Paul Castro, Nick Castle, and James V. Hart, and produced by Richard Barton Lewis.-Plot:...
, We Were Soldiers
We Were Soldiers
We Were Soldiers is a 2002 American war film that dramatizes the Battle of Ia Drang on November 14, 1965. The film was directed by Randall Wallace and stars Mel Gibson. It is based on the book We Were Soldiers Once… And Young by Lieutenant General Hal Moore and reporter Joseph L...
, Chicken Little
Chicken Little (2005 film)
Chicken Little is a 2005 computer-animated science fiction family comedy film loosely based on the fable The Sky Is Falling. It was the 46th animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation...
, and Everyone's Hero
Everyone's Hero
The soundtrack, released on the Columbia Records/Sony Music Soundtrax labels, features tracks by the star of the film Raven-Symoné, Grammy-winners Wyclef Jean, Brooks & Dunn, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and various other artists....
, and in 2008 Ondrasik wrote and recorded the song "Brothers in Arms" for the award winning documentary film Brothers at War
Brothers at War
Brothers at War is a 2009 documentary film directed by Jake Rademacher and produced by Rademacher and Norman S. Powell. The film follows several soldiers in the Iraq War. The film's executive producers are actor, director, and Presidential Citizens Medal holder Gary Sinise and Secretary of Defense...
. He has twice collaborated with Sandra Boynton
Sandra Boynton
Sandra Keith Boynton is an American humorist, songwriter, children's author and illustrator. Boynton has written and illustrated more than forty books for both children and adults, as well as over four thousand greeting cards, and four music albums...
, recording a song each for her Dog Train book and CD in 2005, and her Blue Moo album in 2007.
Philanthropy
In the spring of 2007, Ondrasik created the first video charity website. The website allows fans to upload videos answering the central question, "What Kind of World do You Want?" (taken from his hit song, "WorldWorld (Five for Fighting song)
"World" is the title of a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Five for Fighting. It was released in November 2006 as the second single from the album Two Lights. It reached number 14 on the U.S...
"). The charities the site raises money for include Augie's Quest,
Autism Speaks
Autism Speaks
Autism Speaks is the world's largest autism advocacy organization that sponsors autism research and conducts awareness and outreach activities aimed at families, governments, and the public. It was founded in February 2005 by Bob Wright, vice chairman of General Electric, and by his wife Suzanne, a...
, Fisher House Foundation
Fisher House Foundation
Fisher House Foundation is best known for the network of comfort homes built on the grounds of major military and VA medical centers. The Fisher Houses are 5,000 to homes, donated to the military and Department of Veterans Affairs, where families can stay while a loved one is receiving treatment...
, Save the Children
Save the Children
Save the Children is an internationally active non-governmental organization that enforces children's rights, provides relief and helps support children in developing countries...
, and Operation Homefront
Operation Homefront
Operation Homefront is a nonprofit 501 organization that provides emergency assistance for military troops, the families they leave behind, and wounded warriors when they return home. The organization raises funds to provide emergency, financial, and morale assistance to families while troops are...
.
Ondrasik, under the auspices of the USO, performed for service members on a USO/Armed Forces Entertainment tour of Guantanamo Bay and other bases in Cuba in February and March 2007. He followed up with another USO tour in November 2007 of Japan, Guam and Hawaii. "I am struck by the sacrifices the troops and their families make for our way of life and I felt was important to show my support," says Ondrasik.
In November 2007, Ondrasik coordinated the release of 13 free songs for US military members called CD for the Troops. Ondrasik worked with AAFES to deliver more than 200,000 CDs to US troops around the world and to offer the music from the CD as free MP3 downloads. The songs donated included tracks from Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
, Jewel
Jewel (singer)
Jewel Kilcher , professionally known as Jewel, is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, actress and poet...
and Sarah McLachlan
Sarah McLachlan
Sarah Ann McLachlan, OC, OBC is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter. Known for her emotional ballads and mezzo-soprano vocal range, as of 2006, she has sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is Surfacing, for which she won two Grammy Awards and four...
. Subsequent volumes became available in 2008 (including songs by Gretchen Wilson
Gretchen Wilson
Gretchen Frances Wilson is an American country music artist. She made her debut in 2004 with the Grammy Award-winning single "Redneck Woman," a number-one hit on the Billboard country charts. The song served as the lead-off single of her debut album, Here for the Party...
, Keith Urban
Keith Urban
Keith Lionel Urban is a New Zealand-born Australian, country music singer, songwriter and guitarist whose commercial success has been mainly in the United States and Australia. Urban was born in New Zealand and began his career in Australia at an early age...
and Trace Adkins
Trace Adkins
Tracy Darrell "Trace" Adkins is an American country music artist. He made his debut in 1996 with the album Dreamin' Out Loud, released on Capitol Records Nashville. Since then, Adkins has released seven more studio albums and two Greatest Hits compilations...
), 2009 (an album of comedy tracks with material from comedians such as Chris Rock
Chris Rock
Christopher Julius "Chris" Rock III is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted in the US as the 5th greatest stand-up comedian of all time by Comedy Central...
, Ray Romano
Ray Romano
Raymond Albert "Ray" Romano is an American actor, writer and stand-up comedian, best known for his roles on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond and in the Ice Age film series. He recently starred in the TNT comedy-drama Men of a Certain Age.-Early life:Romano was born in Queens, New York to Italian...
and Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
) and 2010.
Ondrasik has also performed on the annual Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon
Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon
The MDA Labor Day Telethon is an annual telethon in the United States to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association . The first MDA telethon was during the Thanksgiving Day weekend of 1952 and titled Party for MDA. It has been held annually since 1966...
and has done various events for the Muscular Dystrophy Association
Muscular Dystrophy Association
The Muscular Dystrophy Association is an American organization which combats muscular dystrophy and diseases of the nervous system and muscular system in general by funding research, providing medical and community services, and educating health professionals and the general public...
and Augie's Quest, raising awareness and funds for ALS
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a form of motor neuron disease caused by the degeneration of upper and lower neurons, located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord and the cortical neurons that provide their efferent input...
(Lou Gehrig's disease).
In 2008, he got involved in the musical movement of spreading awareness about current slavery and human trafficking
Human trafficking
Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery...
by performing a live version of "World" for the rockumentary
Rockumentary
The term rockumentary is a neologism denoting a documentary about rock music or its musicians. The term was used by Bill Drake in the 1969 History of Rock & Roll radio broadcast, and by Rob Reiner in the 1984 mockumentary film This Is Spinal Tap....
, Call + Response
Call + Response
Call + Response is a documentary film by Fair Trade Pictures to support human rights activism against human trafficking and slavery on a community level. The film explores the 21st century slave trade and offers first hand accounts on the issue from Cornel West, Madeleine Albright, Daryl Hannah,...
.
The singer received a special fatherhood award from the National Fatherhood Initiative's 2009 Military Fatherhood Award Ceremony.
Personal life
Ondrasik currently lives with his wife and their two children in Encino, California. He is an avid hockeyHockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
and basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
fan.
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US Rock |
AUS ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
IRE Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
NOR VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
NZ |
UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
|||
| 1997 | Message for Albert Message for Albert Message for Albert is the debut album of Five for Fighting released independently in 1997 by Nettwerk.-Track listing:#"Bella's Birthday Cake"#"Day by Day"#"The Garden"#"Ocean"#"Happy"#"Love Song"#"Wise Man"#"White Picket Fence"#"2 Frogs"...
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2000 | America Town America Town America Town is the debut major label 2000 album by Five for Fighting released by Aware Records. It includes the hit single "Superman .". The song "Easy Tonight" appears in an episode of the sitcom Scrubs... Aware Records Aware Records is an American record label, existent to seek unsigned musical artists and expose them to the mainstream media. The label has had success with a range of artists, including John Mayer, Train, Five For Fighting, Mat Kearney and Guster.... /Columbia Records Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company... |
54 | — | 30 | 72 | 20 | 24 | 169 |
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... : Platinum Canadian Recording Industry Association Music Canada is a Toronto-based, non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, artists, manufacture, production, promotion and distribution of music in Canada... : Gold |
| 2004 | The Battle for Everything The Battle for Everything The Battle for Everything is a 2004 album from United States singer-songwriter Five for Fighting, the stage name of John Ondrasik.-Making of the album:... |
20 | — | 73 | — | — | — | — |
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| 2006 | Two Lights Two Lights (album) Two Lights is the fourth album from the piano rock artist Five for Fighting. The first single is titled "The Riddle". The song was released on June 14, 2006, and the album was released on August 1, 2006.-Track listing:# "Freedom Never Cries" – 4:22... Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
8 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2009 | Slice Slice (Five for Fighting album) Slice is the fifth studio album by Five for Fighting, the stage name of American singer-songwriter John Ondrasik, released on October 13, 2009 by Aware Records and Wind-Up Records, his first album with WU... |
34 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Live albums
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 2007 | Back Country Back Country Back Country is a live CD/DVD released by Five for Fighting on November 6, 2007. The album was recorded at a concert in Orlando, where he performed hits like "Superman " and "100 Years"....
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Compilations
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 2011 | Playlist: The Very Best of Five For Fighting
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Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US Adult |
US AC |
US Pop Mainstream Top 40 (Pop Songs) The Mainstream Top 40 is an airplay chart from Billboard magazine, and is also known as Pop Songs on billboard.com. It was often mistaken for and confused with the now discontinued Pop 100 Airplay chart... |
AUS ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
IRE Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
NL |
NZ |
NOR VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
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| 2000 | "Easy Tonight Easy Tonight "Easy Tonight" is the title of a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Five for Fighting . It was released in September 2000 as the lead single from his album America Town. It was re-released in March 2002 as a single after the success of the song, "Superman ".-Original... " |
— | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | America Town | |
| 2001 | "Superman (It's Not Easy) Superman (It's Not Easy) "Superman " is the title of a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Five for Fighting . It was released in April 2001 as the second single from his album America Town... " |
14 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 2 | 5 | 43 | 2 | 12 | 5 |
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| 2002 | "Easy Tonight" (re-release) | — | 18 | — | — | — | — | 88 | 20 | — | — | ||
| "America Town" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2003 | "Something About You" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004 | "100 Years 100 Years "100 Years" is the title of a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Five for Fighting . It was released in November 2003 as first single from the album The Battle for Everything.-Music video:... " |
28 | 3 | 1 | 40 | 32 | — | — | 32 | — | — |
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The Battle for Everything |
| "The Devil in the Wishing Well" | — | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Silent Night" | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2005 | "If God Made You" | — | — | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006 | "The Riddle (You and I)" | 40 | 8 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Two Lights | |
| "World World (Five for Fighting song) "World" is the title of a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Five for Fighting. It was released in November 2006 as the second single from the album Two Lights. It reached number 14 on the U.S... " |
— | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2007 | "I Just Love You" | — | — | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009 | "Chances Chances (Five for Fighting song) "Chances" is the title of a song written by Greg Wattenberg and John Ondrasik, and recorded by Ondrasik under his stage name Five for Fighting. The song was released on July 21, 2009 as the first single from the band's 2009 album, Slice. The song was the band's fourth single to chart on the... " |
83 | 14 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Slice | |
| 2010 | "Slice Slice (song) "Slice" is the title track and the second single from Five for Fighting's 2009 album Slice .The song is a nostalgic tribute to Don McLean's "American Pie", featuring a reference to "Chevys and levees" in the first verse and the line "We were more than just a slice of American pie" in the... " |
— | 33 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||||||
Music videos
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | "Superman (It's Not Easy)" | Ramaa Mosley |
| 2002 | "Easy Tonight" | Nancy Bardawil |
| 2004 | "100 Years" | Trey Fanjoy Trey Fanjoy Trey Fanjoy is a country music and pop music video director. Fanjoy has directed over 150 major label music videos. Her videos have appeared on CMT, VH-1, GAC, The Nashville Network, CMT Canada, and MTV.-Music videos:... |
| "The Devil in the Wishing Well" | Elliott Lester | |
| 2006 | "I'm About to Come Alive" | Vem |
| "World" | Todd Strauss-Schulson | |
| 2009 | "Chances" | Steven Drypolcher |
External links
- Ondrasik discusses the themes of his album Slice at Pajamas MediaPajamas MediaPJ Media is a media company that uses the Internet to present and comment on the news.Founded in 2004 by a network primarily, but not exclusively, made up of conservatives and libertarians led by mystery writer, screenwriter, and blogger Roger L...