John Ondrasik
| Five for Fighting | |
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Five for Fighting at Edwards Air Force Ball on September 21, 2007
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Vladimir John Ondrasik III |
| Also known as | Five for Fighting |
| Born |
January 7, 1965 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | |
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| Years active | 1997–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | fiveforfighting |
Vladimir John Ondrasik III (born January 7, 1965), known by his stage name Five for Fighting, is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his piano-based rock, such as the top 40 hits, "Superman (It's Not Easy)" (2001), "100 Years" (2003) and "The Riddle" (2006).
Ondrasik was born in Los Angeles, 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 and songwriter. Ondrasik graduated from UCLA with a degree in applied science and mathematics. While in college he continued to pursue music in his spare time. He adopted the name "Five for Fighting", an ice hockey term that means a five-minute major penalty for participating in a fight. Ondrasik is a lifelong fan of the National Hockey League's Los Angeles Kings.
Ondrasik's first album, Message for Albert, was released by EMI in 1997. Capitol Records then re-released this album after the success of America Town.
Originally, Aware Records' Mark Cunningham was a big fan of Five for Fighting and made initial contact with Ondrasik. Cunningham then passed 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.
His second album, America Town, was released on September 26, 2000. The album had impact, but specifically "Superman (It's Not Easy)" was a commercial success, reaching number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The hit single eventually became an anthem after the September 11 attacks where Ondrasik went on to perform the song at The Concert for New York City in late 2001. While America Town did not reach the top 50 of the Billboard 200 chart, the album's first single, "Easy Tonight", became a number one Triple A song and consistent album sales eventually led to it being certified Platinum.
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