Vladimir John Ondrasik III, known by his stage name Five for Fighting, is an American singer-songwriter, pianist, record producer, and philanthropist. He is best known for his piano-based soft rock ballads, such as the top 40 hits "Superman " (2001), "100 Years" (2003) and "The Riddle" (2006). He also had a string of moderate hits on the adult contemporary charts in the late 2000s and into the 2010s, including "World" (2006), "Chances" (2009), "What If" (2013), "Christmas Where You Are" (2017). His first single “Easy Tonight” (2000) went #1 on Adult Album Alternative radio. “Blood on my Hands” (2021), his song and accompanying docu-music video protesting the American withdrawal from Afghanistan went viral receiving over a million digital views.
The Battle for Everything is the third studio album by American singer Five for Fighting, released on February 3, 2004 by Aware Records and Columbia Records. Following the success of America Town (2000) and its breakthrough single, "Superman " (2001), John Ondrasik reteamed with producer Gregg Wattenberg and brought in Bill Bottrell to work on new material for his next record. The Battle for Everything debuted at number 20 on the Billboard 200 and spawned four singles: "100 Years", "The Devil in the Wishing Well", "Silent Night", and "If God Made You". The album was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting sales of over 1,000,000 copies. The album's title refers to the fact "that nothing in the making of this record came easy – including concern over the title itself".
America Town is the second studio album by American pop rock artist Five for Fighting. It was released by Aware Records, a Columbia Records subsidiary, in 2000. It contains two of his most well-known songs, "Easy Tonight" and the Grammy-nominated "Superman ". The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on November 1, 2001, and Platinum on October 22, 2004. The album has sold over 966,000 copies in the United States as of November 2009.
"What Hurts the Most" is a song written by American songwriter Jeffrey Steele and English songwriter Steve Robson. Initially recorded by country music artist Mark Wills in 2003 on his album And the Crowd Goes Wild, it was covered by Bellefire a year later. The first version to be released as a single was by pop singer Jo O'Meara in 2005, from the album Relentless. Later that year, country band Rascal Flatts covered the song as well, releasing it as the first single from the 2006 album Me and My Gang, topping the U.S country and adult contemporary charts with it. German band Cascada later had international chart success with the song in 2007. It was also covered by Eden in 2008.
"Unwritten" is a song by English singer Natasha Bedingfield for her debut studio album of the same name. It was released in 2004 as the third single from the album. The song was written by Bedingfield, Danielle Brisebois, and Wayne Rodrigues and produced by Rodrigues and Brisebois. The single was released as the album's third UK single and second US single. In 2006, "Unwritten" became the theme song for the MTV reality television series The Hills. It reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her first top-ten hit in the United States.
"Superman " is a song written and performed by American singer Five for Fighting. It was released on April 16, 2001, as the second single from his second studio album America Town. Following the September 11 attacks, the song was used to honor the victims, survivors, police, and firefighters involved in the attacks.
"Before He Cheats" is a song written by Chris Tompkins and Josh Kear and the third wide-release single from Carrie Underwood's debut studio album, Some Hearts (2005). It was the fifth release from the album overall. The song tells the story of a woman taking revenge on her potentially unfaithful boyfriend/husband.
"Over My Head " is a song by American rock band the Fray. It was released in October 2005 as the lead single from their debut album How to Save a Life (2005) and hit the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The single helped propel their album from the Top Heatseekers chart to the top 20 of The Billboard 200 chart. The CD single was backed with "Heaven Forbid" and a live version of "Hundred". In the United Kingdom, "Over My Head " was released as the second single from the album, following "How to Save a Life".
"How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" is a song written in 1982 by Doug James and Michael Bolton. The ballad has been recorded by many artists around the world, in several languages, becoming something of a modern pop standard. Instrumental versions of the song have been recorded featuring variously the piano, guitar, saxophone, pan flute, steel drum, and music box.
"The Prayer" is a song performed by Canadian singer Celine Dion and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. It was written by David Foster, Carole Bayer Sager, Alberto Testa and Tony Renis.
"100 Years" is a song by American singer Five for Fighting. It was released on November 17, 2003, as the first single from his third studio album, The Battle for Everything (2004). The single reached number one on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2007, the song earned a Platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America for more than 1,000,000 copies sold. It also charted in Australia and New Zealand, peaking at number 32 in both countries.
"Home" is a 2007 song by American rock band Daughtry from their self-titled debut album. The song had been climbing up the U.S. charts for a few weeks before the song was announced as the second single from the album. The song was covered by Irish musician Kian Egan that serves as the lead single from his debut album also called Home.
"Dreaming with a Broken Heart" is a song by John Mayer from his 2006 album Continuum. It was released as digital download single in July 2007.
"Feels Like Tonight" is the fourth main single from American rock band Daughtry's debut album. The song is a power ballad in the vein of the band's previous hit, "Home". The official release date for the track in the U.S. was January 8, 2008.
"Say" is a song by John Mayer written for the Rob Reiner film The Bucket List in 2007. The ballad was released as a single on November 20, 2007, and was the first commercial single in Mayer's career that was not originally released on one of his albums but added to the special edition re-release of his album Continuum. In the US, it is Mayer's highest-charting single, reaching number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May 2008. The song earned Mayer his record-tying fourth and final Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.
"Crush" is the debut single by American Idol season seven runner-up David Archuleta. It was first released to radio stations via New York City's radio station Z100 on August 1, 2008, and commercially in the United States on August 12, 2008, through digital distribution. "Crush" was produced by Emanuel Kiriakou and co-written by Kiriakou, Jess Cates and Dave Hodges.
"Chances" is a song written by Gregg 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 and last single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "Chances" is the second track of the official Superleague Formula soundtrack A Beautiful Race: The Superleague Formula album, which was re-released from Sony Music Entertainment Philippines on April 4, 2010. It was also featured in the end credits to The Blind Side, the end montage of scenes in The Vampire Diaries season one, episode 10, "The Turning Point" and in promos for professional wrestler Shawn Michaels' induction into the WWE Hall of Fame of 2011.
"Shadow Days" is the lead single from American singer John Mayer's fifth studio album Born and Raised. It had moderate success, peaking at #42 in the United States and #49 in Canada.
"Waiting for Superman" is a song co-written by Chris Daughtry for his band Daughtry's fourth studio album, Baptized. It was released as the lead single from the album on September 17, 2013. An electropop ballad, the song was co-written by Sam Holland and Boys Like Girls lead singer Martin Johnson. The latter also served as the record producer.
"Sit Still, Look Pretty" is a song by American singer Daya. It was released on September 4, 2015, as the second single from her debut extended play (EP), Daya (2013) and her debut studio album of the same name (2016). It is the follow-up to her Billboard Hot 100 top 40 hit "Hide Away". The song was written by Gino Barletta, Mike Campbell and Britten Newbill. Lyrically, the song includes themes of female empowerment.
