The second single, ” Superman (It’s Not Easy) “, was a commercial success, reaching number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 1 on the Adult Top 40. The song became an anthem after the September 11 attacks and Ondrasik performed the song at The Concert for New…
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After the demise of EMI’s American branch, Ondrasik tried to have Message for Albert re-released through Capitol Records or Virgin Records , but was unsuccessful. Five for Fighting left EMI in the aftermath and recorded demos of ” Easy Tonight ” and “Jainy”, both of which were re-recorded for 2000’s…
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On his style at the turn of the millennium, when “Superman” became his first mainstream hit, Ondrasik said, “I kind of fancy myself as a rocker and a rock guy and here was this ballad.” Even though the song was softer than his style at the time, Ondrasik is “so…
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His second album, America Town , was released on September 26, 2000. In addition to 10 all-new songs, America Town included two re-recorded songs from the ill-fated Message for Albert album (“The Last Great American” and “Love Song”). “Easy Tonight” became the album’s lead single in 2000. It received moderate…
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Five for Fighting’s first album, Message for Albert , was released by EMI in March 1997. However, EMI Records’ American division closed that June. Although the album itself had already been released, there were no singles from Message . “Bella’s Birthday Cake” was intended as the lead single, judging by…
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Three John Scott songs co-written by Sheets and Ondrasik appeared on a 1997 arena rock album from Sheets’ band, St. Clair, which also featured Sarzo. Ondrasik did not perform on the album, but received writing credits for the re-recorded John Scott songs “After the Fire”, “Shadow of Myself”, and “Turn…
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In 1995, Ondrasik signed with EMI Records. He adopted Five for Fighting as a “band name” that same year at the request of EMI executives, who found Ondrasik’s name difficult to pronounce. EMI also had concerns that the male singer-songwriter was “dead” in the mid-1990s. According to Ondrasik, the label…
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Ondrasik spent the early 1990s playing singer-songwriter gigs around Los Angeles. He signed with an EMI music publisher, Carla Berkowitz, who discovered him in a bar on Melrose and Vine. Ondrasik and Berkowitz later married.
After graduating from UCLA in 1988, Ondrasik became associated with the glam metal scene. He befriended Whitesnake bassist Rudy Sarzo and later formed a band with Scott St. Clair Sheets , best known for his work with Pat Benatar , called John Scott . Ondrasik later described the band’s genre…
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