Five For Fighting’s John Ondrasik On His Multi-Faceted Career, Selling TV Shows & The Video For “Can One Man Save The World?”
In the two decades since Five For Fighting’s first major single “Superman (It’s Not Easy)” hit the stratosphere, Five For Fighting has released six studio LPs, including the platinum-certified America Town and the Top 10-charting Two Lights. A post-9/11 anthem, Ondrasik performed “Superman (It’s Not Easy)” at the 2001 Concert For New York, a benefit show at Madison Square Garden that honored first responders and the fallen about a month after the tragic September 11th attacks. Otherwise, John Ondrasik — the artist behind Five For Fighting — has penned major hits, including the chart-topping “100 Years,” “The Riddle,” “Chances,” “World,” and “Easy Tonight,” which have earned tens of millions of streams and placed him as a Top 10 Hot Adult Contemporary artist for the 2000s. Ultimately, Five For Fighting’s music has also been featured in more than 350 films, television shows, and commercials.
Earlier this year, John Ondrasik and Five For Fighting released a new version of his single “Can One Man Save The World?” and a powerful companion music video, as featuring the Ukrainian Orchestra. The song, as inspired by the courage of President Vladimir Zelensky and the people of Ukraine, asks the nation and the world, to stand up for the core values of freedom and justice. To film the video, Ondrasik entered an area that had seen heavy combat shortly after the Russians pulled back from the capital in tow with an American production crew led by Save Our Allies co-founder Nick Palmisciano and filmmaker Hollywood Heard. In coordination with the Ukrainian military, Palmisciano and Heard filmed and documented Ondrasik’s performance with the Ukrainian Orchestra conducted by Victoria X. Proceeds from the single and its companion video will benefit Save Our Allies and further its mission of providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine. To date, Save Our Allies has evacuated more than 17,000 wartime allies from Afghanistan, beyond its efforts in other urgent war-torn areas.
On June 25, 2022, I had the pleasure of speaking with Five For Fighting’s John Ondrasik again, this time via Zoom and embedded below. Beyond his music, we talked about Ondrasik’s success as a television show creator, keynote speaker, a philanthropist amd an entrepreneur otherwise. And speaking to my fandom of both Van Halen and Rudy Sarzo, sure, some questions about those subjects found their way into the interview. More on Ondrasik and Five For Fighting can be found here, here and here.
About the Author
Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."
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