Five For Fighting with String Quartet

John Ondrasik — the songwriter and performer known as the platinum-selling, Grammy-nominated Five For Fighting — knows this well. In the two decades since his first major single, "Superman (It's Not Easy)," hit the stratosphere, the artist has both evolved and come back 'round full circle. Creativity, if nothing else, is paradoxical.

To date, Five For Fighting has released six studio LPs, including the platinum-certified America Town and The Battle for Everything; and the top-10 charting Two Lights, along with an EP and live albums.

Ondrasik has penned major hits, including the chart-topping "100 Years," "The Riddle," "Chances," "World," and "Easy Tonight," which have earned over one billion streams and place him as a top-10 Hot Adult Contemporary artist for the 2000s.

The reflective "100 Years" has joined "Superman (It's Not Easy)" as part of the American Songbook and continues to stand the test of time at weddings, birthdays, graduations, memorials, and many a home video. Five For Fighting's music has also been featured in more than 350 films, television shows, and commercials, including the Oscar-winning The Blind Side, Hawaii Five-O, The Sopranos, and the CBS drama Code Black.

Referencing Five For Fighting's success in the 2000s, AllMusic called Ondrasik "one of the decade’s leading balladeers." Perhaps his biggest achievement is performing "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 September 11th attacks. Ondrasik performed alongside artists like Paul McCartney, The Who, Elton John, Billy Joel, and dozens more.

Throughout his multi-decade career, which began when music publisher Carla Berkowitz (now his wife of 25 years) discerned him in a dive bar, Ondrasik has been involved in multiple charity efforts. Along with supporting the troops via multiple USO tours, he created "The CD For the Troops" project with song and comedy compilations featuring artists like Billy Joel, Melissa Ethridge, Chris Rock, and others, gifting more than one million CDs to veterans and military families.

John has also been deeply involved with the ALS charity "Augie’s Quest" and is an ambassador for his pal Gary, supporting the Gary Sinise Foundation.