Five for Fighting

Vladimir John Ondrasik III (born January 7, 1965), known by his stage name Five for Fighting, is an American singer and songwriter. 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).

Early years

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/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.

Career

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.

Chances (Five for Fighting song)

"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 single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. "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 1, Episode 10 (The Turning Point) and in promos for professional wrestler Shawn Michaels' induction into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2011.

Music video

A music video was shot for the song, which was directed by Steven Drypolcher. The music video shows the story of two teenagers falling in love.

The video was filmed at Singing Springs Movie ranch a week before the Station Fire burned 250 square miles in the Angeles National Forest. All structures and vegetation seen in the video were destroyed. The player piano was rented and carried up and down a flight of stairs.