His mother was a piano teacher who taught at John F. Kennedy High School in Granada Hills, Los Angeles, where he graduated.

"We had some good songs and had some interest and were about to do a big management deal and then this little band called Nirvana came out and the whole hair-metal thing blew up," said Ondrasik.

"Bella's Birthday Cake" was intended as the lead single, judging by the existence of radio promos and demos featuring the song.

The song "Ocean" appears alongside "Bella's Birthday Cake" on some promotional cassettes, suggesting it was viewed as a potential second single.

[32] AllMusic called Message for Albert "intelligent and well-crafted", concluding that it was "a promising debut that sadly lost its shot when EMI spontaneously combusted after the record's release.

[35] After a discussion with Aware head Gregg Latterman, Smith met with Ondrasik and set up a deal in partnership with Columbia Records.

[42] Todd Goldstein of PopMatters also criticized the album's "pomposity", but enjoyed "Angels and Girlfriends" for its "unexpected chord changes" and "uncharacteristically quirky" lyrics.

He singled out "The Taste" for its surprising energy, writing that during "the only pure guitar-rocking song among the twelve midtempo ballads, John Ondrasik screams.

"[43] Another writer said Ondrasik seemed like a "contradictory figure" for his blend of romanticism and irreverence on The Battle for Everything: "There's '100 Years,' the first single, a meditation on the poetry of time passing.

The second single, "World", reached number 14 on Hot AC charts and the music video has been used to raise funds for various charities and as a theme for NASA's International Space Station (see Philanthropy below).

Five for Fighting released three live albums in 2007: Rhapsody Originals in January, iTunes Exclusive in June, and Back Country in October.

[45] As Ondrasik entered his fifties, he decided to "change the field of play"[52] rather than continuing to pursue chart position and record sales: "I just can't be doing it the same way I've always done it.

[57] Most prominently, Ondrasik was the featured artist in season three of the CBS drama Code Black, covering Gary Go's "Open Arms" in episode one.

[61] Some of Five for Fighting's notable live performances in this era included the Lincoln Center Series, American Songbook, in February 2017,[62] the 2017 National Memorial Day Concert and parade,[63][64] and a TV special called Christmas Under the Stars.

In sharing this musical collaboration on such hallowed ground, I saw firsthand the fortitude and grace of the Ukrainian people, who whether playing a violin or driving a tank, will not be deterred by Putin's atrocities and aggressions.

[69] Ondrasik has been variously compared to other piano singer-songwriters like Elton John, Billy Joel, Dave Matthews, and Ben Folds, albeit "while still maintaining a harder rock edge exclusive to Five For Fighting.

[71] Ondrasik lists Queen (and Freddie Mercury in particular[72]), Steve Perry, Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Billy Joel, and Prince among his musical influences.

[73] Ondrasik makes heavy use of falsetto vocals in his music, with Variety describing this as "a pleasant two-tone voice -- a tenor for setting up a situation and a higher register for driving a point home".

[77][78] While Five for Fighting's singles prominently feature piano, his early albums contain songs with traditional hard rock influences[70] ("Happy" on Message for Albert, "Boat Parade" on America Town, "The Taste" on The Battle for Everything, and others).

Grunge influences can also be heard in earlier albums, such as in "Wise Man" on Message for Albert, "Michael Jordan" on America Town, and a non-album song called "Big Cities".

[79] 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."

He often covers songs like "American Pie", "Rocket Man", "Message in a Bottle",[81] and "Bohemian Rhapsody"[82] at the end of live performances.

Presenting on themes of creativity, entrepreneurship, and collaboration, Ondrasik uses his music, life as a musician and working in the family business to highlight his message.

The site raised over $250,000 for Augie's Quest, Autism Speaks,[88] Fisher House Foundation,[89] Save the Children,[90] and Operation Homefront.

[citation needed] In November 2007, Ondrasik coordinated the release of 13 free songs for US military members called CD for the Troops.

Subsequent volumes became available in 2008 (including songs by Gretchen Wilson, Keith Urban and Trace Adkins), 2009 (an album of comedy tracks with material from comedians such as Chris Rock, Ray Romano and Adam Sandler), 2010 (featuring songs by Matchbox 20, Brandi Carlile, Ingrid Michaelson, and Gavin DeGraw), and 2011 (artists including Sara Bareilles, Mayday Parade and REO Speedwagon).

Ondrasik has also performed on the annual Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon and has done various events for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and Augie's Quest, raising awareness and funds for ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease).

[91] In 2008, he got involved in the musical movement of spreading awareness about current slavery and human trafficking by performing a live version of "World" for the rockumentary, Call + Response.

[86] In February 2022 Ondrasik joined Tom Morello, Victoria Williams, Beth Hart, and others on the song "God Help Us Now" about Afghan girls suffering in Afghanistan.

During his statement,[99] he asked a series of hypothetical questions to UCLA faculty and administration about if they would protect Muslims if a "barbaric terrorist group" attacked them on campus.