America Town is the second studio album by American pop rock artist Five for Fighting. It was released by Aware Records, a Columbia Records subsidiary, in 2000. It contains two of his most well-known songs, "Easy Tonight" and the Grammy-nominated[5] "Superman (It's Not Easy)". The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on November 1, 2001, and Platinum on October 22, 2004.[6] The album has sold over 966,000 copies in the United States as of November 2009.[7]
John Ondrasik had been active in the Los Angeles music scene since the 1980s, but did not adopt "Five for Fighting" as his stage name until he signed with EMI Records in 1995. His first album, Message for Albert, came out through EMI in 1997 but EMI's American division closed shortly after Message came out. After EMI's collapse, Ondrasik briefly signed with Island Records, but then "PolyGram, Island's parent company, merged with Universal and he was lost in the shuffle". Ondrasik then signed with Aware and Columbia Records and began working on America Town. After being dropped from two straight record companies, Ondrasik, then in his mid-30s, believed America Town would be his "swan song".[8]
America Town features ten new songs and two songs that were re-recorded from the ill-fated Message album ("Love Song" and "The Last Great American"). The hidden track, "Do You Mind", had also appeared on some versions of Message.[9]
Ondrasik wrote all of the songs and lyrics. Gregg Wattenburg, the album's producer, played electric guitar throughout the album and provided backing vocals. Ondrasik also played electric guitar on "Michael Jordan" and "Boat Parade".[10] Dorian Crozier was the drummer for all songs except "Love Song", which saw Robert Medici reprise the role (he had been the drummer on the Message for Albert version of the song). The bassists were Sheldon Gomberg and Mark Montague.[11]
Critical receptionedit
AllMusic called America Town "a bright and clean effort that delivers some heavy themes", and noted that "the focus is clearly on the lyrics, which are well written and effectively sung".[12]
Commercial performanceedit
"Easy Tonight" was released as the lead single. The second single, "Superman (It's Not Easy)" achieved mainstream success, peaking at number one on the Adult Top 40.[13] Superman was nominated for a Grammy in 2002. Following the success of "Superman", "Easy Tonight" was released as a single a second time, reaching number 18 on the Adult Top 40.[13] Two more singles followed ("America Town" and "Something About You"), but neither song replicated the mainstream success of "Superman" and "Easy Tonight".
The success of America Town meant that the album had not been Ondrasik's swan song, as he had anticipated. His third studio album, The Battle for Everything, came out in 2004 and was also certified platinum.
"Superman" was certified gold by the RIAA in 2005.[14]
^Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (30 September 2000). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 24. Billboard. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
^"Charts.nz – Five for Fighting – America Town". Hung Medien.
^"Norwegiancharts.com – Five for Fighting – America Town". Hung Medien.
^"Five for Fighting Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
^. Jam!. Archived from the original on September 6, 2004. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
^. Jam!. Archived from the original on December 4, 2003. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
^"Canadian album certifications – Five for Fighting – America Town". Music Canada.
April 11, 2024
america, town, second, studio, album, american, rock, artist, five, fighting, released, aware, records, columbia, records, subsidiary, 2000, contains, most, well, known, songs, easy, tonight, grammy, nominated, superman, easy, album, certified, gold, riaa, nov. America Town is the second studio album by American pop rock artist Five for Fighting It was released by Aware Records a Columbia Records subsidiary in 2000 It contains two of his most well known songs Easy Tonight and the Grammy nominated 5 Superman It s Not Easy The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on November 1 2001 and Platinum on October 22 2004 6 The album has sold over 966 000 copies in the United States as of November 2009 7 America TownStudio album by Five for FightingReleasedSeptember 26 2000 2000 09 26 Recorded1999 2000GenreRocksoft rockpopalternative rock 1 Length45 39LabelAwareColumbiaProducerGregg WattenbergFive for Fighting chronologyMessage for Albert 1997 America Town 2000 The Battle for Everything 2004 Singles from America Town Easy Tonight Released September 2000 Superman It s Not Easy Released April 2001 America Town Released 2002 Something About You Released 2003Professional ratingsReview scoresSourceRatingAllMusic 2 Melodic 3 Q 4 Contents 1 Background and composition 2 Critical reception 3 Commercial performance 4 Track listing 5 Charts 5 1 Weekly charts 5 2 Year end charts 6 Certifications 7 ReferencesBackground and composition editJohn Ondrasik had been active in the Los Angeles music scene since the 1980s but did not adopt Five for Fighting as his stage name until he signed with EMI Records in 1995 His first album Message for Albert came out through EMI in 1997 but EMI s American division closed shortly after Message came out After EMI s collapse Ondrasik briefly signed with Island Records but then PolyGram Island s parent company merged with Universal and he was lost in the shuffle Ondrasik then signed with Aware and Columbia Records and began working on America Town After being dropped from two straight record companies Ondrasik then in his mid 30s believed America Town would be his swan song 8 America Town features ten new songs and two songs that were re recorded from the ill fated Message album Love Song and The Last Great American The hidden track Do You Mind had also appeared on some versions of Message 9 Ondrasik wrote all of the songs and lyrics Gregg Wattenburg the album s producer played electric guitar throughout the album and provided backing vocals Ondrasik also played electric guitar on Michael Jordan and Boat Parade 10 Dorian Crozier was the drummer for all songs except Love Song which saw Robert Medici reprise the role he had been the drummer on the Message for Albert version of the song The bassists were Sheldon Gomberg and Mark Montague 11 Critical reception editAllMusic called America Town a bright and clean effort that delivers some heavy themes and noted that the focus is clearly on the lyrics which are well written and effectively sung 12 Commercial performance edit Easy Tonight was released as the lead single The second single Superman It s Not Easy achieved mainstream success peaking at number one on the Adult Top 40 13 Superman was nominated for a Grammy in 2002 Following the success of Superman Easy Tonight was released as a single a second time reaching number 18 on the Adult Top 40 13 Two more singles followed America Town and Something About You but neither song replicated the mainstream success of Superman and Easy Tonight The success of America Town meant that the album had not been Ondrasik s swan song as he had anticipated His third studio album The Battle for Everything came out in 2004 and was also certified platinum Superman was certified gold by the RIAA in 2005 14 Track listing editAll songs written by John Ondrasik No TitleLength1 Easy Tonight 4 092 Bloody Mary A Note on Apathy 3 463 Superman It s Not Easy 3 454 America Town 3 525 Something About You 4 026 Jainy 3 537 Michael Jordan 3 048 Out of Love 3 539 The Last Great American 3 0010 Love Song 3 4111 Boat Parade 2 5012 Alright Includes hidden song Do You Mind which begins at 3 34 5 39Charts editWeekly charts edit Weekly chart performance for America Town Chart 2002 PeakpositionAustralian Albums ARIA 15 30Irish Albums IRMA 16 72New Zealand Albums RMNZ 17 24Norwegian Albums VG lista 18 20US Billboard 200 19 54Year end charts edit Year end chart performance for America Town Chart 2002 PositionCanadian Albums Nielsen SoundScan 20 197Canadian Alternative Albums Nielsen SoundScan 21 64Certifications editCertifications for America Town Region Certification Certified units salesCanada Music Canada 22 Gold 50 000 United States RIAA 6 Platinum 1 000 000 Shipments figures based on certification alone References edit Nielsen Business Media Inc 30 September 2000 Billboard Nielsen Business Media Inc p 24 Billboard a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a author has generic name help America Town at AllMusic Wippsson Johan 2000 Five For Fighting America Town Melodic net Archived from the original on 2012 06 30 Retrieved 2012 12 30 Five For Fighting America Town CD Album CD Universe Retrieved 2012 12 30 Five For Fighting GRAMMY com 2020 05 19 Retrieved 2020 05 25 a b American album certifications Five for Fighting America Town Recording Industry Association of America Gary Trust November 6 2009 Ask Billboard Swift s Latest Fearless Feat Billboard Five for Fighting Encyclopedia com www encyclopedia com Retrieved 2020 05 25 Five For Fighting Message for Albert 1999 CD 1999 retrieved 2021 05 22 Five For Fighting America Town 2000 CD retrieved 2021 05 22 Five for Fighting America Town CD jacket Columbia Records 2000 America Town Five for Fighting Songs Reviews Credits AllMusic Retrieved 2020 05 25 a b Five for Fighting Billboard Retrieved 2020 05 25 Gold amp Platinum RIAA Retrieved 2020 05 25 Australiancharts com Five for Fighting America Town Hung Medien GFK Chart Track Albums Week 28 2002 Chart Track IRMA Charts nz Five for Fighting America Town Hung Medien Norwegiancharts com Five for Fighting America Town Hung Medien Five for Fighting Chart History Billboard 200 Billboard Top 200 Albums of 2002 based on sales Jam Archived from the original on September 6 2004 Retrieved March 23 2022 Canada s Top 200 Alternative albums of 2002 Jam Archived from the original on December 4 2003 Retrieved March 26 2022 Canadian album certifications Five for Fighting America Town Music Canada Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title America Town amp oldid 1170114814, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
