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100 Years (song)

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"100 Years"
Single by Five for Fighting
from the album The Battle for Everything
B-side
  • "Sister Sunshine"
  • "Maybe I" (acoustic)
ReleasedNovember 17, 2003 (2003-11-17)
GenreSoft rock[1]
Length4:05
Label
Songwriter(s)John Ondrasik
Producer(s)Gregg Wattenberg
Five for Fighting singles chronology
"Something About You"
(2003) 		"100 Years"
(2003) 		"The Devil in the Wishing Well"
(2004)

"100 Years" is a song by American singer Five for Fighting. It was released on November 17, 2003, as the first single from his third studio album, The Battle for Everything (2004). The single reached number one on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2007, the song earned a Platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America for more than 1,000,000 copies sold. It also charted in Australia and New Zealand, peaking at number 32 in both countries.

Background

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Ondrasik was trying repeatedly to write a follow-up hit to 2001's "Superman (It's Not Easy)", with little luck. As he sat with his toddler son, he kept reminding himself to appreciate the moment, rather than worry.

He said,

“100 Years” was a little post-it note saying, “Dude, just chill and appreciate the moment, recognize the moment.” Once I had the lyric, “There’s never a wish better than this,” and I had the piano theme, I had this concept of let’s let this song be a lifetime. Let’s have each verse be the stages of our lives, let’s move through the song. “100 Years” is different than “Superman” in that, for me, it’s always relevant because I’m always somewhere in the song. I wrote it when I was the beginning of the second verse, now I’m in the bridge, you know? Pretty soon I’ll be in the vamp.[2]

Chart performance

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"100 Years" peaked on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles charts at number 28, for the week ending May 24, 2004.[3] In December 2004, on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 2004 chart, "100 Years" was ranked at number 77 overall for the year.[4]

"100 Years" peaked at number one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart for the week ending May 7, 2004.[5] It went on to be the longest-running number-one single of 2004 on the Adult Contemporary chart, staying at number one for 12 non-consecutive weeks.[6] The song spent a total of 52 weeks on the Adult Contemporary chart.[5]

Music video

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The music video was directed by Trey Fanjoy and premiered on January 10, 2004. It placed at number 30 on VH1's Top 40 Music Video Countdown of 2004, spending 18 weeks on VH1's weekly Top 20 countdown. In the video, images of Ondrasik singing and playing the song at the piano are intercut with fictional, exaggerated, idealized versions of himself as a 15-year-old boy, a 22-year-old, a 33-year-old, a man in his middle 40s, and finally a 99-year-old version of himself, reflecting the song's lyrics. At the end of the song, Ondrasik meets his older self.

Track listing

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Australian CD single[7]

  1. "100 Years"
  2. "Sister Sunshine"
  3. "Maybe I" (acoustic version)
  4. "100 Years" (acoustic version)

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[15] Platinum 1,000,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States November 17, 2003
[16]
January 12, 2004 Adult contemporary radio [17]
February 2, 2004 Contemporary hit radio [18]
Australia May 10, 2004 CD [19]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Varias, Chris (April 6, 2018). "Cincinnati Pops gets Five for Fighting". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved October 24, 2020. But things have changed industry-wide not only since the last decade when Ondrasik was cranking out soft-rock hits like "Superman (It's Not Easy)," "100 Years" and "The Riddle" under his stage name Five for Fighting.
  2. ^ Uitti, Jacob (October 18, 2021). "Behind the Song: "100 Years" by Five for Fighting". American Songwriter. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Five for Fighting Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Billboard Top 100 – 2004". Billboardtop100of.com. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "Five for Fighting Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  6. ^ Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart info Billboard.com. Retrieved August 29, 2010.
  7. ^ 100 Years (Australian CD single liner notes). Five for Fighting. Columbia Records, Aware Records. 2004. 674575 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ^ "Five for Fighting – 100 Years". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  9. ^ "Five for Fighting – 100 Years". Top 40 Singles.
  10. ^ "Five for Fighting Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  11. ^ "Five for Fighting Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  12. ^ "Five for Fighting Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  13. ^ a b "Year in Music & Touring". Billboard. Vol. 116, no. 52. December 25, 2004. p. YE-74. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
  14. ^ "2004 The Year in Charts: Most-Played Triple-A Songs". Billboard Radio Monitor. Vol. 12, no. 51. December 17, 2004. p. 54.
  15. ^ "American single certifications – Five for Fighting – 100 Years". Recording Industry Association of America.
  16. ^ "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1530. November 14, 2003. p. 27. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  17. ^ "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1537. January 9, 2004. p. 24. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  18. ^ "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1540. January 30, 2004. p. 23. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  19. ^ "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 10th May 2004" (PDF). ARIA. May 10, 2004. p. 26. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 6, 2004. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
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