"Superman (It's Not Easy)" is a song written and performed by American singer

Five for Fighting Vladimir John Ondrasik III (born January 7, 1965), also known by his stage name Five for Fighting, is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. He is best known for his piano-based soft rock, such as the top 40 hits " Superman (It's Not Easy)" ...

. It was released on April 16, 2001, as the second single from his second studio album '' America Town''. Following the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

, the song was used to honor the victims, survivors, police, and firefighters involved in the attacks. The song debuted on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart at number 38 on October 27, 2001, then subsequently peaked at number 14, becoming Five for Fighting's first top-40 hit in the United States. The single was a major hit in Australia and New Zealand, reaching number two on both countries' national charts. It additionally reached the top 20 in Ireland, Italy and Norway. It was nominated for a

Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals The Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals was awarded between 1966 and 2011 (in its final year, it was awarded for recordings issued in 2010). The award had several minor name changes: *From 1966 to 1967, the award ...

at the 44th Grammy Awards in 2002.

Content

The lyrics focus on the iconic hero

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

; specifically, how, in the opinion of the singer, his life as a hero is surprisingly difficult despite his immense power. Ondrasik said the song is about "frustration about the inability to be heard."

Music video

The music video was directed by Ramaa Mosley and premiered in June 2001. A scene from this video was filmed at Yonge Street and Richmond Street in Toronto, Ontario. At the end of the song's music video, John Ondrasik lies in bed with his own wife and son.

Impact

Ondrasik was in London during the

, preparing for a concert; the song was beginning to pick up steam in Europe. However, the song grew in popularity in the United States after the attacks, with ''

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...

'' writing that "...it became an anthem in the days after 9/11. Its lyrics resonated with people, bringing a sense of raw humanity and comfort to those who needed it most."

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

In popular culture and covers

"Superman" has been covered multiple times by various artists. The song was covered by shadow musician Catman Cohen in 2005 via CD, ''How I Want to Live: the Catman Chronicles 2''. In his 2010 comedy tour,

Conan O'Brien Conan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, actor, and producer. He is best known for having hosted Late-night talk show, late-night talk shows, beginning with ''Late Night with Conan O'B ...

sang a cover of the song by himself before

Jim Carrey James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian and American actor and comedian. Known primarily for his energetic slapstick performances, he has received two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for BAFTA Awards and ...

appeared in a Superman suit to sing a duet with O'Brien. Australian comedy rock trio

the Axis of Awesome The Axis of Awesome were an Australian comedy music act with members Jordan Raskopoulos, Lee Naimo and Benny Davis, active from 2006 to 2018. The trio covered a wide variety of performance styles and performed a combination of original materia ...

parodied this song with a new song, "Birdplane". This song turned out to affect the band, as it represented

Jordan Raskopoulos Jordan Nicola Bridget Raskopoulos is an Australian comedian, singer, and television personality. She wrote and performed the Network Ten sketch comedy show ''The Ronnie Johns Half Hour'', and was lead singer for comedy rock group the Axis of Aw ...

and her

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

transition. The song has also been used in multiple television programs. It was aptly featured in ''

Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produce ...

'', a coming-of-age series focused on the adventures of teenage

Clark Kent Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

. A cover of the song by Briana Lee was used in the series finale of the television show '' Code Black''. In 2011, the song was used to honor the memory of hockey player and former Vancouver Canuck,

Rick Rypien Richard Joseph Rypien (May 16, 1984 – August 15, 2011) was a Canadian professional ice hockey Forward (ice hockey), forward who spent parts of six seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Vancouver Canucks from 2005 to 2011. Afte ...

at Rogers Arena, Vancouver. Rypien committed suicide in the summer of 2011 after a lengthy battle with depression.

References

{{Authority control 2000 songs 2001 singles APRA Award winners Charity singles following the September 11 attacks Columbia Records singles Five for Fighting songs Music videos shot in Toronto Songs about comics Songs about superheroes Songs about fictional male characters Songs written by John Ondrasik Superman music