NHL announces acts for Stadium Series LA game

NEW YORK -- Chart-topping singer/songwriter John Ondrasik of Five for Fighting, platinum recording artist and actress Jordin Sparks and the USC Trojan Marching Band will join legendary rockers KISS as featured performers at the 2014 Coors Light Stadium Series™ outdoor NHL game at Dodger Stadium between the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks on Saturday, Jan. 25, the National Hockey League announced today. The 2014 Coors Light Stadium Series™ game in Los Angeles will be broadcast live on NBCSN in the U.S. and on CBC and RDS2 in Canada.

Sparks, one of the youngest American Idol winner in history and an avid sports fan, will sing the U.S. national anthem while Ondrasik, a lifelong Kings fan, will perform during the second intermission of the first ever NHL outdoor game in California. As the Kings and the Ducks make their way to the ice, members of the USC Trojan Marching Band, under the direction of Dr. Arthur C. Bartner, will provide musical accompaniment.

As previously announced, KISS, 2014 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees, will rock Dodger Stadium with special performances pre-game and during the first intermission.

The musical performances will take place on two stages on the field. One stage will feature a special design created by Los Angeles art legend Mister Cartoon with the help from his star pupils at Para Los Niños, a local non-profit organization providing high-quality education, family support services and community engagement programs to 7,500 children and families each year.

A limited number of tickets to the Kings-Ducks match-up at Dodger Stadium are available for purchase via Ticketmaster.com and Ticketmaster.ca, the official ticket marketplace of the NHL.

The entertainment for the 2014 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic®, 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series™ and 2014 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic™ is being produced by RK Productions in association with Big Monkey Entertainment.

Jordin Sparks (U.S. national anthem)

Jordin Sparks was just 17 years old when she won American Idol. In the years that have followed, Sparks has released two albums on 19 Recordings/Jive Records. Her self-titled debut went platinum, selling more than 2 million copies worldwide. The first three singles of Jordin Sparks went top five and the album's second single, No Air sold 4 million digital downloads. No Air also is the third highest selling single by any American Idol contestant and is listed at #27 on Billboard's 40 Biggest Duets of All Time. Spark's second release, 2009's Battlefield, debuted on the Billboard Album chart at No. 7. The first single, also called Battlefield, reached the top 10 on the Billboard Singles Chart and the second single, S.O.S. (Let the Music Play), topped the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, becoming Sparks' first No. 1. She also co-wrote four tracks on the album, including 911 Emergency, Was I The Only One, Faith and The Cure. Cumulatively, her popular singles have sold 10 million digital tracks in the U.S.

After a successful run on Broadway's Tony Award-winning musical In the Heights, Sparks made her feature film debut in 2012 as the lead in Sony Pictures' Sparkle, also starring the late Whitney Houston, Cee Lo Green and Mike Epps. Sparks next appeared in The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete, produced by Alicia Keys and hit theaters Oct. 2013. She will soon be featured in the hit series CSI: Las Vegas as well three more films including the Nicholas Cage film Left Behind, set to be released in 2014.

John Ondrasik of Five for Fighting (second intermission)

Five for Fighting's sixth album, Bookmarks, was released in September 2013, marking both a return to an earlier time as well as a new musical palette for singer/songwriter John Ondrasik, who is an avid hockey fan and selected a hockey term for his "band" title.

His previous album, Slice, included the hit song Chances which was featured in the Oscar-nominated film The Blind Side. Ondrasik burst onto the music scene in 1997 with the release of his debut album Message for Albert (EMI). Five for Fighting's breakthrough came in 2001 with the Grammy-nominated song Superman from the platinum certified America Town (Aware/Columbia Records). In 2004, John recorded the platinum-certified album, The Battle For Everything, which yielded the retrospective hit, 100 Years. With the 2006 release of Two Lights, featuring World, the hit song The Riddle, and Freedom Never Cries, Ondrasik continued to craft songs with material drawn from his personal experience in regard to love, war, culture, family, humanity and mortality.

Further evidence of Ondrasik's marvelous collision between sports and music is his contributing writer assignments for Sports Illustrated and the Kings' website as well as frequent guest appearances on sports television and radio programs.

USC Trojan Marching Band (pre-game festivities)

The USC Trojan Marching Band (TMB) was founded in 1880 and, at 300-strong, now is the largest spirit organization on the University of Southern California campus. The TMB has traveled to every USC football game since 1987 and performs at more than 300 engagements each year. The band has visited 16 countries and performed at five World Expositions. In 1984, it formed the core of the All-American College Marching Band that opened and closed the Summer Olympics. The band is frequently featured in movies (including Forrest Gump and The Naked Gun) and on television (American Idol, Glee and The Tonight Show, to name a few). In 2009, the band performed at the Grammy Awards with Radiohead and at the Academy Awards with Hugh Jackman and Beyoncé. The TMB is the only collegiate marching band in the U.S. to claim two platinum albums, for its work with Fleetwood Mac. Director Dr. Bartner has led the band for 44 years.

Mister Cartoon (Stage Design)

Mister Cartoon was born and raised in Los Angeles. He began his career as a graffiti artist in the 1980s and quickly gained notoriety for his unique tattoos, custom low-rider car work, album cover designs, logos, exclusive advertisements and collectible limited-edition products. His richly detailed, hand-rendered designs adorn the bodies of countless celebrities, including Beyoncé, Eminem, Jonathan Quick and Christina Aguilera. His work also has been featured in exhibitions around the globe, and a myriad of companies – including Xbox, Casio, Diesel and Nike – have commissioned his talents. Mister Cartoon continues to build a diverse, devoted and loyal global fan base.