The Vision Behind the Video: An Inside Look at the Y-Studs New Release, “A Jackson 5 Hanukkah”
“We have a great show for you tonight, you won’t believe who’s in this theater — it’s the Y-Studs!” exclaimed television host “Ed Sullivan” to open his show.
On Dec. 22, the Y-Studs released “A Jackson 5 Hanukkah” just in time for the chag. An a cappella mashup of songs from the famous group The Jackson 5 got everyone in the Chanukah spirit, with creative lyrics telling the story of the Maccabim.
The Y-Studs are a Jewish a cappella group of college students and young professionals based in the NYC area who love to sing: Chiya Abramowitz (YC ‘19), Yossi Dietz (SSSB ‘23), Aiden Harow (YC ‘26), Sammy Henkin, Jordan Jesin (YC ‘26), Matt Sacher, Noam Schoenfeld (SSSB ‘25), Josh Shapiro (YC ‘25) and Seth Silverman.
While the Y-Studs began as a Yeshiva University club in 2010, the a cappella group is now an independent business, not officially part of YU. The name “Y-Stud” came from the format Yeshiva University used to email students — “Dear Y-Stud” (Yeshiva Student). Despite no longer being directly affiliated, the Y-Studs have many opportunities to perform at YU events, like the Oct. 7 commemoration and the Sy Syms dinner, opportunities which they are grateful for. For many Y-Studs members, performing at such events and allowing their fellow students to connect through song is one of the most meaningful parts of the job. When not singing at YU events, the Y-Studs can be found in different communities for shabbatons and bar mitzvahs, singing at concerts or working on song production. The Y-Studs typically put out a song by Chanukah, and another in the spring, Pesach or Purim, so there is always new material for fans to be looking out for.
Aiden Harow (YC ‘26), a new Y-Stud member, told The Commentator that his favorite part of joining the group is “making a lasting impact on our audience. Seeing people crying when we sing the Mi Sheberach for the IDF or dancing when we perform their favorite songs makes all the hard work worth it.”
While only recently released, this Chanukah’s mashup theme, “A Jackson 5,” was something in the works since last year, originally planned for this past Pesach. In the wake of Oct. 7, the Y-Studs chose a more serious and somber song relating to current events — the classic “Vehi Sheamda”. This song was chosen specifically because of its focus on Jewish strength in times of difficulty. The Y-Studs wanted to incorporate someone from Israel into their music video, so they reached out to Daniel Wais, a survivor of Be’eri, whose parents were both killed on Oct. 7. Because their videographer lives in Israel, he was able to film Wais there and incorporate his scenes into a beautiful and emotional video with the Y-Studs.
This Chanukah, “we thought that Jackson 5 — with the dance moves and 70s funk — would be a good choice,” Josh Shapiro, president of the a cappella group, told The Commentator. Songs in the mashup include a multitude of hits from The Jackson 5 including “I’ll Be There,” “I Want You Back” and “ABC,” all songs that have an upbeat rhythm and are easy to sing along to. The video opens up with Jordan Jesin turning on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” where the Y-Studs make their appearance. This intro mimics the television debut of The Jackson 5, who came on the show in 1969.
In addition to the lyrics that perfectly fit to the melody of each song, the Y-Studs choreographed enthusiastic and fun dance moves with costumes that created the groovy vibe of the 1970s. For many Y-Studs, this was one of the most difficult parts of the entire video production process, with dancing being out of many of their comfort zones.
The process from the original thought to the actualization of the music video’s final production was difficult, but rewarding. Everything from the arrangement, writing the lyrics and creating a video vision with costumes and scenery to recording and mixing the audio, finding actors, filming and editing the final video — a project like this took a combination of passion and teamwork. The filming took much dedication, with the Y-Studs needing to be on their A-game for hours straight. There was a sense of pressure throughout, as messing up at any point meant that an entire scene would need to be shot again. When the final video was produced, the Y-Studs were all excited to see their hard work come together and felt extremely satisfied.
Harow told The Commentator, “We had a choreographer, three camera people and a lighting guy! I never expected it to feel so official. I’m just a guy who likes to sing.”
In addition to the joy that comes from performing and producing music, the Y-Studs enjoy being part of a group where everyone is passionate about singing and music. As Shapiro told The Commentator, “Everyone’s always down to sing and harmonize with each other,” giving each member of the group an outlet to express their passion, even when just hanging out.
While the Y-Studs are known for their themed music videos put out before the chagim, the group is working on an EP this summer which will be a smaller album with multiple songs.
The Y-Studs love connecting with fans and sharing content on platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. As Shapiro put it — “While it’s something that we sometimes forget, it is amazing how far our music can really go.”
Photo Caption: Y-Studs performing at Smile on Seniors 15th anniversary dinner in Phoenix
Photo Credit: smileonseniors
