It’s been a crazy year for the Jonas Brothers.
The former Disney icons released a new album, “From Your Hometown”; they went on tour; and one of them — Nick — even had a Broadway run in a very Jewish musical, “The Last Five Years,” where he played Jamie Wellerstein, who falls in love with a “Shiksa Goddess” (Jason Robert Brown’s words, not ours!)
As if those weren’t enough accomplishments for 2025, now some of their songs are featured in one of the best Hanukkah parodies of the year. New York-based Jewish a cappella group Y-Studs is paying tribute to the three brothers with a delightful song medley of both recent and nostalgic numbers, titled “A Very Jonas Hanukkah.”
The mash-up starts with “Year 3000,” from the band’s 2006 album “Family Business.” My favorite part is when they turn the lyrics “boy band and another one and another one,” into “a cappella group and another one and another one” and pay tribute to their fellow Jewish parody-makers by showing clips from videos of groups like Six13, Shir Soul Music and The Maccabeats. We love to see some good camaraderie! I also love the zayde cameo in this bit, and the reminder that “we don’t need a time machine to speak of our history,” because “the great great great menorah will always shine.”
They continue with the “Camp Rock” hit “Play My Music,” which they turned into an ode to spinning dreidels (dreidels in my soul, indeed). The 2019 tune “Sucker” follows and works surprisingly well, turning “I’m a sucker for you” into “Got a latke for you!”
And of course, they leave the best contender for last: the 2008 hit “Burnin’ Up,” perfectly titled for the Festival of Lights. Dare I say that their parody is even better than the original?
One thing’s for sure: This parody is incredibly infectious and well-made, and worthy of the Jonas Brothers, who are, it so happens, performing in New York this Hanukkah. Maybe they can bring the Y-Studs on stage for a special celebration?
Here’s to dreaming big.
