Hanukkah song lighting up YouTube like a menorah

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This article was published 07/12/2010 (5788 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NEW YORK — It’s not your mother’s dreidel song.

A singing group from Yeshiva University has a Hanukkah hit on their hands. The Maccabeats’ Candlelight is sung to the tune of the pop song Dynamite by Taio Cruz, and features latkes, candles and a telling of the Hanukkah story. The video for the song has gotten well over two million views since its release about a week and a half ago.

“We really didn’t expect what happened,” said Julian Horowitz, musical director of the Maccabeats, made up of 14 current and like former students at the school.

The song includes lines like, “I flip my latkes in the air sometimes,” and the video features a tongue-in-cheek re-enactment of the fight between the Greeks and the Maccabees.

Horowitz said the song and video were initially created as a promotional way to showcase the group’s abilities. Since the video’s release and popularity, though, there have been numerous news articles and even television appearances.

“We’re still just recovering from the shell shock,” he said Monday.

Horowitz said the group doesn’t know yet what any future musical offerings might be.

“We definitely want to make sure we continue to have fun and we continue to inspire others,” he said.

— The Associated Press