Jenna Noelle Ushkowitz (born April 28, 1986) is an American stage and telev… Read Full Bio ↴Jenna Noelle Ushkowitz (born April 28, 1986) is an American stage and television actress and singer, who is perhaps best known for her performances in Broadway musicals and for her role as Tina Cohen-Chang on Glee.
Ushkowitz was born in Seoul, South Korea; she was adopted at the age of three months and raised in East Meadow, New York. Ushkowitz was raised Catholic and attended Parkway Elementary School and Holy Trinity Diocesan High School, a Catholic school in Hicksville, Long Island known for its strong theater department. During high school, Ushkowitz appeared in several musicals, including the first-ever high school production of Les Misérables. Her other roles included Penny in Honk!, Inez in The Baker's Wife, Little Red Riding Hood in Into the Woods, and Romaine Patterson in The Laramie Project. She graduated from high school in 2004 and moved on to attend Marymount Manhattan College, where she once again took the role of Little Red Riding Hood in Into the Woods. She graduated from Marymount Manhattan in 2007 with a B.A. in Acting, with a concentration in Theater Performance and a minor in Musical Theater.
Ushkowitz has had a career in show business since the age of three. As a child, she appeared on Sesame Street and other children's television shows. Her first role in a Broadway musical was in a 1996 revival of The King and I.
Ushkowitz sang the American National Anthem at a Knicks game at Madison Square Garden when she was thirteen. Before joining the cast of Glee, she was an understudy for the roles of Anna, Martha, Thea and Ilse in the Broadway musical Spring Awakening.
In 2009, she landed the role of Tina Cohen-Chang on Fox's musical high school show Glee. Her character had a stutter for the first nine episodes until she revealed she had been faking one due to her extreme shyness. Her storylines have included dating fellow glee club members Artie Abrams and Mike Chang. Her solos have included the songs "Tonight" from West Side Story, "True Colors", and "ABC" by the Jackson 5.
Ushkowitz has performed live concert shows in the US, England, and Ireland with her castmates from Glee. She has known Glee co-star Lea Michele since they were eight years old; they also co-starred on Broadway in Spring Awakening. Ushkowitz was initially given little information about Tina's backstory, and believed that her stutter was real. She was pleased when the truth was revealed, however, explaining: "It would have been fun to keep it because that just gives her one more quirk, but this opens up a whole new set of doors for Tina." Ushkowitz has created her own backstory for Tina, and believes that she is rebelling against her mother rather than genuinely being a goth, explaining: "I don't think her room is filled with dark posters and heavy metal stuff—I just think this is a phase she's going through. There's definitely a lot of options for all the characters to evolve and change next year. I'm totally rooting for Tina to join The Cheerios [the school's cheerleading squad] or something crazy like that."

One of Us
Jenna Ushkowitz Lyrics

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If God had a name, what would it be
And would you call it to his face
If you were faced with him in all his glory
What would you ask if you had just one question

And yeah, yeah God is great yeah, yeah God is good
Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah yeah

What if God was one of us
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make his way home
Trying to make his way home

If God had a face what would it look like
And would you want to see
If seeing meant that you would have to believe
In things like heaven and in Jesus
And the saints and all the prophets

And yeah, yeah, God is great yeah yeah God is good
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah

What if God was one of us
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make his way home
Trying to make his way home
Back up to heaven all alone
Nobody calling on the phone
'Cept for the pope maybe in Rome

And yeah, yeah God is great yeah, yeah God is good
Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah yeah

What if god was one of us
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make his way home
Just trying to make his way home
Like a holy rolling stone
Back up to heaven all alone
Just trying to make his way home

Nobody calling on the phone
'Cept for the pope maybe in Rome

Overall Meaning

The song "One of Us" by Joan Osborne delves into the idea of what God would be like if He were among us. The lyrics question how we would treat God if He were just an ordinary person, emphasizing the importance of kindness and compassion towards others, as anyone could be a reflection of the divine.

The song starts by asking what God's name would be and what we would ask Him if we had only one question. These questions prompt us to consider our relationship with God and how we perceive Him. The chorus then reinforces the idea that God is great and good, reminding us of His divine nature.

The second verse questions what God's face would look like and whether we would want to see it, highlighting the idea that belief and faith can be challenged by doubt and skepticism. The final verse portrays God as a regular person trying to make His way home, emphasizing that even the divine can experience loneliness and isolation. These themes encourage us to treat everyone with kindness and empathy, regardless of their status, religion, or beliefs.

Line by Line Meaning

If God had a name, what would it be
If we had to assign a name to the almighty power that we believe in, what would it be?

And would you call it to his face
If we were to be in the presence of God, would we address him by his name?

If you were faced with him in all his glory
If we were given the opportunity to witness the magnificent glory of God.

What would you ask if you had just one question
If we had the chance to ask only one question, what would it be?

And yeah, yeah God is great yeah, yeah God is good
Acknowledging the fact that God is great and good.

What if God was one of us
Imagining a scenario where God was just one of us, an ordinary human being.

Just a slob like one of us
Just a regular, unremarkable person like any of us.

Just a stranger on the bus
An unknown and anonymous person, perhaps just encountering us during a routine commute.

Trying to make his way home
Struggling and navigating through life, just like the rest of us.

If God had a face what would it look like
If God had a visible appearance, what would it be like?

And would you want to see
If we had the opportunity to see God's face, would we express the desire to do so?

If seeing meant that you would have to believe
If belief in God's existence was contingent upon seeing his face.

In things like heaven and in Jesus
Believing in the concepts of heaven and Jesus as messengers of God.

And the saints and all the prophets
Believing in the righteousness and guidance of the saints and prophets who came before us.

Back up to heaven all alone
The idea of returning to the afterlife, isolated and on our own.

Nobody calling on the phone
No comforting connections or sources of support during our return journey.

'Cept for the pope maybe in Rome
The only possible exception to this scenario would be the pope, the spiritual leader of the Catholic church, possibly offering guidance from a distance.

Like a holy rolling stone
Comparing our journey back to our creator with the rolling stone that gathers no moss.

Just trying to make his way home
Enduring the challenges of life with the ultimate goal of reuniting with God.

Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ERIC BAZILIAN, ERIC M. BAZILIAN

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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