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."
abc
Jenna Ushkowitz Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A buh-buh buh buh-buh
You went to school to learn, girl
Things you never, never knew before
I got I before E except after C
And why two plus two makes four
Now, now, now I'm gonna teach you (Teach you, teach you)
Sit yourself down, take a seat
All you gotta do is repeat after me
A B C, easy as one, two, three
Or simple as do re mi
A B C, one, two, three, baby, you and me girl
A B C, easy as one, two, three (Oh)
Or simple as do re mi
A B C, one, two, three, baby, you and me girl (come on just a little bit)
Come on, let me love you just a little bit
(Teach, teach, sing it out)
Come on, come one, come on let me show you what it's all about
Reading and writing arithmetic
Are the branches of the learning tree
But listen without the roots of love let me tell you, girl
Your education ain't complete
T-t-t-teacher's gonna show you, (show you, show you)
How to get an A (Nah nah nah nah nah)
Spell me, you, add the two
Listen to me baby, that's all you gotta do
A B C is easy as one, two, three
Or simple as do re mi
A B C, one, two, three, baby you and me girl
A B C is easy it's like counting up to three (Oh)
Sing a simple melody
That's how easy love can be
That's how easy love can be
Sing a simple melody (That's how easy love can be)
One, two, three, you and me
Sit down girl I think I love you
No, get up girl show me what you can do!
Shake it, shake it, baby, (come on now)
Shake it, shake it, baby, (ooh-ooh)
Shake it, shake it, baby (huh)
One, two, three baby (oh oh)
A B C baby (nah nah)
Do re mi baby
That's how easy love can be
A B C it's easy it's like counting up to three
Sing a simple melody
That's how easy love can be
I'ma gonna teach you how to sing it out,
Come on come on come on let me show you what it's all about
A B C it's easy it's like counting up to three
Sing a simple melody
That's how easy love can be
I'ma gonna teach you how to sing it out,
Sing it out sing it out, sing it out, oh baby
A B C it's easy it's like counting up to three
Sing a simple melody
That's how easy love can be
I'ma gonna teach you how to
Sing it out, sing it out, sing it out, sing it out
Easy as one two three
The lyrics of Jenna Ushkowitz's song ABC are nostalgic and focus on the simplicity of love, in comparison to the complexity of education. The refrain, "A B C, easy as one, two, three," is a nod to the simplicity of falling in love and the feeling of excitement and simplicity that often accompanies it. The verse "You went to school to learn, girl/ Things you never, never knew before/I got I before E except after C/And why two plus two makes four" contrasts the simplicity of love against the complexity of learning. Jenna goes on to state, "But listen without the roots of love let me tell you, girl/Your education ain't complete," emphasizing that while education is important, love is what makes it complete.
The song goes on to invite the listener to sit down and learn about love, like they would in a classroom. Jenna sings, "Sit yourself down, take a seat/All you gotta do is repeat after me." The chorus then repeats the message of the simplicity of love, with the infectious refrain "A B C, easy as one, two, three." The song ends with a call to action to sing it out and embrace the simplicity of love.
Overall, ABC is a nostalgic and playful song that encourages listeners to embrace the simplicity of love and reminds us that while education is important, love is what makes life complete.
Line by Line Meaning
A buh-buh buh buh-buh
Introductory sounds to the song
You went to school to learn, girl
You attended school to gain knowledge, lady
Things you never, never knew before
Information you have never heard of before
I got I before E except after C
The spelling rule of placing 'I' before 'E' except after 'C'
And why two plus two makes four
The logic behind the arithmetic adding 2 and 2 to get 4
Now, now, now I'm gonna teach you (Teach you, teach you)
At the moment, I'm going to instruct you (instruct you, instruct you)
All about love, dear, (All about love)
Everything concerning love, darling, (Concerning love)
Sit yourself down, take a seat
Please sit down and occupy a chair
All you gotta do is repeat after me
All you need to do is copy what I say
A B C, easy as one, two, three
The alphabet, straightforward as the numerical count 1, 2, 3
Or simple as do re mi
Or as basic as the musical notes do, re, mi
A B C, one, two, three, baby, you and me girl
The alphabet, 1, 2, 3 baby, me and you girl
A B C, easy as one, two, three (Oh)
The alphabet, effortless as the numerical count 1, 2, 3 (Oh)
Or simple as do re mi
Or uncomplicated like the musical notes do, re, mi
A B C, one, two, three, baby, you and me girl (come on just a little bit)
The alphabet, 1, 2, 3 baby, me and you girl (come on just a bit)
Come on, let me love you just a little bit
Please permit me to love you just a tiny bit
(Teach, teach, sing it out)
(Educate, educate, sing it out)
Come on, come one, come on let me show you what it's all about
Please come and let me demonstrate to you what it's all concerning
Reading and writing arithmetic
Comprehending and writing down numbers
Are the branches of the learning tree
They make up the foundation of education
But listen without the roots of love let me tell you, girl
But being without the foundation of love, permit me to tell you, lady
Your education ain't complete
Your education is not comprehensive
T-t-t-teacher's gonna show you, (show you, show you)
The teacher will demonstrate to you, (demonstrate to you, demonstrate to you)
How to get an A (Nah nah nah nah nah)
How to achieve an A grade (No, no, no, no, no)
Spell me, you, add the two
Spell the words me and you, add them together
Listen to me baby, that's all you gotta do
Pay attention to me darling, that's all you need to do
A B C is easy as one, two, three
The alphabet is effortless, like the numerical count 1, 2, 3
Or simple as do re mi
Or uncomplicated like the musical notes do, re, mi
A B C, one, two, three, baby you and me girl
The alphabet, 1, 2, 3 baby, me and you girl
A B C is easy it's like counting up to three (Oh)
The alphabet is effortless, like counting from 1 to 3 (Oh)
Sing a simple melody
Sing an easy-to-learn tune
That's how easy love can be
That's how simple love can be
Sit down girl I think I love you
Please have a seat lady, I think I'm in love with you
No, get up girl show me what you can do!
No, please stand up and let me see what you are capable of!
Shake it, shake it, baby, (come on now)
Shake your body, shake your body, baby, (please do it now)
Shake it, shake it, baby, (ooh-ooh)
Shake your body, shake your body, baby, (ooh-ooh)
Shake it, shake it, baby (huh)
Shake your body, shake your body, baby (huh)
One, two, three baby (oh oh)
1, 2, 3 baby (oh oh)
A B C baby (nah nah)
The alphabet baby (nah nah)
Do re mi baby
Re, me, fa, sol, la, ti, do baby
Sing it out, sing it out, sing it out, sing it out
Sing it forth, sing it forth, sing it forth, sing it forth
I'ma gonna teach you how to sing it out,
I'm going to educate you on how to sing it forth
Come on come on come on let me show you what it's all about
Please come and let me demonstrate to you what it's all concerning
Sing it out, sing it out, sing it out, sing it out
Sing it forth, sing it forth, sing it forth, sing it forth
Easy as one two three
As effortless as counting 1, 2, 3
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Berry Gordy, Dennis Lussier, Alphonzo Mizell, Freddie Perren
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@lisabluemoon
Thank you for uploading all these performances in a good quality! 💯