X Factor success is a real plus for maths graduate
(right) and Jack Remington on
THE JEWISH half of a singing duo making waves on X Factor has said he will be “Jewish dancing” for joy if he progresses in the show.
Joel Fishel, 22, and his partner Jack Remington, made it through the first round of live performances in the ITV talent show on Sunday and will appear again next weekend.
Mr Fishel, who specialises in beatboxing, was delighted at the act’s success, having got through the audition for X Factor on a wildcard entry. He said: “I’ll be doing some Jewish dancing in celebration if we make it through the rounds”.
The singing partnership was formed when the pair were both studying at Oxford. “I met Jack at the very beginning of university”, Mr Fishel said. “We both joined Out of the Blue, the all-male a capella group at Oxford. About a year into that we decided to start singing together.
“Originally we just made a fun YouTube video which we uploaded. We couldn’t think of a name for ourselves, and we knew we needed to upload this video and so we just quickly decided that we were ‘Jack and Joel’. From then we’ve been making video after video, which has all led up to this moment on X Factor.”
Mr Fishel grew up in north-west Lon- don, was a member of the Masorti New North London synagogue, and involved with Noam, the Masorti Youth group.
“I have taken lots of valuable life lessons from being in the group,” he said.
“I went on camps and shabbatons from when I was 10 years old. I stayed with Noam after Israel tour and was a madrich for two years until I went to university, and then I didn’t have the time to continue, which is a great shame.”
Mr Fishel, who studied maths at Oxford and gained a 2:1 when he graduated in 2016, also described how social media success led to him having to make a choice about his future, just three days into a new career.
“I had a job lined up as a data manager, ready to go down the maths route, but Jack and I were still releasing our videos. And just as new year 2017 came in, we did a video where we did a mashup of all the number one hits in the UK for 2016. And that ended up going viral just as I started the job.
“I had to make the decision that music was what I wanted to be doing, and that with this video being seen everywhere, being shared by Capital Radio and others, and viral pages on Facebook, it was time to make a big decision. So three days in, I left my data manager job and we began Jack and Joel.”
He described the support he has received as “remarkable”.
He said. “I try not to look at the messages on my phone because it becomes quite overwhelming, in a lovely way. I could sit there for hours marvelling at the friends and family who are sending me kind words at the moment, as well as fans and followers who have been so supportive. I’m so grateful to all of them.”