I enjoy some reaction YouTubers. These are videos where the hosts react to television shows, movies, and in most cases…music. I recently stumbled upon the channel Rob Squad Reactions, and I have not missed an episode ever since…and that’s not one..not two…but three videos every single day, including weekends!
The Rob Squad are the team of Jay and Amber (and sometimes a cameo of one of their young children who stumbles into their videos on occasion).
In most cases, Jay and Amber select a song that they have never heard before, and sometimes they’ll play a song that only one of them are familiar with. They select a wide assortment of music genres. It can be anything from the 50s through the 90s and beyond. There are a ton of ’80s songs, which you know I love.
There are a few reasons why they have quickly become one of my favorite YouTube channels.
1. The music. I am a huge music fan of almost every genre. Most of the songs Jay and Amber select are great. The song can be from any time period, and any genre, from pop to rock to country to R&B to grunge to rap. When I first started watching them, I thought to myself that I would love to do a channel like this, but it would be difficult because I know most songs. But, I find myself discovering more music through the Rob Squad than watching videos I already know. And the songs I already know are really fun to watch. For example, I have heard the song “Renegade” by Styx a few million times over the years. But when they played it, I fell in love with the song all over again! In fact, I believe this is the first Rob Squad video I watched.
2. The Reactions. This is what separates Rob Squad Reactions from all the other reaction channels. The joy they bring to each video is contagious. I love that they bop and move the same exact way I do when I’m listening to music. A lot of reaction channels interrupt the songs a lot, which can ruin the flow. But Jay and Amber normally pause the song once, midway through and give their thoughts up to that point, and then sum everything up at the end. Sometimes they pause the song a few times if there’s something crazy or incredible that happens in the song.
They also express themselves very well. Jay seems extremely knowledgeable regarding the instruments. And Amber is into poetry, so she is incredible at pointing out the meaning of the lyrics.
Their expressions are priceless. When something awesome happens in the song, one of them will give a look to the other that says. “Did you just hear that?” It’s funny when one of them looks at the other and the other has their eyes closed, feeling the music. And sometimes they look at each other at the same time.
When there are songs playing that I am very familiar with, I look forward to seeing what their reaction will be to certain parts of the songs. Another one of my favorites is Amber’s reaction to “Paradise By the Dashboard Light.” Jay knew the song, but Amber had not heard it before. So Jay and I were looking forward to Amber’s reaction to the lyrics, especially towards the end of the song.
3. The Positive Vibe. Jay and Amber are such positive people and are a joy to watch. Even if they aren’t crazy about a song, they don’t trash it, but are able to pull something positive about it and still get the point across that it wasn’t the greatest song. In other words, they are authentic in their joy and there is no phony excitement. They are the real deal.
And I love the message they close out with each episode:
“Every day that you wake up it’s a blessing, and you are blessed no matter what you are going through.” And that “you have a goal every day” like they do…make somebody smile. And I know they succeed at least three times a day!
