Julia Nunes

Julia Nunes (born 3 January 1989) is an American singer-songwriter from Fairport, New York.[3] Her career has progressed online through her videos of pop songs on YouTube, in which she sings harmony with herself and plays acoustic instruments, primarily the ukulele, guitar, melodica, and piano.

Julia Nunes
Julia Nunes in June 2012.
Background information
Also known as"jaaaaaaa" (YouTube user name)
Born (1989-01-03) 3 January 1989
New York
OriginFairport, New York, United States
GenresAcoustic pop,[1] indie pop
Occupation(s)Musician
Instruments
LabelsRude Butler Records, DFTBA Records[2]
Associated actsJack Conte, Nataly Dawn, Pomplamoose, Greg Holden, Ben Folds, Ben Kweller, Lauren O'Connell, Ian Axel, Mike Comite, Walk off the Earth, Cathedrals & Cars, The Mowgli's, Watsky, Dodie Clark
Websitejunumusic.com

Biography and career

Nunes was born into a musical family in New York. Her father is a pianist and a composer of children's songs. One grandfather was a composer of Portuguese fado music and the other a jazz pianist. Nunes started piano lessons at age seven, before switching to the guitar in her teens. She began writing songs at age 14 and playing the ukulele in 2005. She also plays guitar and melodica.[4] Nunes has indicated in the comment section of one of her YouTube videos (see below) that she holds dual USA-Portuguese citizenship.

YouTube videos

Nunes is known for her videos on YouTube.[5][6] Among them are original songs as well as covers of some of Nunes' favorite bands, such as Say Anything, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and Destiny's Child. Her original songs have been featured on the main page of YouTube twice, under the username 'jaaaaaaa'.[7]

On Good Morning America (30 June 2008), Molly Ringwald stated that she took up the ukulele after seeing Julia Nunes on YouTube. "I've always wanted to play the ukulele, and she completely inspired me," she said.[8]

Nunes is also featured in a YouTube cover video of "Some Nights" by fun., alongside members of the band Walk off the Earth.[9]

Recordings and performances

In May 2008, Nunes opened four times for one of her idols, Ben Folds, at the musician's request,[3] and the same month she performed at the Bushman Ukulele Luau at The Knitting Factory in New York after having won the 2007 Bushman World Ukulele Video Contest. On 25 October 2008, she opened for The Bacon Brothers at The State University of New York at Geneseo. On 22 November 2008, Nunes performed her song "Maybe I Will" on YouTube Live '08 in San Francisco. She was joined onstage by The YouTube Ukulele Orchestra, which is composed of fellow YouTube ukulele players Wade Johnston, Dustin Domingo, Philip Fernandez, and Narciso Lobo. In January 2009, Nunes played four sold-out shows in London, England, and was interviewed and performed on BBC Radio 1.[10] In June 2009, she played two shows and participated in the artist signing tent at Bonnaroo, the independent music festival held in Manchester, TN; she also completed a second tour of England. Nunes began recording her third album of original music in August 2009, working with Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn of Pomplamoose as producers.

Nunes has also appeared in several videos with Jake & Amir of CollegeHumor.[11]

She played at Bonnaroo 2010, her second time there. Nunes started the event on the main stage at noon, 11 June 2010,[12] and also played alongside Weezer on the second night.[13] She opened for Ben Kweller at Indiana University's Buskirk-Chumley Theater on 13 November 2010, as part of Kweller's tour. On 24 January 2012, Nunes made her television debut, performing "Stay Awake" on Conan.

On 3 January 2017, Nunes began a Kickstarter campaign for her sixth album and achieved over twice its funding goal.[14]

Charity work

In December 2008, Nunes participated in the Green brothers' Project for Awesome.[15] Rather than tell YouTubers to donate time or money to a charity, she offered one of her hand-knit hats on eBay, promising to donate the proceeds of the auction, and her own matching funds, to the Lupus Foundation of America. The hat sold for US$1,250.00, after which she asked her followers to help her make the donation, promising US$500.00 of her own money.

Music

Left Right Wrong

Nunes' first album, Left Right Wrong, contained all original compositions and came out in the summer of 2007.[16] It was released independently, published by JuNu Music (ASCAP), on Nunes' label Rude Butler Music. Following YouTube success, as of June 2008, Nunes arranged a distribution deal for Left Right Wrong with Burnside Distribution Corporation,[17] and the album can now be purchased through some mainstream sources.[18] The 12 tracks (10 studio, two live) were recorded with just guitar and voice, without the overdubs which feature in her YouTube videos.

I Wrote These

I Wrote These was released on 15 October 2008, containing original compositions by Nunes, except for Track 12, "Sugar Coats", which was co-written with her friend and fellow musician Kirk Stevens. Like her first album, I Wrote These was released on her Rude Butler Music label and copyrighted to JuNu Music. The album was tracked and mixed at Studio Arts Entertainment and Hilltop Recording in Greenwich, NY, by Peter Kobor and Chris Roberson. The record features mostly acoustic tracks, although Nunes is joined on a few songs by a full band (including Todd Haviland on bass and Dave Harris on drums). Guest vocalists include Dan Gocek, Kirk Stevens, and Andy Martin. Other musical accompaniment includes whistling, finger snapping, and beatboxing. I Wrote These was mastered by Steve Forney at the studios at Linden Oaks, in Rochester, New York.

I Think You Know

Nunes began recording her third album of original music in August 2009, and worked with Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn of Pomplamoose as producers. The album was released on iTunes on 2 February 2010 through her own record label, Rude Butler Records.

YouTube Covers

Nunes' first album of covers is titled YouTube Covers. It was released on 3 November 2010. It features eleven covers from such artists as The Beatles, Queen, The Beach Boys, Paramore, and many others. It was released through her own record label, Rude Butler Records.

Settle Down

On 11 June 2011, Nunes launched a Kickstarter campaign for her fourth album.[19] Her goal was $15,000, but in less than 24 hours, she had already received over $19,000 in donations. By the conclusion of the campaign, the project had $77,888 in donations, making it the third most-funded music project in Kickstarter's history (behind Nataly Dawn's solo album and a collaboration between Amanda Palmer and Neil Gaiman). On 6 December 2011, she posted the album art, revealing the title to be Settle Down, and announced the album's release date as 28 February 2012.

"He is Mad", "Pizza", and "I Wasn't Worried" are mini-songs roughly a minute in length, all of which Nunes recorded videos for and posted to YouTube. Other songs, like "Odd", "Balloons", "First Impressions", "Comatose", and "Into the Sunshine" appeared on previous albums, but were re-recorded for Settle Down. Nunes also updated the Kickstarter project page with a video of her performing "Stay Awake" in the Kickstarter offices (thanks to the overwhelming success of her campaign).[20] On 24 January 2012, she performed "Stay Awake" on Conan to promote the album.[21]

Some Feelings

Julia Nunes' fifth album, titled Some Feelings, was released on 25 September 2015. Another Kickstarter project, the album raised $134,403 from 3,258 backers.[22] The video for her single "Make Out" features extended takes of couples kissing, including band members as well as Nunes and her former girlfriend Dannielle Owens-Reid.[23]

UGHWOW

Julia Nunes' sixth album, titled UGHWOW, was released on 21 June 2019. Again funded through Kickstarter, it raised $71,025 from 2,409 funders.[24]

Discography
Title Album details
Left Right Wrong
  1. "Intro"
  2. "Into the Sunshine"
  3. "Indecisive"
  4. "Happy Medium"
  5. "Balloons"
  6. "I'm Not Good"
  7. "A Century"
  8. "I'm Not In the Room"
  9. "Blushing Cheeks"
  10. "One Clock"
  11. "Dollar Tree" (Live)
  12. "Into the Sunshine" (Live)
I Wrote These
  1. "Maybe I Will"
  2. "Into the Sunshine"
  3. "First Impressions"
  4. "Binoculars"
  5. "Pen to Paper"
  6. "Short and Sweet"
  7. "Welcome Vacation"
  8. "You Were"
  9. "Stairwell"
  10. "Regrets"
  11. "Odd"
  12. "Sugar Coats"
  13. "Roles Reversed"
  14. "Sugar Coat"
I Think You Know
  1. "I Think You Know"
  2. "Grown a Pair"
  3. "Through the Floorboards"
  4. "August"
  5. "Comatose"
YouTube Covers
  1. "Build Me Up Buttercup"
  2. "All My Lovin'"
  3. "Accidentally in Love"
  4. "Bye Bye Bye"
  5. "It's Raining Men"
  6. "L-O-V-E"
  7. "It Don't Have to Change"
  8. "The Love You Save"
  9. "The Only Exception"
  10. "You're My Best Friend"
  11. "God Only Knows"
Settle Down
  1. "Stay Awake"
  2. "Odd
  3. "Lullaby"
  4. "Lookout For Yourself"
  5. "Nothing's That Great"
  6. "He is Mad"
  7. "To the Damsels: Run"
  8. "Fair Weather"
  9. "Comatose"
  10. "Pizza"
  11. "Maybe I Will"
  12. "I Will Go Anywhere With You"
  13. "This Is What I Used To Know"
  14. "I Wasn't Worried"
  15. "Balloons"
  16. "First Impressions"
  17. "Into the Sunshine"
  18. "Waiting"
Some Feelings
  1. "Then OK"
  2. "Don't Feel"
  3. "Something Bad"
  4. "Better Than This"
  5. "That Was Us"
  6. "I Don't Want To"
  7. "All the Same"
  8. "Cool Thanks"
  9. "Locked in My Mind"
  10. "Make Out"
  11. "Fondly Enough"
UGHWOW
  1. "Feels Good"
  2. "No Sudden Moves"
  3. "Not True"
  4. "Leave Me Alone"
  5. "Used To Want"
  6. "Boys"

Personal life

Nunes resided for a period of time in Brooklyn, New York, and relocated to the Los Angeles area in early 2014.

References
  1. "Julia Nunes shines on new EP". Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
  2. "Julia Nunes - DFTBA Records". Archived from the original on 16 December 2010. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
  3. "Fairport teen: From YouTube to Ben Folds gig". whec. WHEC-TV. 28 May 2008. Archived from the original on 29 May 2008. Retrieved 22 June 2008.
  4. "Music: Julia Nunes, ukelele diva". 31 January 2008. Retrieved 19 November 2008.
  5. "Ukulele sends UK Crazy". BBC. 19 February 2010. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
  6. "Bonnaroo 2010: Julia Nunes In Concert". NPR. 13 June 2010. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
  7. "Julia Nunes". YouTube. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  8. "Uklele Links: Irish Uke Gathering, Julia Nunes Inspires Molly Ringwald". UkeHunt.com. Retrieved 3 March 2010.
  9. "Some Nights - Walk off the Earth + Julia Nunes". YouTube. 7 August 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  10. "Julia Nunes BBC Radio 1 Interview with Nihal (17/01/2009)". 7 January 2009. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  11. "Jake and Amir: Julia Nunes". CollegeHumor. 13 October 2009. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  12. "Bonnaroo 2010: Noon with Julia Nunes". 11 June 2010. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
  13. "Weezer Goes Bananas At Bonnaroo". 13 June 2010. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
  14. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/julianunes/julia-nunes-makes-music/updates
  15. "The 2008 Project for Awesome!!!". 11 December 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2009.
  16. "Julia Nunes". CD Baby. Archived from the original on 2 June 2008. Retrieved 22 June 2008.
  17. "Burnside Distribution, June 2008 New Releases" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 August 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2008.
  18. "Left Right Wrong at Amazon.com". Retrieved 25 June 2008.
  19. "Kickstarter - Julia Nunes would be nothing without me". Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  20. "Vimeo - Julia Nunes performs in the Kickstarter Office". Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  21. Spevak, Jeff (18 May 2013). "Nunes to sing on Conan O'Brien show". USA Today. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  22. "Julia Nunes + Feelings = New Album". Kickstarter.
  23. "JULIA NUNES - MAKE OUT". Julia Nunes. YouTube. 5 January 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  24. "Julia Nunes Makes Music". Kickstarter. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
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