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Julia Nunes On 'World Cafe: Next'

Julia Nunes.
Shervin Lainez
Julia Nunes.

Before the eyes of her YouTube subscribers, Julia Nunes went from being a teen covering her favorite artists to a young woman playing live shows with them. She began to post original songs and covers of songs by her favorite bands — Say Anything, Ben Folds, The Beatles, and many others — to her YouTube channel "jaaaaaaa." Before she knew it, the young artist had accumulated 45 million views to her YouTube account and was raking in awards for her musicianship and songwriting; in 2008, Ben Folds asked her to open for him after seeing her cover one of his tracks.

Nunes has released three albums independently and is about to put out her fourth, Settle Down. Over the six years since she began her YouTube channel, Nunes' style has evolved from punk-pop to mellow ukulele pieces that showcase her voice. In a recent cover of Nat King Cole's "When I Fall in Love," Nunes layers her recordings to harmonize with herself, supported by sparse strumming on her ukulele. Hear "Stay Awake" and "Lookout For Yourself" on this episode of World Cafe: Next.

Copyright 2012 XPN