There are some folks on YouTube who’ve established themselves as ukulele legends. One such person is jaaaaaaa or Julia Nunes who has received over 5.5 million channel views and over 38 million upload views. Not to mention she’s even played some shows with Ben Folds. Dang!

As a ukulele player and as an artist, I have to ask myself, “What makes her so successful as a ukulele player and artist?”

A couple things come to mind… one, she’s a mighty solid ukulele player. Two, when she performs, she has a great smile. How can you not have a good reaction to someone smiling at you? Three, she brings her personality to the table. Her videos are quirky, funny, and interesting, but not forced.

I don’t know about you all, but sometimes as an artist I can feel a lot of pressure to be someone I’m not. I think jaaaaaaa is a great example of someone who is embracing themselves and having fun with it.

What do you think?