Julia Nunes/The Foundations - Build Me Up, Buttercup

May 29, 2008 · Print This Article

Julia Nunes/The Foundations - Build Me Up Buttercup (Chords)

I have to admit that, since I featured her first uke video way back when, I’ve neglected Julia Nunes. Truth be told, I’m still a little on the fence about her. Nevertheless, there’s no denying the charm of this version of Build Me Up, Buttercup.

These chords are the Nunes version, but they’re very similar to the original version by The Foundations (they’re both in the key of C).

Comments

17 Responses to “Julia Nunes/The Foundations - Build Me Up, Buttercup”

  1. Gary Peare on May 29th, 2008 11:59 pm

    Get off the fence! She’s cute!

    Okay, she strums with a guitar pick. But give her time: she’s only a freshman in college…
    Did you see that she’s opening for Ben Folds? Pretty swell. Gp

  2. LonnaB on May 30th, 2008 1:47 am

    Why, oh why, didn’t I have an ukulele in my dorm room?

    I think of the trouble I could have stayed out of…

    This video is darn right adorable.

  3. Steve on May 30th, 2008 9:43 am

    Fantastic recording and such a good example of just what you can do with a uke, especially if you have such a good singing voice!
    Steve, Ukuleles Canberra, AUSTRALIA

  4. Cardboardfrog on May 30th, 2008 11:24 am

    she plays with a pick, thats forgivable when you consider she sings well and plays well as well!
    i think a lot of people are aprehensive with her because shes a pretty girlie personally.
    shes great though, maybe we should send her some felt picks?

  5. Mike on May 30th, 2008 11:28 am

    I agree with Woodshed, but I am in Julia’s debt for inspiring me to work out Spoon’s “The Underdog”, which works amazingly well for solo ukulele.

  6. iain on May 31st, 2008 11:08 am

    I find this girl tolerably goofy.

  7. Woodshed on May 31st, 2008 9:53 pm

    Gary: Still on the fence, I’m afraid. As for the cute issue, she’s one of the few ukulele girls I’ve never had a crush on.

    LonnaB: I’m not sure I want to know what trouble you got in. Who am I kidding? Of course I do.

    Steve: Thanks for mentioning Uke Hunt on your site.

    Cardboardfrog: I think we could stretch to some felt picks between us.

    Mike: That’s definitely one thing to thank her for.

    Iain: That’s a good way of putting it.

  8. Jon on May 31st, 2008 9:55 pm

    I like her a lot because she makes the ukulele look like fun, which it is. I’m sorry but those terribly serious guys with the intricate fingerpicking and the Beatle’s songbooks are booorrrinnngg. There, I’ve said it. Maybe, if I keep practicing I’ll become a serious musician, but I hope not. Until, then, even though I’m not particularly cute myself, I want to be like Julia Nunes.

    Don’t get me wrong, I love your lesson books and the theory stuff you post, but the ukulele is still the instrument of innocent merriment.

    XXOO

  9. wannauke on June 1st, 2008 3:09 am

    Whatever else you can say about her, there is no doubt that shes having fun when she plays.

  10. BertsDeadFrog on June 3rd, 2008 10:42 am

    Better than hot buttered toast. Absolutely delightful. Who cares about the stupid pick. Get real, she’s real.

  11. Charlie Beltram on June 5th, 2008 1:49 am

    Am I nuts or is she not playing the chords listed on the pdf? The first chord doesn’t sound like just C, and the second chord she’s not even fingering the same as the one listed…

  12. Hannah on June 5th, 2008 6:45 pm

    Is the fence painful?

    Julia absolutely rocks and I very tempted to learn Uke and lead worship with it at church to see the reaction

  13. H. Moore III on June 6th, 2008 5:21 pm

    Julia is an absolute cutie pie….with a voice like an angel…in a quirky kinda way.
    Listening to her puts a smile on this old mans face every time….
    H.M III

  14. Nathan Vice on June 6th, 2008 11:06 pm

    Julia is even more wonderful than she seems. And music is about that joy of creating something beautiful. Its silly to judge a contemporary pop artist on their technique. She shouldn’t have to be Ravi Shankar or Yo Yo Ma for her music to be considered good and legitimate! I wish her the best not because of her talent, which is great, but because of her fearlessness in opening herself up artistically and personally to whoever takes the time to listen. That’s an artist as far as I’m concerned.

  15. Ryan on June 9th, 2008 11:25 pm

    shes in college? haha i thought she was 8

  16. mb on June 10th, 2008 8:01 pm

    I’m still new at the ukulele, and would really like to learn this song, but I cant get the strum pattern down. Does anybody know what it is?

  17. Jordan CWP on July 21st, 2008 9:44 am

    I honestly didn’t like her at first. It was her voice.
    But she honestly grew on me! She inspires me to have fun on my uke when I get bored with Beruit covers :]. And now I love her voice! Especially for Say Anything covers.

    So chill out everyone :D.

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