Brittni Paiva Comes Back to Ukulele with an Award-Winning Song and a New Outlook on Life

By Nicolas Grizzle | From the Spring 2025 issue of Ukulele magazine

Ten years ago, Brittni Paiva was a 26-year-old rising star putting ukulele on the map. Her fifth album, Tell U What, had just been released to critical acclaim and included guest spots by Arturo Sandoval, Ray Parker, Jr., Tom Scott, and Michael McDonald, who sang on Paiva’s cover of “I Keep Forgetting”—his own song. She had been invited to perform with Carlos Santana and Tommy Emmanuel. This magazine even mused that Paiva might be “the next Jake.” 

But something didn’t feel right. Paiva wasn’t being true to herself, musically or personally, and no amount of fame or awards could remedy that. The years that followed were not easy, and she was not active in the music world, let alone the ukulele scene. Suffice to say, it was a dark time in her life.

But she bounced back, and in 2024 returned in spectacular fashion, winning a Na Hoku Hanohano award for her instrumental composition “Heartbeat Melody.” Now she’s in a good place in life and in music, spreading her wings and opening herself up to new genres and musical adventures. And despite all the change in her life, one thing remains constant: Brittni Paiva is pushing the boundaries of ukulele, and she has no plans on stopping.

I caught up with Paiva via Zoom from her home studio in Hawaii, where she discussed the the brighter days that have come now after some darker ones, and living and playing authentically for herself.

You started playing music at a young age, on piano, right?

Yeah, piano was my first instrument when I was three. I started with the absolute basics and began Suzuki training at age four. I continued that all the way until I was 11 [when she started ukulele].

What led you to ukulele?

My grandfather was half Japanese, half Hawaiian. He had his mother’s Kamaka soprano from the 1950s. He handed it to me and said, “Here, try this out. See if you like it.” From that moment, I knew that it was going to be my instrument of choice.

What was it about this instrument that made you say, Wow, this is my thing?

I felt like I had a better relationship, I guess spiritually, with the ukulele as an instrument compared to piano. I love playing piano, but for whatever reason I just loved the way that ukulele felt in my hands. The first song that I played was “Carly Rose” by the Ka‘au Crater Boys.

On your first album, Brittni x 3, you played guitar and bass, as well as ukulele. How old were you when that was released?

I was 15 when that came out. That was my first experience going into a recording
studio to do anything at all. The whole purpose behind that album was actually just to do a demo. At the time there were still record labels here [in Hawaii] and agents that you could send stuff to. My whole intent was just to do a demo and send it to people, but it ended up becoming an actual commercial release. The following year it got me the Most Promising Artist award at the Hoku (Na Hoku Hanohano) Awards. It accelerated so fast in that one year beyond what I had ever anticipated.

At that time in your career where were you in your ukulele journey?

I had been playing and just doing local gigs with my teacher for a couple of years. I had entered a couple of contests as well, but right before that, maybe late 13 going into 14 years old, was when I started to gig more and do some local festivals and stuff around town [in Hilo, on the Big Island]. That was right about the time when I decided, OK, maybe I do want to turn this into a career.

Let’s jump ahead to “Heartbeat Melody,” which you released in 2023. You produced, engineered, wrote, and performed this track, and it also won a Hoku award for
Instrumental Composition of the Year. You’ve won other awards for other songs and albums, but does this one feel different?

It definitely does. You know, throughout the years—and I’m pretty sure I can speak for most artists—when you’re going through your journey, you’re trying to find yourself and you’re trying to just release [music]. Not that we’re being inauthentic, but as we’re finding our sound and finding what we want to create, there’s going to be moments in there where you say, “OK, I like this song, but it doesn’t quite feel like me. But I know my listeners want to hear it, so we’re going to put it out.”

Now, with “Heartbeat Melody” and the music that I do write and release, it’s all stuff that I truly have a hand in from start to finish. The stuff that I want to release, that I want to write, whether people listen to it or not, for me it’s the fact that I get to write it and put it out. If there’s going to be at least one person that loves it, then great, I’m happy.

You’re known for pushing boundaries with ukulele. Is that something you were considering on this song, too—taking things beyond a traditional “ukulele song” sound?

I think as an ukulele player in the ukulele community, we kind of expect it to sound a certain way, or be placed in a certain genre. But for me, my goal has always been to take the ukulele out of what it’s supposed to—or what you think it’s supposed to—sound like, and put it into something that’s completely out of left field. So with “Heartbeat Melody” kind of having that hip-hop beat, but still sounding a little bit more pop, I was very happy with how it turned out.

Did it go through any other iterations? Were there arrangements that didn’t work?

Well, not that it didn’t work, it’s just part of the evolution of the song. It started off as a slow ballad—very different than how it actually turned out—and kind of made its way into an acoustic John Mayer–type of thing. And now it’s this sort of pop with a little bit of hip-hop or trap flavor in there.

You kind of weren’t in the ukulele scene for a while, but in the last couple of years you’ve been coming back, and the Hoku win obviously is huge. Can you tell me a little bit about what was going on in your life in that interim time?

At the time right after the Hoku wins for Tell U What, I decided to live authentically for myself. I came out, and that was pretty much the thing that catapulted the most negative years of my life. The relationship that I got into was not a healthy relationship, to put it lightly. And that sent me off into a really dark place for a number of years.

When I was able to get out of that in 2017, dealing with the trauma and the demons that I had from that relationship sent me into a couple of years of addiction. I’ve been sober since 2019, and in hindsight, I don’t think I would have been able to mature in my music in the way that I have if I didn’t go through those things. And that’s me trying to find the positives of the situation.

Yeah, that’s understandable.

I regret some things from that. I definitely regret the years of addiction because I wasted all of that time and who knows what damage I did to my body. But there’s a lot of life lessons that I learned from 2013 through 2019, and blessings came right after that. I’m in a really good place in my life now, and very grateful to still be alive.

You know, to say it’s a redemption story or comeback story, I think it’s like playing it down because it’s immensely hard to not only come out of addiction, but to come back to doing the thing you love, and then to win an award for it . . .

Yeah, it’s the first win since all of that stuff and it just means so much more because now it’s like, “OK, I’m living authentically for myself. I’m making the music that I want to make, and I’m putting it out there.”It’s a vulnerable thing for any artist, and just to have that nod from my peers . . . I’m grateful. 

Does that change anything for you, after going through all that and coming back to this kind of success?

It definitely makes me appreciate the good part of my life, the fact that I’m not where I was. It makes me appreciate still being alive, still being able to play music and change lives and things like that.

There was a song that I wrote in 2023 based off an experience I had during the years of addiction. For anyone who knows me, Christmas is like—I am Santa. I love Christmas. And to kind of sum things up, there was a moment . . . it was the day before Christmas Eve, and I was living in my car at the time. I was sitting on the edge of an overpass in Hilo and just, like, contemplating my life—not in the brightest of places at all. And I thought, “I feel like I’m fading into the background; I feel like I’m an unwanted person. In all aspects of my life.” And so I wrote a song about that and released it in 2024.

That song, “Don’t Let Me Fade,” is a very open song, rhythmically and melodically. I wanted to put as much emotion as I could into that piece, because I feel like it’s a moment that a lot of people can relate to, especially today. I wanted to use that to let people know, Hey, I went through this as well. Being a musician and a celebrity of sorts, people forget that we also go through stuff. We have everyday lives; we’re people too. I wanted to use this song as a way to communicate that I know what you’re feeling. Don’t give up, because I’m right here. I went through it, and the days are brighter now.

It sounds like that’s something you would want to tell your younger self, too.

Yeah, there’s a lot that I would tell my younger self if I could.

What comes to mind?

Live for yourself. Don’t be afraid to live authentically sooner. Immerse yourself in every musical experience that you possibly can.

Are you a music theory buff?

Not so much a theory buff as I am a rhythm buff.

What are some of the rhythms you’re into?

Oh, gosh, pretty much anything that has a good groove. I love playing in odd time signatures, so I’ll typically turn songs that are in 4/4 into like 5 or 7. I love to do that just to throw people off. It’s a lot of fun. Creole beats are pretty cool. African beats are also really good. I just love finding a nice pocket to sit in, whether it’s programming drums or just strumming my ukulele. (continues on page 22)

You also have creative arrangements, like the Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way.” Do you prefer writing your own songs and playing your own music, or arranging other songs? 

I love doing both.

Do you have a soft spot for ’90s pop?

It’s always good to go to the classics. My soft spot is late ’90s–early 2000s trance.

How do you approach that on ukulele?

Well, there’s always a way to acoustify things. There’s something about the way that music is written and arranged. There’s a particular type of emotion that’s in it, and it’s something that I strive to accomplish on my ukulele. I’m still working through placing the ukulele in that type of genre, like straightforward trance. I’m really enjoying the challenge.

What are some things you do with ukulele to incorporate songs from genres that don’t traditionally include the instrument?

I definitely think that the way that you approach the ukulele is so important. Every note that you execute, every strum that you strum has its own personality, its own emotion. And how we execute those notes is so important because we need to convey the right thing. So how we execute it, whether we play it clean or not clean, that’s going to dictate how that note feels.

Your playing is usually so clean. Do you purposely not play clean sometimes?

Yeah. I naturally play clean because that allows me to convey the emotion that I’m feeling when I’m playing the song. If I’m only concerned about, “OK, I’m going to play this part, it’s going to be fast, I’m just going to whip through it and the notes are going to be all unclean and there’s going to be buzzes and all sorts of noise there,” it’s not going to feel right. It’s going to look cool, but it’s not going to feel right. And for me, I’d rather my music feel right than look cool.

Is that something you started out with or is it something you picked up along the way?

That’s something that was an important point for my teacher when I first started playing. Don’t play dirty notes. Play clean notes. And as I examined and analyzed professional players like Bryan (Tolentino) and Jake (Shimabukuro), everybody played so clean, and I wanted to do the same thing. 

Who are some players that inspire you?

Well, definitely Herb [Ohta, Jr.] was my number one inspiration at the time when I first started playing. You either had the Jake crowd or the Herb crowd, and I was part of the Herb crowd. I’ve done workshops with Jake [Shimabukuro], before my first album came out. So I’ve known him for a really long time. But I listen to everybody, even people from way before, like Eddie Kamae and Roy Smeck.

What about non-ukulele players? I know you’ve played with Carlos Santana, and you’ve written an arrangement of his song “Europa.” You’ve also performed with Tommy Emmanuel. Who are some of your other musical influences?

[Guitarists] Guthrie Govan, Orianthi, Yngwie Malmsteen. I mean, gosh, the list is just so long. Eric Johnson is another one. [Bands] Yes, Rush, America . . .

There’s a lot of prog in there.

I do actually love listening to progressive rock, yeah. I honestly just listen to everything that I possibly can and learn as much as I can. I like to call myself a natural autodidact just because everything that I come into contact with, I’m learning.

You’re such an accomplished player, do you still have a regular practice routine?

There are exercises that I do regularly just to keep up with my accuracy and my cleanliness when I’m playing fast. But pretty much everything that I do to practice I’m doing with a purpose. I’m incorporating the techniques that I know I need to work on, practicing my efficiency, practicing what finger I’m going to use if I have to hold a very difficult chord. For me, it’s more fun when I can apply it to something that’s going to be used.

Is there something you like to do just to warm up the fingers?

One of the scales I love to do is kind of just going up and down each string, but starting first-second-third-fourth fret, second-third-fourth-fifth, and just moving right away all the way up. It’s a really good exercise to just kind of get going.

One project of yours I wanted to know more about is BLVCKBOW (pronounced “blackbow,” as in bow-and-arrow). You play electric guitar in that, correct?

That project is a collaborative effort with a friend of mine, my songwriting partner [Jasmine Crowe], and we wrote a bunch of songs within a few months and released a couple under that moniker. She’s going to release the rest under her name. It was immersive for me as an artist and as a creative to start writing stuff that has no connection to the ukulele at all. It was fascinating, and just an incredible experience. It definitely opened my mind up to creativity on a different level.

How so?

Just the fact that I refer to ukulele in a lot of my creative processes because I relate to that instrument the most. Growing up in Hawaii we’d have oldies music, we’d have Hawaiian music, and that’s what you’d hear. What I realized is my solos would sound Hawaiian. It would sound like an ukulele, even if I played guitar. Getting out of that and really putting myself in a certain genre, whether it’s pop, or hip-hop, or jazz, or whatever it is, really trying to make the solo sound nothing like what I’d normally play, expands to the genre in general on whatever instrument I play.

What are you doing in the ukulele world these days?

I’ve been doing a lot of studio work. That’s kind of where my focus has been, but I still do teach ukulele and I also offer mentoring sessions on my website. I do want to get back into the festival circuit, and I’m working on a new live show experience that I plan to have ready by next year.

It’s definitely going to be more reflective of where I am currently with my life skills and my creativity. It’s going to be more of a musical experience, just really showcasing my maturity as an artist compared to my live shows before. I’m just really excited to get out there and be more open and vulnerable with people and not be so masked like I have in the past.

What do you mean when you say compared to your live shows before?

Definitely different songs. Just the way that I present myself onstage will be more open and more authentic. It’s so easy in the entertainment industry to just be a certain way on stage. And for me, being not just an entertainer but also being on the autism spectrum, I feel like it’s so exhausting to put forth this persona onstage that I just want to throw it away. I think just really being more authentically me as an artist and me as a person.

WHAT BRITTNI PLAYS

Brittni Paiva has several ukuleles, but her favorite is her custom Kanile’a. “That ukulele is the best ukulele I’ve ever played,” she says, “It’s got this type of energy to it, and I truly feel that the energy that’s put forth by the builders when it’s being built gets transferred into the instrument.” 

It’s all koa wood, even the neck, allowing the wood’s natural beauty to shine through. “I wanted an ukulele that had some crazy curl that also had sapwood and spalting, but it’s really hard to find koa with curl, spalt, and sapwood,” says Paiva. “Joe [Souza] at Kanile’a just happened to have this wood set in his stash. He brought it out and I was like, that’s the one, I can feel it.”

It’s got a scoop cutaway that’s useful for getting up into the higher frets, abalone purfling, and Gotoh Stealth tuners. “The rosette is actually an epoxy recipe that Joe and I created to give it sort of that gun-metal look. And then same thing for my name on the [ebony] fretboard. It’s just a little more black than silver, so it’s very stealthy.”

Paiva also has a custom Kamaka, and “some other random ukuleles around,” she says, including two she inherited from her grandfather. She uses a smooth-wound alloy low-G tenor string set from Uke Logic.

In addition to acoustic playing, Paiva often uses a looper pedal in her live shows. It’s crucial to her crowd-pleasing rendition of “Lights,” which often closes her sets. Her looper of choice is a Boss ME-70, even though it’s no longer in production. “I love that pedal particularly because it has the ability to switch the volume expression pedal between input volume and loop volume,” she says. “That pedal allows me to fade the background out until it’s gone and still be able to hear myself.” She also likes the warm sound of the ME-70’s analog reverb effect. Everything runs through a Fishman Plantinum DI with an onboard compressor. —NG