Fifteen-year-old Andie has already accomplished more than most musically-inclined people would in their lifetimes.

The Aussie’s YouTube channel, iwantaltitude, has over three and a half million views, and she recently hit the 20,000 subscriber milestone. Pretty amazing for someone who is still taking math, grammar, and history. Andie first learned to play the piano when she was six,and took lessons until she finished grade four. That’s when she picked up the guitar.

These instruments, along with the ukulele, are the soundtrack to most all of her videos, the most popular of which, “Somebody That I Used to Know,” has racked up one million plus views.

Andie uploaded her first video, “My Ukulele Song,” just over a year ago. It received good reviews, which got her thinking,

Why not upload more? In an email interview, Andie said, “I realised that maybe there were more people who would want to hear me sing and play.”

She didn’t hesitate to continue uploading, posting more originals and covers of songs by Amy Winehouse, Bon Iver, and Cloud Control. “From then on,” Andie said, “it really became a hobby. Something to pass the time.”

The first thing one notices about Andie is her voice. She describes it as a “mixture of genres. Something between funk, jazz, folk, pop, ska and blues.” Think Adele meets Colbie Caillat.

The second characteristic that set Andie apart is her ability to reinterpret songs. Like David Cook and Adam Lambert on American Idol in years past, Andie has the gift of hearing a song, breaking it down, and making it her own.

In her cover of Dizzee Rascal’s “Bonkers,” she uses an original chord progression, turns rap into melody, and comes up with something that might be placed on a playlist featuring Jamiroquai’s “Virtual Insanity.”

She’s especially proud of her “Sweet Dreams” cover, where she radically changes the instrumentation to an acoustic ballad.

What makes Andie even more impressive is the musical maturity she shows for her age. Andie says she enjoys jazz artists Jamie Cullum and Katie Noonan. In fact, the closest she gets to pop music when listing to her favorite artists are Adele and Mumford & Sons.

And forget Justin Bieber, or even fellow Aussie Cody Simpson. Her favorite young pop star? Ed Sheeran. “[He] has integrity,” she says. “He refused to dye his hair blond even when his label asked him to, and his red hair turned out to be a massive marketing tool for him.”

In an age where teen girls flock after One Direction and want to be Katy Perry, her views are a welcome breath of fresh air.

It’s important to remember that Andie is only fifteen, and while she is gaining popularity for her singing (“I’ve been recognised at random venues…which is still so strange to me,” she says), music is only one aspect to her life.

“I’m just a 15 year old girl sitting in her room talking to a camera,” she admits. “I want to study psychology and philosophy and also study vocal jazz.”

Andie says to look for more covers in the near future and that she’s working on more original material. She’s saving up for a higher-quality microphone, laptop and camera so her videos look “more professional.” She also encourages anyone with a passion for music to join her by posting on the internet.

“I think that YouTube is a great creative outlet and a way for musicians to share their work,” she says. “You never know what will happen, and you might find great joy in doing it!” Make sure to check her out.

A FEW THOUGHTS

• To read the entire interview with Andie, visit my (very new) music blog at livingwithopenears.wordpress.com

• My lyric of the week comes from House of Heroes’ “We Were Giants:”

“I remember how it used to be/ We had a confidence a certainty/ Like we were in the graces permanently/ Is that so, is that so?”

• Eleventyseven put out a new country EP. It’s kind of like Never Shout Never meets Stephen Colbert. Check it out: “Attack of the Mountain Medley.”

CHANNEL: iwantaltitude

TWITTER:@iwantaltitude