Manny King John
Name: Yuna
Representing: Alor Setar, Malaysia
Genre: Contemporary R&B
For fans of: Jhené Aiko
Single from: Chapters
Produced by: N/A
Song of the Day: November 5, 2016
Label(s): Fader Label/Verve
So, I think we’ve all been here before? You know, had our hearts broken. Maybe once, maybe twice, or every girlfriend and boyfriend. Even though we’ve watched our hearts drop and break into pieces, we always manage to pick each of those pieces up, glue them back together, and have hope. Hoping that this would be the last time it breaks.
Well, I think Yuna agrees with us on her latest single, ‘Poor Heart’. I’ve apologized to my heart so many times, “My poor, poor heart. I know you’re tired of this all. I know I made the same mistakes a lot.” It comes to a point where we could easily label this as insanity, doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results. As insane as it may be, “I think it’s time for you to start beating again, for love. Are you feeling what I’m feeling? Should we go again, go give another chance?”
Read more about Yuna via Wikipedia
Yunalis Mat Zara’ai, professionally known as Yuna is a Malaysian singer-songwriter and businesswoman. Born and raised in Kedah, she began writing songs at age fourteen. She soon taught herself to play the guitar. By 2006, she was in need of a creative outlet while attending law school. Then, she performed for an audience for the first time. Yuna offered her music on her MySpace page, which went on to net over one million plays. This online success tipped off the Indie-Pop label and management company to her music, and in early 2011 she signed with the Fader label.
Joined by guitarist Pa’an, bassist Efry Arwis, and drummer Adib Azfar (and later, Adil Ali), Yuna made her recorded debut album in Malaysia in 2008 with a self-titled EP, which went on to snag five Malaysian Music Awards nominations (the Malaysian equivalent of the GRAMMY). She took home four trophies, including Best New Artist and Best Song (for the breakout hit ‘Dan Sebenarnya;).
The Decorate (EP) followed two years later (and was released stateside in spring 2011). Decorate included the viral hit ‘Rocket’, which won raves from Billboard magazine, indie rock radio station KEXP, and Hip-Hop mogul Russell Simmons, as well as ink in SPIN’s Eight Bands You Need to Hear Now. On the performance end, Yuna was nominated as one of MTV Iggy’s Best New Bands in the World in 2011, and she marked the occasion by playing at the historic MTV Studios.
Yuna rang in 2012 with a new single, ‘Live Your Life’, produced by Pharrell Williams as a preamble to her self-titled full-length debut, which arrived that April. Summer 2012 found Yuna sharing the Lollapalooza stage with the likes of Florence + the Machine, Jack White, and Childish Gambino. In 2013, Yuna returned with the album ‘Nocturnal’, featuring the single ‘Falling’. In February 2016, Yuna previewed her third album with the release of ‘Places to Go’, a single produced by hip-hop legend DJ Premier. The full album, Chapters, was released three months later.
