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Yuna
Photo: Themonicapatel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons27

Yuna

Malaysian singer (born 1986)

Yunalis binti Mat Zara'ai Sinclair (née Yunalis binti Mat Zara'ai, Jawi: يوناليس بنت مد ظراعي; born 14 November 1986), known professionally as Yuna, is a Malaysian singer-songwriter. Her initial exposure came through the viral success of her music uploaded to Myspace, which received over one million plays.2

From Wikipedia’s article on Yuna (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Nov 14, 1986.1

About

This online success alerted an indie-pop label/management company to her music, and in early 2011 she signed with the Fader Label. She is best known for her collaboration with Usher on her breakout single "Crush", which peaked at number 3 on the US Billboard Adult R&B chart. From 2010 to 2015, she was the 2nd Most Popular Female Singer in Malaysia with Siti Nurhaliza at first place and Stacy Anam at 3rd place.

Born in Kedah and raised in Perlis and Selangor states to Perakian Malay parents of Buginese descent from Kuala Kangsar and Batu Gajah, she began writing songs at age 14. She soon taught herself to play guitar, and by 2006, in need of a creative outlet while attending law school, performed for an audience for the first time. Yuna made her recorded debut album in Malaysia in 2008 with a self-titled EP, earned five Malaysian Music Awards nominations (the Malaysian equivalent of the Grammy). She took home four trophies, including Best New Artist and Best Song for her breakthrough hit "Dan Sebenarnya".

The Decorate (EP) followed two years later. 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 a feature in Spin's "Eight Bands You Need to Hear Now". For her performances, Yuna was nominated as one of MTV's Iggy's Best New Bands in the World in 2011, and she marked the occasion by playing at the historic MTV Studios.

The 2012 single "Live Your Life", produced by Pharrell Williams, was a preamble to her self-titled full-length debut, which arrived that April. That summer, Yuna appeared at Lollapalooza. 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 artist DJ Premier. The full album, Chapters, was released three months later.

From Wikipedia’s article on Yuna, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2

Companies

Early life and education

  • 2009Universiti Teknologi MARA Bachelor of Laws3 4

Yuna grew up in Subang Jaya, Selangor and Kangar, Perlis, in Malaysia.

Education

Yuna attended SK Seafield, SMK Derma, Kangar, Perlis and SMK USJ 4 Subang Jaya, Selangor. After that, Yuna attended Universiti Teknologi MARA in Shah Alam, where she studied legal studies at its Faculty of Law. In 2009, she graduated with a Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons.) degree.

From Wikipedia’s article on Yuna (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Career

Occupation: entrepreneur, singer, model, musician, singer-songwriter, songwriter, actor.7

  • Date not recordedFounded Yuna Music LLC5
  • Date not recordedFounded Yuna Room Records6

2001–2010: Beginnings and early success

Yuna began writing her own songs when she was 14 years old and began performing at age 19 after she learned how to play guitar. She has performed in numerous acoustic shows and events in many parts of Malaysia since 2006. The same year, she auditioned for the first season of One in a Million, making it to the top 40 round before she was eliminated from the competition.

In October 2008, she released her second EP, the self-titled Yuna. Its single "Deeper Conversation" became a hit in Malaysia. Her meteoric rise in the Malaysian indie music scene was helped by the strong following she gained on Myspace. Her first studio album, Decorate, was released in July 2010 under her indie label Yuna Room Records.

2011–2013: Early international breakthrough

Yuna was eventually discovered in the US by the indie-Pop record label and management company. They flew out to Malaysia to convince her to sign with them and then proceeded to get her a deal with Fader Label, a record label based in New York, in February 2011. She released her debut US EP, Decorate, in the United States in March 2011.

On 24 January 2012, her single "Live Your Life" debuted on iTunes. The track was produced by Grammy Award-winning producer, Pharrell Williams. MTV Iggy described the track as, "polished until it gleams but instead of burying Yuna, it lifts her up. The track has hinted that a diva is waiting to shine." On 16 February, the official music video for "Live Your Life" was released. On 24 April 2012, Yuna's US debut self-titled album was released. Debuting at No. 23 on the Pop chart and No. 86 on the Top 100 Albums on iTunes, Yuna was also No. 23 on Billboard's Heatseekers Chart. Accolades from fans and critics alike, such as Billboard, NPR, Elle, The New York Times, Vibe Claire and National Geographic, who stated that her sound is "as fresh, honest and deeply personal as anything by Bon Iver or Tune-Yards," have been rolling in.

Yuna performed "Live Your Life" on late-night TV shows Conan and Last Call with Carson Daly. She was featured on the CBS Evening News in a featured profile piece and toured with Graffiti6 with stops at Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza. She also contributed to the Savages soundtrack on the track, Here Comes the Sun. Yuna also performed as part of the Lollapalooza 2012 line up.

Yuna was the first runner-up of MTV Iggy's Best New Bands in the World. She performed at the historic MTV Studios in Times Square, New York singing "Decorate", "Come As You Are", "Lullabies" which is produced by Chris Braide and her new single "Live Your Life", which is produced by Pharrell Williams of N.E.R.D.

Yuna recently signed with Verve Music Group. Multiple Grammy-winning producer David Foster, who heads the creative operations of Verve, tweeted: "I'm really excited about the next hot artist to join Verve Music. Stay tuned and keep an eye out for Yuna in 2013". She also made the Heatseekers Album chart on Billboard with "Live Your Life".

Read more

2013–2015: Nocturnal

Yuna released her second international album, Nocturnal on 29 October 2013 by Verve Records. "I Want You Back" featuring Vietnamese rapper, Derez aired on "Love & Hip Hop: New York" 20 January 2014. On 9 January 2014, Yuna graced the Jimmy Kimmel Live! studios, promoting her new album, Nocturnal. She performed the singles "Falling" and "Rescue" with assistance from a live band.

In December 2014, Yuna released the song "Broke Her" as a single. It features a sample of Drake's 0 to 100.

On 31 January 2015, Yuna performed in the closing ceremony of 2015 AFC Asian Cup. She has been appointed as Malaysia's tourism adviser to boost tourist arrivals in the country along with Dato' Siti Nurhaliza and Datuk Jimmy Choo Yeang Keat in June of the same year.

Yuna recorded the song Strawberry Letter 23 by singer Shuggie Otis used in a commercial for Swedish fashion retailer H&M starring Ukrainian-Canadian model Daria Werbowy that aired in March 2015.

2016–2018: Chapters

On 20 May 2016, Yuna released her latest album Chapters through Verve Records. The album features the collaboration from Usher, Jhené Aiko and DJ Premier. As of December 2016, the album had been selected by Billboard in 7th place of its 2016 Critics' Picks for Best R&B Album. Yuna receive recognition from The Malaysia Book of Records for The First R&B Album Listed In Top 10 Billboard Charts In The United States.

On 25 July 2017, Yuna took to the Late Night with Seth Meyers stage at NBC Studios to promote her album and performs "Used To Love You" from Chapters. The Jhené Aiko-assisted track was instead backed by an incredible full band complete with violins as part of a small string section.

In December 2018, Yuna created history when gathering a streaming total of about 36 million in Spotify throughout 2018.

2019–2021: Rouge, directional debut and RIAA certification

Yuna returned to finish up work for her fourth international album after taking a short break following her wedding. She further described the new direction for the upcoming album, which will be the "opposite" of her previous record, "Chapters". In an interview with Singapore's Straits Times, Yuna teased that the new album will also feature guest stars; however, no names were disclosed. She also hinted that a new song off the upcoming album would be released in March 2019. Yuna described the whole process of making the new album as "happier", with more freedom compared to her previous releases.

In a detailed interview with Riff Magazine on 25 February 2019, Yuna described that the upcoming album was in the process of finishing up and that it brings everything full circle by going back to the music her father listened to when she was young. "It's still Yuna, it's pop music, but it's pop and R&B. For this album, we wanted to bring back the feel of old records, old vinyl."

Yuna released "Forevermore" on 5 April 2019. In a Star2 article, she said that the song "is about growing up in a small town and coming from a small country and how that environment made me strive to be the best that I can be." For the video she had enlisted her husband Adam Sinclair who is a director, and they shot the video entirely in Malaysia, mostly in Kuala Lumpur and Perlis. "Forevermore" debuted at number one on Malaysia's RIM Domestic Chart on 11 April 2019, her first number-one since the reintroduction of the official chart in 2017.

Apart from making her new album, Yuna ventured into the directing scene. She made her directional debut in October 2018 for Malaysia's duo, Hani & Zue's "Alone". Yuna later directed another video for the duo, "Aku dan Laguku".

On 17 April 2019, Yuna earned her very first RIAA certification when her song "Crush" logged a gold certified sales of 500,000 copies. This feat was achieved three years after the song was released.

Yuna released her second promotional single from her upcoming album, "Blank Marquee" featuring American rapper, G-Eazy on 16 May 2019. The music video was shot in Kuala Lumpur, featuring Malaysian actor, Amerul Affendi and also directed by Sinclair. On the same day, Yuna revealed several titles and lyrics from her new album Rouge, which was released on 12 July 2019.

2022–present:Y5

On 4 March 2022, announced that her fifth international album, Y5, would be released in five installations: Y1, Y2, Y3, Y4, and Y5.

Yuna's 2011 track "Someone Out Of Town" gained a resurgence in popularity in 2026 after videos on social media platform TikTok used the song.

Businesses

Yuna co-owns a women's clothes boutique, IAMJETFUEL, in Subang Jaya, Selangor. In 2014, she re-opened the shop with a new name, 'November Culture', which is also situated in Subang Jaya with a worldwide online presence. 14Nov by Yuna Zarai (brand name) are clothes and scarves that are designed by Yuna herself. She started introducing this brand in the US by promoting it in fashion shows (Fashion Fighting Famine or #FFFShow) in California. Besides that, she also opened a pop store in New York as well as Los Angeles. Recently, she has launched her new collaboration with Malaysian designer, Hatta Dolmat.

On 1 May 2018, Yuna announced on her Instagram account that the November Culture boutique had ceased operations.

From Wikipedia’s article on Yuna (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Personal life

  • BornNov 14, 1986, Alor Setar8
  • CitizenshipMalaysia9
  • SpouseAdam Sinclair married 201810 11

Relationships

Yuna has been married to Malaysian director, Adam Sinclair, himself the younger brother of actor Ashraf Sinclair and actress/presenter Aishah Sinclair, since 2018.

Religion

Yuna is a Muslim. Speaking on her hijab, she stated:

When I first started playing music, I was already covered... wearing headscarves. And, like, normally, people would expect you to change, toss this part of your life away so that you could be a pop star. But I just wanted to make music, not really be a "pop star" pop star. And there's always people who wouldn't necessarily agree with what I'm doing right now. But I'm really happy with where I am right now, you know. I'm a Muslim. I don't try to hide it. I'm also a girl who loves music. And I don't try to hide that as well.

From Wikipedia’s article on Yuna (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Awards

  • 2021Asia's Most Influential Malaysia12 14
  • 2019RIAA certification12 16
  • 2018Gen.T (Malaysia)12 14
  • 2017Gen.T (Malaysia)12 14
  • 2017Member of the Order of the Defender of the Realm12 15
  • 2012National Youth Icon Award12 13

Sources

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