BY AMIRY FAHMI
As
I put my earphones on, and listened to Yuna’s latest album Chapters, I realized something: I might have a little ‘crush’ on her.
Chapters,
her 5th studio album, released on May 2016, is an album rich with
soul and R&B influences with added elements of hip-hop and electronics –
all of which combined with her soothing, sweet and silvery voice made the album
a unique listening experience.
The theme of this album revolves
around overcoming heartbreak, which is typical in the midst of a multitude of
heart-broken artists today. Although her songs depict the ups and downs of
love, she also uses her originality by expressing her thoughts to words and
music of her life experiences.
The record starts with ‘Mannequin’, as Yuna’s soft vocals
serenading an unnamed lover of her devotion in the face of love gone awry, and
then entering her struggle to cope with the idea of love being a falsification,
in an electronic-pop song entitled ‘Lanes’.
Her famous song, ‘Crush’, gained much attention,
especially with her collaboration with famous soul and R&B singer, Usher.
Currently, this song is the most played song on her latest album on Spotify,
being played already 20 million times around the world.
Yuna also collaborated with young, new
aspiring singer, Jhené Aiko, in a soul-electronic pop song, ‘Used to Love You’. The combination of
Jhené’s strong husky voice, resembles with Yuna’s soft and angelic voice
exquisitely.
Besides her love anthems such as ‘Your Love’, ‘Too Close’ and her beautiful,
sentimental ballad ‘All I Do’, are also
songs that convey motivational messages as well as insights to her personal
life experiences.
‘Places
to Go’, is one song that separates itself from the whole album. It is a
combination of hip-hop influences that corresponds with Yuna’s soul and sweet
voice which strangely suit the occasion. Even listening to her sing in the
first verse, resonates similarly to a well-known female R&B singer,
Rihanna.
 |
| The beautiful and elegant, Yunalis Zarai. |
‘Places
to Go’, is a song that hits me personally, if not for many Malaysians. Here,
Yuna talks about her difficulties in allocating herself comfortably to places
around the world which she finds rejection on her doorstep regularly. Apart
from that, the bevy amount of work she endures, and the amount of travelling
she goes through, makes her feel a little homesick. ‘What’s the weather like in Kuala Lumpur / This time of the year / It’s
so beautiful / I just need a place to call home / Cause I can’t be here no
more, no more.’
Her last song on the record, ‘Time’ is a beautiful one indeed. To
end an album that contained such deep and meaningful messages, ‘Time’ was something that struck Yuna
personally. She sings about her struggles and rejections in her early days, yet
her love and passion for music continues to realize her dreams. She also sings
about the death of her sister when Yuna was fifteen while her sister was
battling cancer. But all of which comes down to the chorus, where her mother
comes in and says: It takes time / It
takes time, baby / It will be fine, yeah / It takes time, baby.
As a Malaysian, I am proud of Yuna. Her success in
breaking through the international music scene has put Malaysia in the
limelight for the right reason. Her devotion and creativity has awarded her,
currently, in the top Billboard R&B albums located at #16.
Personally, I have huge respect for
her, especially with her bold initiative to write songs about her difficulties.
For her to allow millions of listeners to get a grasp of her personal life
experiences, and successfully achieving it, is top notch.
Why buy the album? Well, musically
it compliments both her soothing voice and the different elements of her musical
influences. This album shows her maturity in her music as she comes out
stronger than her albums before. As a Malaysian, we should support our local
talent to strive to achieve the American Dream. Many have tried, the likes of
Siti Nurhaliza, Ning Baizura, and Jaclyn Victor, but none has made it as far as
Yuna.
Hopefully, this album will result
her in a place among the nominees of the Grammy’s R&B album of the year.
Personally, I reckon she has the chance to be nominated. However, to compete
with artists such as Beyonce and Rihanna is difficult. Although, chances of her
taking home the award are slim, even a nomination would get the whole Malaysian
people up on their feet.
With this being her most successful
album of yet, it is a strong message and inspiration to young teenagers not
only around the world, but here in Malaysia. For those young talented singers
and musicians, their dreams can be achieved and that nothing stands in their
way. Even if there is, Yuna has been through it, and she is where she is now.
Apart from that, Yuna’s background
education as a graduate with
a Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons.) degree in UiTM, Shah Alam, shows that
having an educational foundation is perfectly fine in pursuing a musical career
in the future.
Yuna’s album
Chapters, is appropriately titled as
it is about the struggles of her life in love, music and family. As she depicts
the end of her personal life in one chapter, we wish her luck for all of her
success in a beginning of another chapter.
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