Malaysian singer Yuna may look like she has everything going for her but it has not always been smooth sailing since she started out in showbiz, the hype.my website reported on Friday (May 29).
The singer-songwriter recently went on Instagram Stories to reveal to her fans a surprising piece of news from 2009. At that time a major music label wanted to sign on the talented singer. During the interview with its representative, Yuna enquired if the label could market and promote her English songs internationally.
The label did not want to do so. The representative told her that nobody would want to listen to her English music and asked her to focus on Malay music.
Yuna was asked to record nine Malay songs and one English song for her album. She thanked the representative and told him that she would keep him updated. It is now 2020 and Yuna has made it big with both English and Malay songs.
In another social media post, she shared a quote that said: “Your goals may sound crazy to others and that’s okay. Just don’t let yourself believe them when they tell you ‘You can never do it’.”
Yuna posted photos of her achievements on Instagram, as well as her collaborations with international singers. There were photos of her with Usher and Pharell Williams. The singer was also recently featured on billboard ads in New York. Yuna also shared a screenshot of her appearance in the show Late Night With Conan O’Brien.
Born Yunalis binti Mat Zara’ai on Nov 14, 1986, she was first noticed when her music was uploaded on Myspace and it received more than one million plays. Her success gained attention from the indie-pop label/management company and she was signed on the Fader Label in 2011.
Yuna is known for her collaboration with US singer Usher and her single Crush, which hit Number 3 on the US Billboard Adult R&B chart. The singer-songwriter was born and raised in Kedah and Selangor and she started writing songs when she was 14. She also taught herself to play the guitar and by 2006 she performed in front of an audience.
Together with 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. She 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. /TISG