Photo by Zel-Atif Ishak
On the phone, 25-year-old Yunalis Zarai is a soft-spoken, timid presence. But the singer-songwriter loses that shyness when she sings or performs on stage. Originally from Malaysia, Yuna will make her first stop in Milwaukee tomorrow.
Check Her Out
At Shank Hall on May 31, opening for Graffiti6.
What’s The Big Deal?
Yuna was signed to FADER in summer 2010 and released a self-titled album in April of this year. In her short time on the American music scene, Yuna has inspired some impressive comparisons: Bon Iver and Adele to name a few. “Some people don’t enjoy being compared to other people,” she says. “But to me, that’s cool.”
Yuna especially likes the comparison to Adele who she names as an inspiration. “You turn on the top 40 and you listen to straight-up pop music and dance music, but then out of all the songs you have Adele in the middle. It’s just this amazing, precious thing. She kind of proved to a lot of people that it takes good music and good singing to be on top. She’s from the U.K., and she’s sort of paved the way for the rest of us who aren’t from the States.”
She even gave an acoustic performance on the rooftop of National Geographic’s New York office at the end of April.
What People Are Saying
“…certified indie cred and massive pop potential…” – Rolling Stone
“Her voice was flawless – the passion and intensity that she had in every song was palpable” – NPR
“One of the loveliest gems to hit the pop music landscape” – MTV
Audio
Listen to “Live Your Life,” the first single off Yuna, below or stream previews from other songs off the album and 2011’s Decorate on her website.
