Three years after Chapters—her best-performing album to date—Yuna comes back strong with Rouge; her sixth studio album, and fourth international release. Named after the colour of passion and love, this is IMO her most dynamic body of work yet, bolstered by a string of top-notch collaborators (we’re talking about the likes of Tyler, the Creator and Masego) and more importantly, a strong sense of identity.
With Rouge, the homegrown songstress wanted it to be more candid, giving us a glimpse of her everyday life and personality through the album. Over a video call at the exclusive album preview party, Yuna shared: “This is me being confident in my own skin. The whole album is about how I am with myself. I’m comfortable with my relationship, with my focus on my career. It’s the color of becoming this woman that I am.”
Listen to Rouge here, and learn a little more about the story behind each track as you scroll down:
1 Castaway ft. Tyler, The Creator
“Honestly, you didn’t see the best in me / It feels like you’re mocking me / And now I’ve gone off so far away / A castaway”
Yuna wrote this track after her first meeting with a record label, where she felt like she was being pulled in multiple directions, to become different versions of herself to appease people; a reminder to tune out the noise that will pull you down and learn to put yourself first.
2 Blank Marquee ft. G-Eazy
“Who are you without me? / You’re just a blank marquee / Tryna cop my steez / Get your own POV”
Inspired by the late ’80s, early ’90s pop music she grew up listening to, this funky track laced with sass is about standing up for yourself not letting bullies get to you.
3 (Not) The Love Of My Life
“Our love is broken / My heart has frozen / You’re not the love of my life”
Sometimes people just fall out of love. You might try hard to stay, but you just know it’s not working anymore, and that’s okay—not every relationship works out.
4 Teenage Heartbreak ft. Miyavi
“Teenage heartbreak / It’s a classic mistake / And I would do it again”
A mellow track punctuated by the lush sounds of Miyavi’s guitar, this is about how one can behave like a teen when in love, letting emotions take control—and you’ll probably do it all over again.
5 Pink Youth ft. Little Simz
“They ain’t ready for this pink youth / We come up to fight / Like diamonds shining in the sky / Girls like you and I”
Yuna dubbed this her version of ‘Just A Girl’ by No Doubt. A song that radiates girl power, this is for all the girls out there who never got the encouragement or support they deserve.
6 Forget About You
“Baby, now my vision’s clear / Things will never be the same / You were just a phase, my dear / You were just growing pain”
Turning it down a notch, this bass-driven breakup song is about trying to forget about someone—a tall order when pockets of memories in the little corners of your life (in your car, apartment, dreams etc.) still remain.
7 Likes ft. Kyle
“One says ‘Just get on with the times’ / One says ‘Your livin’ in a lie’ / Why can’t they leave me alone? / I’m doing good on my own”
Yuna confronts her critics in this uplifting song about identity, at the same time highlighting the pressure about being on social media and getting approval from people you don’t know. “I’m secure with my identity but there’s all these people saying ‘Oh she’s not muslim enough, she’s not American enough, if she’s a singer why isn’t she dressed up a certain way… people try to put you in boxes… so that’s the story for ‘Likes'”, Yuna shared in this recent interview with Apple Music’s Beats 1.
8 Amy ft. Masego
“I know that you and I, we / Went on with our lives / But if you look up to the sky, once in a while / You should come back to me”
Yuna was dealing with rejection when Masego hit her up on Instagram going “Hey, Yuna. I know you’re recording a new album. Let me know if you need any help.” And that’s how this magical collab happened. The song was written based on a friendship she had when she was a kid—you know, the childhood best friend-nemesis kind of relationship we all probably had from way back when.
9 Does She ft. Jay Park
“And I heard you’re tearing pages from my history / Ignoring all the side effects / And I heard you got a new one that looks just like me”
While Yuna initially had a different collaborator in mind for this breakup track, it didn’t work out, but then fellow L.A.-based popular Korean American artiste Jay Park came into the picture following a discussion with her manager and here we are.
10 Forevermore
“I found the strength I’m looking for / I’ll take it to forevermore”
An ode to our beautiful homeland accompanied by a made-in-Malaysia video to boot, Yuna wrote this track based on her own story of growing up in a small town and coming from a small country, and how that environment made her strive to be the best that she can be. The entire song is built around the melody of the ‘syair’, a form of classical Malay poetry.
11 Tiada Akhir
“Kau lahir / Cahaya terang / Penghujung hari redup / Kau matikan sakitku”
Fun fact: this was initially written as an interlude. The first Malay song to appear on her international studio album, this entrancing but tragic love song is about how sometimes the person that you love is also the one thing that kills you—a poignant finale to Rouge.
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