On January 18th Malaysian pop artist Yuna brought an acoustic tour to the Chicago City Winery, following her performance at Bottom Lounge back in July in celebration of her latest album, Rouge. Part of her set included songs like “Castaway,” which features Tyler, The Creator, and “Likes.” One song, of many, that stood out to me was “Decorate,” which she describes as originally written for a friend who had a girl who would often come and go, but later took on a new meaning for her when her grandfather passed away. I found it to be a beautiful dedication as her grandfather would often save newspaper clippings and magazine covers with her on it, and how she wishes he would come over.
Another song that drew me in was “Likes” which is Yuna addressing the many comments she gets on social media about being a Muslim woman in the music industry. Yuna is proud of who she is and the trajectory she is taking as an artist; on her most recent album she included a song called “Tiada Akhir,” which is in her native language of Malay.
As the music industry continues to grow and become inclusive I believe it is important for artists to address and embrace their culture. Though many of her songs are serious, whether it be about a breakup or adversity, she was not afraid to crack jokes between songs and give her audience a nice and relaxed time. Overall Yuna put on an amazing performance with beautifully haunting vocals and a lively personality.
You can check out the gallery of the performance below.
