Spotlight On: YUNA

ABOUT THIS WEEK’S SHERO IN THE SPOTLIGHT:

The singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer known as Yuna was born in 1986 and raised in Malaysia, the daughter of a legal advisor father and chemistry teacher mother. She first received a guitar from her father when she was ten, started performing in her teens, and writing her own songs while she was at university studying to be a lawyer. At first, Yuna started posting songs to Myspace, and they began to get more and more attention, eventually leading Yuna to self-release two EPs, the first of which would earn her five Malaysian Music Awards nominations (the Malaysian equivalent of the GRAMMYs), and win her four. Yuna’s big international break came in 2011 with her U.S. debut EP called Decorate, and then in 2012, her full length self titled debut, featuring the song “Live Your Life” which was produced by Pharell Williams. Since then, Yuna has collaborated with the likes of Usher, Tyler, the Creator, G-Eazy, Jhené Aiko, and Little Simz. She has toured the world, built a fan base of millions, and in 2017, she became the first singer from Asia to be nominated for a BET Award. And, she has accomplished all of this as an independent artist, one who has been steadfastly committed to staying authentically true to herself and proud of her identity as a Muslim Southeast Asian woman. This year marks ten years since Yuna’s full length debut, and she just released her fifth full length album, Y5. I am thrilled to welcome Yuna as this week’s SHERO In The Spotlight.

Our playlist includes new music from Sampa The Great, Danielle Ponder, and Brooklyn newcomers Say She She.

This week’s Radio SHERO: Our very own mix engineer on SHEROES Radio, Kelly Drake, joins us as this week’s Radio SHERO, sharing the track “melt” from Kehlani.