Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
It would be so easy to let my fate just carry me away... following this same path my whole life through. But I know I can't. What I do, I do...with no regrets.
I grew up listening to a lot of Malaysian pop music, which is kind of like a mixture of traditional and pop... I was also listening to a lot of English music as well.
Fame is definitely a monster: it can suck you in and spit you out and change you. The biggest challenge is to remain yourself regardless of what people say about you.
Muslim girls, we love fashion! Whether we wear the hijab or not - it's our choice - and it's time the industry took note. Finally, fashion stores are open to that idea.
I really believed that my songs were good enough for the whole world to listen to. I had fans from America or the U.K. who would be like, 'Oh my God, I love your music'.
When I first started in Malaysia, having a Muslim Malay girl singing and holding a guitar was new to everyone. Even Muslims there had issues with it; they found it weird.
Being in the spotlight, you know, you tend to kind of forget who you are. And being an artist... it could be a very superficial job. It could be very pretentious as well.
I used to be affected by criticism thrown at me, and I would get really down. But I got to a point where I just decided to go for it, no matter what negativity is around you.
I don't really like the idea of putting myself in any category now... I think that people are looking for music that's real and honest and that they can relate to emotionally.
There's a lot of buying power from the Middle East. Girls from Dubai want to be able to wear Asos, and you have people travelling all the way to the States just to go shopping.
If I get to a place early in the morning, I try to walk around by myself. I still try to find cool places to go to, like a record store in St. Louis or some restaurant in Chicago.
I love Gwen Stefani. I'd watch what she'd wear over and over again and think, 'How do I nail this style?' And then, I like that classic beauty, too. Audrey Hepburn, she's so elegant.
For Eid - or Raya, as the Malaysians call it - we love to shop for new clothes for the festive season. There will be open houses to go to, and Malaysians love to look good for these.
The working environment in L.A. is really refreshing, really good. Because in Malaysia, it's a small country - you end up working with the same people that you like and that you know.
I came from a strong jazz/ singer-songwriter/folk influence, but in L.A., I learned how to have a balance between all these genres and R&B music and hip-hop, mixing them all together.
I was truly honored to work with legendary DJ and producer DJ Premier. I still can't believe I have a track with Premier; it really is one of the best songs I've written in a long time.
Being a musician, it's my job to be real and be true to whoever I am. Hopefully that will inspire other people. I hope it inspires people to be themselves and be comfortable in your own skin.
The fashion world is so interesting because it's always changing, but if you know yourself really well, despite of all the changes in the fashion trends, you know how to stay true to yourself.
I used to read a lot of fashion magazines: my favourite was 'Nylon.' I used to cut out all the pictures from magazines, and I had this book where I would keep all of the stuff that inspired me.
Feminism is universal. You can't just fight for one type of freedom or one type of female power. You know what? Muslim women want to cover up, and we have to fight for our right to do that, too.
Being a musician and artist can feel superficial at times - you talk about yourself every day and pose for photos for the magazines and newspapers, and it can be very tiring for your well-being.
I'm a huge 'SK-II' person. I'm their Malaysian spokesperson. But I truly love their products - it's not just something that I endorse. I always moisturize with the SK-II Essential Power Rich Cream.
If you just work on that one thing that's, like, important to you, that has been supportive of you, who has been loving you all this time, if you are able to see that, then that is your 'best love'.
In my final year of law school, everything became real. Malaysian TV shows wanted me to perform big concerts. So, after graduating, I decided to go for it. I didn't think I'd be a good lawyer anyway.
The best thing to do when you're writing is to write about something you know instead of pretending. I mean, you can do that too, obviously, but when you write from your heart, it works so much better.
'Sixth Street' is probably a new chapter for me. All of the songs were written in my apartment where I'm most comfortable, and at that point, I understood who I was and knew what I was feeling about life.
I think when I first started out making music here in Los Angeles, a lot of people were really curious about my ethnicity, and you know, whatever questions they had, I'd be more than happy to answer them.
Where there is peace, there is sports; where there is sports, there is peace. Peace is what allows us, especially young people, to dream, go after ones goals and prepare you for the next challenge in life.
A lot of the songs are based on my previous relationship. It didn't work out. I lost him, and it ruined me. I had to learn to get back on my feet. I used that heartbreak to create something really beautiful.
Being in the public eye, you can't really avoid a lot of questions. A lot of questions are being thrown at you, whether it's about your personal life or your personal beliefs, and I'm happy to answer them all.
I think you can soften people's hearts, even if they have a lot of hate. Music can do that if it's beautiful and honest. If I can do that - soften just one person's heart - I consider myself successful already.
I write songs about love because, above all, love is the most human thing we have together. Feelings are a part of us every day. You feel things every day, no matter where you are. So that's what I write about.
I love Feist. I love Francoise Hardy. She was a French singer-songwriter in the '60s who was pretty huge. I think I'm drawn to her sincerity. I love Fiona Apple, too - she's quirky and really honest in her lyrics.
For an athlete myself, it is especially meaningful for our country to host an Olympics. Every athlete hopes to participate in an Olympics, so I still can't believe the games of dreams is going to take place in Korea.
In San Francisco, I eat halal, which is kind of like Muslim kosher, and there's this one Thai restaurant, and it's right next to the 'Great American Hall'. I'm there all the time whenever I'm in town; that's my spot.
I kind of always struggled writing in Malay, because Malay is such a beautiful language. And it gets really hard, you know, if you want to make it into a song. You have to make it sound beautiful, use the right words.
It's like with feminism. We talk a lot about feminism meaning complete freedom, and for some people, that means, like, 'Free the nipple!' But there's another end of the feminist spectrum, and that's where people like me are.
'Material' is meant to be a fun, lighthearted song about the tiny bit of materialism that's in all of us. The message is meant to translate the notion that you don't need luxury items to feel special; you already are special.
I feel very honoured and humbled to have people think, 'If Yuna can break through, then why can't we?' It takes a lot of work, but I tell people to just have that focus. Always be humble and a learner, practice and do research.
It's something that I do every year - every Ramadan to be exact - taking an 18-hour flight back home to Malaysia from Los Angeles. I'm born and raised in Malaysia, and Ramadan and Eid has always been my favorite time of the year.
Sometimes I have a melody in my head; sometimes it's just a verse. I read lines from a book or movies that I watch and grab a few quotes and start writing on paper. From there, I record a really rough version and work on the song.
People say, 'You should let your hair out; you shouldn't be oppressed - you're not in Malaysia anymore. You should show your curves and be proud of it.' But I am proud - it's my choice to cover up my body. I'm not oppressed - I'm free.
I feel like fashion and music relate to each other in a lot of ways. I always had to be creative: I'm a very creative person. I always liked making stuff. Apart from music, I always liked making clothes. You're able to express yourself.
In Malaysia, we have a lot of divas, like Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey singers. And they were all so so talented, just very talented. For example, there's this one jazz singer, her name is Sheila Majid, and I was always singing her songs.
I've always been singing all my life, but I started playing guitar when I was 19, and that was my final year in university, in law school. I think that happened when I started making a lot of friends who were in the independent music scene.
Sometimes when you're a songwriter, you kind of have this egotistic thing: you just want to write something that you love, and you don't care about if people like it or not, but personally, I want to write something that people can jive to.
I have people who say, 'You should dress up like this, or you should dress more modest; you should cover up more.' And then, at the other end of the spectrum, you have, like, 'Why are you still wearing your scarf? You're in America, you know.'
I started singing very early. I was six or seven years old, and I was singing along to TV commercials and figuring out, 'Oh, hey, I can sing in tune. This is really cool.' But the songwriting thing came much much later, when I was 19 years old.
Just look at 'K-pop' - who would've expected American fans to embrace it? It's really cool to be one of those artists who can break through the American market. I'm not trying to conquer America; I just want to make music and see if people like it.
Racism is everywhere - the older generations in Malaysia still say things like, 'She's darker-skinned; maybe don't marry her,' and it's very judgmental. A lot of girls do try to get fairness cream to lighten their skin, and I'm against all of that.