Rouge (Yuna Album)
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''Rouge'' is the fourth international studio album by Malaysian singer-songwriter
Yuna Yuna may refer to: Places * Yuna, Western Australia *Yuna River, Dominican Republic People *Yuna Kagesaki (born 1973), Japanese manga artist * Song Yoon-ah (born 1973), South Korean actress *Yuna Ito (born 1983), American-Japanese singer *Yuna ...
. The album, which saw her collaborate with many international acts, was released on July 12, 2019, by labels
Verve Forecast Records Verve Forecast is a record label formed as a division of Verve Records to concentrate on pop, rock, and folk music. Founding Jerry Schoenbaum of Verve and Moe Asch of Folkways Records, Folkways created Verve Folkways in 1964 to take advantage ...
and
Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...
. Five songs in the album were released as singles. ''Rouge'', Yuna's seventh album overall, was recorded between 2017 and 2019.


Background

The album took two years to complete. According to Yuna in an exclusive interview with the Malaysian tabloid newspaper, ''
Kosmo! ''Kosmo!'' (short for ''Cosmopolitan''; Malay: ''Kosmopolitan'') is a Malay-language compact format newspaper tabloid in Malaysia owned by the Utusan Group, which also owns ''Kosmo!'' Sunday paper ''Kosmo! Ahad'', ''Utusan Malaysia'', and ''Min ...
'': "It took me two years to produce this album. That's true, it took a while to produce a studio album. But that is because I work with different producers". On May 17, 2019, Yuna announced the official release of ''Rouge'' on her personal Instagram account, the album cover depicts Yuna in a red dress and a bunny cross on her head. In an interview, she disclosed that the album title was
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
for "red" which signifies love, spirit and strength. Yuna choose the title to reflect the bolder she is. In an interview with ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'', she said: "I’ve always felt like red is such a bold colour and I felt like, ‘Oh, maybe it’s not for me.’ Even the colour, the lipstick colour is maybe not for me. That's always been the person that I am". The cover photography was captured by Steven Taylor.


Tour

To promote ''Rouge'', Yuna embark her US tour, which took place in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
on 14 July followed by
Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...
,
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
,
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
dan
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
and the last stop in
Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...
on 2 August.


Singles

The first single to be released in the album is " Forevermore" on April 5, 2019. Its music video, directed by Yuna's husband, Adam Sinclair, in which revolves around her ode to Malaysia, where she was born and raised as well as showcasing the beauty of Malaysia. On May 16, the second single " Blank Marquee", featuring
G-Eazy Gerald Earl Gillum (born May 24, 1989), better known by his stage name G-Eazy, is an American rapper. Based in Oakland, California, he began his career in 2006 and released two independent studio albums before signing with RCA Records to releas ...
was released, with music video filmed in
Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
, featuring actor Amerul Affendi and US-based Malaysian supermodel, Atikah Karim. The video, also directed by Sinclair. The third single, " Pink Youth" features English rapper
Little Simz Simbiatu "Simbi" Abisola Abiola Ajikawo (born 23 February 1994), better known by her stage name Little Simz, is a British Rapping, rapper and Acting, actress. She rose to prominence with the independent release of her first three albums: ''A Cur ...
was released on June 30, with futuristic-themed music video directed by Esteban Valdez (who also wrote and edited the video), while its story and concept by Yuna and Sinclair. " (Not) The Love of My Life", the fourth single from the album, was released on August 22, with Bollywood-themed music video was directed by Yuna herself. The fifth and last single from the album, "Castaway", featuring
Tyler, the Creator Tyler Gregory Okonma (born March 6, 1991), known professionally as Tyler, the Creator, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has been cited as an influential figure in alternative hip-hop during the 2010s. Tyler beca ...
was released on October 16.


Critical reception

''Rouge'' received generally positive reviews from critics. Chris Malone Méndez from ''
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'' wrote that "''Rouge'' serves as Yuna's most dynamic record to date, and should excite fans both new and old about what to expect from her next" and felt that most of the album tracklist is "filled with after-hours R&B that Yuna has become known for on her previous projects". Adriane Pontecorvo from
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
said, “''Rouge'' is, in some ways, a redefinition of what it means to be a worldwide star. The same factors that make it unique, also make it the epitome of successful pop music; it's easy to listen to and deliberately engaging of audiences everywhere." Kayleigh O'Malley from Eleven PDX called the album as "a summer album for the brokenhearted". Skylar de Paul from ''
The Daily Californian ''The Daily Californian'' (''Daily Cal'') is an independent, student-run newspaper that serves the University of California, Berkeley, campus and its surrounding community. History 20th century ''The Daily Californian'' became independent fro ...
'' described the album as "full of energy, war, strength, determination, passion, and basically every other characteristic tied to the connotations”. Symphreona Clark from YR noted that the album "combines pop with a modern-day take on disco, creating a luminescent piece that is both coherent and fun". ''Rouge'' got a 6.8 from ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...
'' review.


Track listing


Credits and personnel

Credits taken from the album's liner notes. ;Personnel *
Yuna Yuna may refer to: Places * Yuna, Western Australia *Yuna River, Dominican Republic People *Yuna Kagesaki (born 1973), Japanese manga artist * Song Yoon-ah (born 1973), South Korean actress *Yuna Ito (born 1983), American-Japanese singer *Yuna ...
- vocals *
Tyler, the Creator Tyler Gregory Okonma (born March 6, 1991), known professionally as Tyler, the Creator, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has been cited as an influential figure in alternative hip-hop during the 2010s. Tyler beca ...
- vocals *
G-Eazy Gerald Earl Gillum (born May 24, 1989), better known by his stage name G-Eazy, is an American rapper. Based in Oakland, California, he began his career in 2006 and released two independent studio albums before signing with RCA Records to releas ...
- vocals *
Little Simz Simbiatu "Simbi" Abisola Abiola Ajikawo (born 23 February 1994), better known by her stage name Little Simz, is a British Rapping, rapper and Acting, actress. She rose to prominence with the independent release of her first three albums: ''A Cur ...
- vocals * Kyle - vocals *
Jay Park Jay Park (born April 25, 1987), Korean name Park Jae-beom (), is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and dancer based in South Korea. He is a member of the Seattle-based breakdancing, b-boy crew Art of Movement (AOM), and founder and former ...
- vocals *
Miyavi , better known by his stage name MIYAVI (雅, ''Miyabi'', stylized in all caps), is a Japanese guitarist, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor known for his finger- slapping style of playing a guitar. He has been active since 1999, f ...
- guitar * Masego - background vocals, saxophone *
Robin Hannibal Robin Hannibal Mølsted Braun is a Danish record producer and songwriter, best known for being one half of the musical duo Quadron and for being a founding member of Rhye, which he has since left. Besides being involved in both, he is also know ...
- background vocals, keyboards, organ, synthesizers, bass, guitar, kalimba, drums, percussion * Brooke de la Rosa - background vocals *
Cardiak Carl McCormick (born June 26, 1988), professionally known as Cardiak, is an American record producer. He began producing music in 2008. He has produced music for numerous artists, including Eminem, 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, Ryan Leslie, Rick Ross, ...
- piano, drums * August Rosenbaum - piano * Julian-Quan Viet Le - keyboards * Joel van Dijk - guitars * Danny McKinnon - guitars * Thomas Drayton - bass * Todd Simon - trumpet * Ibrahim Maalouf - trumpet * Simon Huber - cello * Ginny Luke - violin ;Technicals * Arrangements by Robin Hannibal ** Additional arrangements by August Rosenbaum (track 11) * Vocals recorded by Davey Donaldson at Independently Popular and Robin Hannibal at Hannibal's House ** Additional recording by Joshua Sellers, Josh Flores and Thomas Cullison at Chalice Studios (track 10) ** Additional recording by Fisticuffs and Christian Plata (track 8) * Instrumentation recorded at Hannibal's Room ** Additional instrumentation recorded by J.LBS at 10603 Studios (track 4) ** Additional piano recorded by Chris Tabron at Red Bull Studios (track 11) * Vocal production by Robin Hannibal ** Additional vocal production by Rex Rideout (tracks 1, 3 & 4-8) ** Additional vocal production by Robert Castillo (tracks 2 & 3) * Mixed by Stan Greene at Arketek Studios (tracks 1, 3-8 & 11) and Eric Madrid at Sonic Element Studios (tracks 2, 9 & 10) * Assistant mixed by William Binderup * Mastered by Chris Gehringer at Sterling Sound, New York * All tracks produced by Robin Hannibal except "Likes" co-produced by Cardiak, "Teenage Heartbreak" produced by J.LBS and "Amy" by Fisticuffs. * Robbin Hannibal & Benjamin Willis - executive producer * Indie-Pop - management * Dahlia Ambach-Chaplin & Benjamin Willis - A&R * Natalie Weber - A&R manager * Melody Ewing & Femi Onafowokan - A&R administration * Adam Lekach - marketing * Tom Arndt - production * Julie Johantgen - release coordination * Yunalis Zara'ai & KyleDidThis - creative direction * Steven Taylor - photography * Jacob Lerman - design


Charts


Release history


References


External links


''Rouge'' on yunazarai.com
{{Authority control 2019 albums Yuna (singer) albums Verve Forecast Records albums Universal Music Group albums