The Star Online: Entertainment: Music
The Star Online: Entertainment: Music |
- Yuna likes all things visual
- Rihanna teases new album, climbs iTunes chart
- Mariah Carey hid pregnant body from hubby Cannon
| Posted: 11 Nov 2011 06:26 AM PST Yuna has always been attracted to visuals and images, and sometimes even relies on them for inspiration for her music. EVEN amongst the racks of colourful tudung, dresses and scarves in the boutique, the two old, almost faded photographs stood out. One featured a dashing-looking young musician singing his heart out on stage; while the other was a sweet photo of a mother cradling her baby daughter, who happens to be the owner of the boutique, Yunalis Zarai, or better known as Malaysian singer-songwriter Yuna. During an interview at her fashion boutique in Subang Jaya – the enigmatically named IamJetFuelShop – it was obvious that the two photographs really mean a lot to the 24-year-old. "I just love those photos. I actually put that photograph of me and my mum in the album sleeve of my debut EP (Yuna)," she said. Her face then lights up with pride when the other picture is mentioned. "My dad used to be a musician as well, and that picture was taken when he was performing during his university days. He's a huge rock 'n' roll fan ... we just went to the Whitesnake concert together a couple nights ago!" Yuna, who is recording her sophomore album in the United States with the FADER label, travels home often and she maintains a healthy presence in the mainstream. In September, she played two sold-out shows at Dewan Filharmonik Petronas and also appeared at the Suara Kami concert at Stadium Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur. When she isn't on stage, in the studio or at a fashion shoot, Yuna finds the time to indulge in her other pursuits. According to her, she has always been attracted to visuals and images, and sometimes even relies on them for inspiration for her music. "Photos always ignite feelings or inspiration in me. I look at some of the ones I've taken, and sometimes I start thinking about what music should go with it. An amazing photo should always have a great song to go with it!" An avid amateur photographer, she is equally comfortable behind the camera as she is in front of it. "I love taking pictures. I always have my camera with me whenever I travel. One of my favourite hobbies is to go up to a random stranger and ask to take their picture, especially if I happen to like their face or their style," she said, adding that she usually uploads the photos on her blog afterwards. Unsurprisingly, Yuna is also an avid fan of printing out physical copies of the photos she takes; and that's not just because she is an ambassador for Canon Marketing Malaysia and the Canon Pixma printers they produce. "You can't rely on a computer chip your entire life! I've got several terabytes of stuff in my hard drive and if something happens to it, it's all GONE! My songs, my photos ... my entire life is in there!" she exclaimed in mock horror. "I usually like to print out my favourite photos, the ones I really like. It helps me keep track of my photos, and also preserve those memories. I think it's important to keep the most precious memories. Plus, you get to touch and feel it, and physically zoom into the picture!" According to her, those pictures she prints out usually go into her private journal. "I print out the pictures and paste them in my journal, to document my journey. The blog is opened to public, but the printed photos in my journal are something more on a personal level. In there, I can write poetry or stuff like that to go with the photos I take. Many people think it's cheesy, but that's what I do!" she said happily. Despite being a musician, Yuna has always been the sort of person who is attracted to visual art like photographs, posters and even pictures in magazines. Besides the photographs, the studio in a backroom of her boutique is covered with large posters of album covers by The Beatles, Joy Division and Sonic Youth. "Music has and will always be a part of me. But at the same time, I've always loved the visual side of the industry as well – the creative designing, fashion and so on," she said. No surprise then that she is thrilled to be nominated in the Best Album Cover category for tomorrow's Anugerah Industri Muzik 2011 awards show. "I may not be nominated for best album, but I'm happier to be nominated for my album cover, because I've always wanted to win that one, more than the others!" she said with a laugh. "I designed the cover together with a friend, but the idea was all mine, and I am extremely proud of it. It would be so cool to win that!" Yuna swept four awards at last year's Anugerah Industri Muzik including Best New Artiste, Best Local English Song (for Deeper Conversation), Best Pop Song and Best Song (Dan Sebenarnya). This time around she has been nominated for Best Vocal Performance In A Song (for Penakut and Gelora Cinta) Best Pop Song (Penakut) and Best Album Cover (Decorate). While she does not have very high hopes of repeating the four-award feat, she reckons that having already won last year, she would prefer to let someone new step into the limelight. "It's good for the industry to stay fresh, new and exciting. Winning the awards was important for me because it gave me credibility. I would like to see it help someone else that way as well," she concluded. The Anugerah Industri Muzik 2011 will be held tomorrow at Putra Stadium, Bukit Jalil in Kuala Lumpur and will be broadcast live on Astro Ria at 9pm Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Rihanna teases new album, climbs iTunes chart Posted: 10 Nov 2011 10:25 PM PST LOS ANGELES: Rihanna on Thursday released track teasers online from her upcoming album "Talk That Talk," pushing the album up to no. 12 on the iTunes chart ahead of its Nov. 21 release. The snippets from all 11 songs on the album comes after the singer posted a picture on her official Facebook page last week, revealing the track listing. Fans took to Twitter and Facebook to comment on the teasers, calling the album her best release yet, and pre-orders sent the album climbing on iTunes. The album includes a collaboration with rapper Jay-Z on the single "Talk That Talk" along with hip-hop and electro-pop tracks such as "Where Have You Been" and "Roc Me Out" and ballads "We All Want Love" and "Drunk Of Love." "Talk That Talk" will be the sixth studio album from the 23-year-old Barbadian singer, who is currently at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart with "We Found Love," featuring Calvin Harris, the lead single from the upcoming album. The singer has also revealed that the next single from the album will be an upbeat dance track called "You Da One," which will be officially unlocked and available to download on Rihanna's Facebook page on Friday. Rihanna, who is currently on the Europe leg of her "Loud" tour, was recently forced to cancel a performance in Malmo, Sweden after being taken to hospital with the flu. She is scheduled to perform in Antwerp, Belgium on Friday. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Mariah Carey hid pregnant body from hubby Cannon Posted: 10 Nov 2011 04:55 PM PST NEW YORK, Nov. 10 (Reuters) - Mariah Carey put on so much weight when she was pregnant with twins that she says she used to hide her body from husband Nick Cannon. But the Grammy-winning singer has now dropped more than 30 lbs., and has a new job promoting U.S. weight-loss company Jenny. Carey, 42, joined the weight loss program, formerly known as Jenny Craig, in late July just three months after giving birth to her first children - twins Moroccan and Monroe. "I had a lot of issues," Carey said of her pregnancy, which induced high blood pressure and diabetes. "I cooked soul food for Nick through my entire pregnancy," she added. The first-time mom told a news conference on Wednesday she felt so large at the end of her pregnancy that she avoided learning her weight. "You see those pictures," she said of the photographs of herself before giving birth in April. "Would you want to know?" At her heaviest, Carey was so insecure she even wore a towel to cover her body in the bathtub. "You think I would let Nick see me looking rancid like that?" she asked with a laugh. Twirling for reporters in a red, fitted vintage Halston dress, she said she would like to see herself looking as she did in the music video for her 2008 hit "Touch My Body". "I'm not there, but I'm trying to get there," she said. Carey is the latest celebrity to become a spokeswoman for Jenny, following "Dreamgirls" actress and singer Jennifer Hudson and former "Cheers" star Kirstie Alley. Carey brushed aside rumors of problems between her and her actor/rapper husband of more than three years. The speculation was sparked by a TV interview in October in which Carey said that she trusts Cannon "sometimes." "Me and Nick are the same team...we've never been better," she said, explaining that some jokes between the couple were cut from the interview. "Here's the thing, I'm a real person" Carey said, explaining that she didn't want to give a "fake Hollywood" answer in the interview. "Sometimes I make him mad, sometimes he makes me mad...that's why we aren't divorced after four months." Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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