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''Rouge'' is the fourth international studio album by Malaysian singer-songwriter
Yuna Yuna may refer to: Geography *Yuna River, Dominican Republic *Yuna, Western Australia Music * ''Yuna'' (album), a 2012 album by Malaysian singer Yuna * ''Yuna'' (EP), a 2008 album by Malaysian acoustic singer Yuna People Japanese *Yuna Aoi, wr ...
. The album, which saw her collaborate with many international acts, was released on July 12, 2019, by labels Verve Forecast Records and
Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
. 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 ''Mingg ...
'': "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 for "red" which signifies love, spirit and strength. Yuna choose the title to reflect the bolder she is. In an interview with '' Billboard'', 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 (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
on 14 July followed by
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
,
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
,
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
dan
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
and the last stop in Oakland 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 was released, with music video filmed in
Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...
, 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 rapper, singer and actress. She rose to prominence with the independent release of her first three albums; ''A Curious Tale ...
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 and record producer. He is one of the founding members of the music collective Odd Future. Okonma self-released his debut mixtape ' ...
was released on October 16.


Critical reception

''Rouge'' received generally positive reviews from critics. Chris Malone Méndez from ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'' 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, fi ...
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. It formerly published a print edition four days a week on Monday, Tuesd ...
'' 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 (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...
'' review.


Track listing


Credits and personnel

Credits taken from the album's liner notes. ;Personnel *
Yuna Yuna may refer to: Geography *Yuna River, Dominican Republic *Yuna, Western Australia Music * ''Yuna'' (album), a 2012 album by Malaysian singer Yuna * ''Yuna'' (EP), a 2008 album by Malaysian acoustic singer Yuna People Japanese *Yuna Aoi, wr ...
- vocals *
Tyler, the Creator Tyler Gregory Okonma (born March 6, 1991), known professionally as Tyler, the Creator, is an American rapper and record producer. He is one of the founding members of the music collective Odd Future. Okonma self-released his debut mixtape ' ...
- vocals * G-Eazy - vocals *
Little Simz Simbiatu "Simbi" Abisola Abiola Ajikawo (born 23 February 1994), better known by her stage name Little Simz, is a British rapper, singer and actress. She rose to prominence with the independent release of her first three albums; ''A Curious Tale ...
- vocals *
Kyle Kyle or Kyles may refer to: Places Canada * Kyle, Saskatchewan, Canada Ireland * Kyle, County Laois * Kyle, County Wexford Scotland * Kyle, Ayrshire, area of Scotland which stretched across parts of modern-day East Ayrshire and South Ayrshir ...
- vocals *
Jay Park Jay Park (Korean name: Park Jae-beom (Hangul: 박재범; Hanja: 朴載範); born April 25, 1987) is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer and entrepreneur of based in South Korea. He is a member of the Seattle-based b ...
- vocals *
Miyavi , better known by his stage name Miyavi (雅, stylized as MIYAVI), 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, first as guitaris ...
- 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 kno ...
- 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 from Willingboro Township, New Jersey. He began producing music in 2008 and is known for his work with closely associated artists such as Ace Hoo ...
- 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