Quotes from Yuna

Once in a while, I write in Malay and work on something fun that's more for the local Malaysian market, and when that happens, it's always something really special; it speaks volumes that I'm doing it for my fans who have been there for me since day one.

I'm based here in L.A., but I think in the future I might consider settling down in Malaysia when I start a family.

I try to look at people like Adele and Norah Jones, who are very successful but don't have to deal with scandals.

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.

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 think I draw my inspiration from a lot of conversations that I had with people or my friends and combine them together with my own personal experience.

One of the reasons I picked up the guitar is because I saw a video of Feist performing in Paris.

'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.

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'.

It is better to die in hope than live in despair.

I like that I don't have to conform to the normal women-in-music-selling-sex-appeal thing.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Appreciate your heart; really know how to take care of your heart.

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.

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.

For 'Chapters', I decided to let go of my insecurities, found myself some talented R&B producers, and worked with them.

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.

Religion is a huge part of me; I'm a practicing Muslim. I'm pretty much open about it if people were to answer questions. At the end of the day, I'm just a normal girl. I have my own beliefs just like everyone else. I have a strong belief in something, but I also love music.

I always put on M.A.C. Prep and Primer before anything.

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.

I learned to practice smiling when I'm feeling sad, you know?