PETALING JAYA, May 18 — Malaysian songbird Yuna is set to spark Hari Raya joy in her fans via a livestream performance for U Mobile’s #GroovesWithU concert on May 30.

The Kedah-born singer-songwriter will be belting out songs off her 2019 album Rouge along with a few Malay covers, topping it all off with her 2012 hit Raya Oh Yeah to mark the festive occasion.

The performance is part of U Mobile’s #RayaWithU campaign which aims to spread the message of giving and positivity while helping local businesses and talents at the same time.

A portion of Yuna’s performance fees will be donated to food bank "The Lost Food Project "and humanitarian and medical crowdfunding platform Kitafund.

In an interview with Malay Mail, Yuna said she loved the idea of celebrating Hari Raya with her fans online while lending a helping hand to the less fortunate, especially at a time where everyone is getting to grips with the new normal under Covid-19.

"I’m always excited about celebrating Raya in Malaysia with my family and friends, but I never get to celebrate with my fans.

"I like that we're promoting positivity and focusing on making people happy during this period of uncertainty and giving back to people in need at the same time.

"It’s important to have some form of art flowing into everybody’s lives right now, I think. And music is definitely one of them,” she said.

Rather than being a simple distraction, Yuna says music has the power to inspire and motivate during turbulent times such as these. — Picture from Instagram/yuna

Yuna has been staying at home with her family in Malaysia since the movement control order (MCO) began on March 18 and she’s been using the time to reconnect with her loved ones and practice her guitar skills.

It’s been years since the Los Angeles-based musician got to spend Ramadan with her family and she’s been cherishing every moment, adding that she had missed spending the holy month in their company.

As musicians adapt to doing online concerts instead of live gigs, Yuna shared how she overcame some of the difficulties she faced with pulling off a one-woman show from home.

"It's definitely a challenge since I would have to do the livestream performance on my own and I am so used to having a band with me.

"But I guess to approach these shows, it has to be a simple set-up; an acoustic set-up of just me and the guitar or the keys, and my vocals would be the main focus of the show, which is great!

"And I trained myself to know a little bit about sound engineering and working on music software so yeah, I quite enjoy doing livestream shows.”

With physical concerts a no-go for the foreseeable future, Yuna said she’s keeping busy by working on new music and even dropped her latest single Stay Where You Are on May 15.

Catch her as she headlines U Mobile’s #GroovesWithU Raya Special, happening live on May 30, 8.30pm on YouTube.

The exciting lineup also includes local artistes Sona One, Pastel Lite, and Bil Musa.

Malaysians can also stand a chance to win mouthwatering prizes crafted by homegrown culinary talents by taking part in U Mobile’s #UnlimitedSalam Challenge.

 

The telco is inviting you to take a video of yourself doing the "salam” greeting and post it on your Instagram Story, with Yuna, rapper Airliftz, singer-songwriter Bil Musa, skateboarder Pa’din Musa, and more already on board with the challenge.

The 20 most creative entries will win two Tiffin Sharing Samplers or two pints of Inside Scoop ice cream each.

The #UnlimitedSalam challenge is part of U Mobile’s #RayaWithU campaign, which sees the telco partnering with local businesses and talents to support their creative endeavours while inspiring positivity and generosity in conjunction with Ramadan and Hari Raya.

For more information on U Mobile’s #RayaWithU campaign, check out their Instagram.