Do yourself a favor and go see Yuna live.
Yuna is just one of those artists who sounds better live than recorded. Don’t misunderstand me, her pre-recorded songs are amazing, but her stunning live performance grabs onto the soul of each individual song. She stole the hearts of all in attendance at The Masquerade this past Friday night.
The Masquerade’s Hell was sold out on Friday, Oct. 7, for good reason–Yuna’s Chapters Tour was in Atlanta.
Opening the show was Chicago native Ń ÿ ł ø, who kicked off her set with a slow track, releasing positive mellow vibes throughout the venue. She performed tracks from her 2013 EP, Memories Speak, and single tracks “Take It Back” and “Fool Me Once.” Ń ÿ ł ø set the mood with a sound like the careening production of The Weeknd and echoed the smooth pop vocal confidence of Keri Hilson or Ciara. Ń ÿ ł ø played and sung all the right notes that made the crowd listen with attentive ears. Her set was fantastic and left the crowd wanting more the minute she exited the stage.
After Ń ÿ ł ø’s set, the wait wasn’t long before the Malaysian singer-songwriter appeared in front of the Atlanta crowd. Smiles, cheers and shouts of “I love you” were directed towards Yuna, and Yuna did the same. Yuna kicked things off with a track from her most recent album Chapters, “Places to Go,” followed by “Best Love.” After each song, Yuna would talk and joke with the audience, sometimes teasing with “This will be my last song of the evening… Just kidding.”
The atmosphere was very peaceful and laid back. Yuna has this organic serene aura that takes over the whole audience. Throughout the night, Yuna performed songs from her first two albums and new material from her recent third album.
One of the most special moments from the whole show was when she told us all to settle down, and the serenaded us with “All I Do,” a song about that moment after a breakup, with only a soft guitar accompaniment. The entire venue stood in awe and silence.
“This will be the last song of the night… or is it?” said Yuna jokingly to the Atlanta crowd. Yuna closed her set with a powerful performance of “Crush.” The crowd sang at the top of their lungs, and featured artist Usher came onstage and surprised Yuna and the audience. The crowd went wild as Yuna and Usher sang the duet, and the crowd backed them up by singing every harmony and ad-lib in the song.
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After the song, she thanked everyone and exited the stage. Not long after, the crowd began chanting “Yuna! Yuna!” and she and her band reappeared on the stage for an encore, officially ending the night with a lively performance of “Live Your Life,” an empowering and selfless tune. She took a bow and thanked Atlanta for a wonderful night.
Yuna is truly an incredible artist who enjoys sharing her music with everyone, and that was defiantly proven with this show. She’s an artist who can bring all cultures together in one room to enjoy live music. I look forward to seeing her again. As for the Masquerade, farewell, and I hope to enjoy shows at your new location in Underground Atlanta.
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