The album took two years to complete. According to Yuna in an exclusive interview with the Malaysian tabloid newspaper, Kosmo!: "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.
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, 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 was released on June 30, with futuristic-themed music video directed by Esteban Valdez, while its story and concept by Yuna and Sinclair. " 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 was released on October 16.
Critical reception
Rouge received mixed reviews from critics. Chris Malone from Forbes 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 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 describe the album as "unsurprisingly, it’s full of energy, war, strength, determination, passion, and basically every other characteristic tied to the connotations,". Symphreona Clark from YR describes the album "combines pop with a modern-day take on disco, creating a luminescent piece that is both coherent and fun".
Track listing
Credits and personnel
Credits taken from the album's liner notes. ;Personnel
