Published: Monday - February 19, 2007
Words by Jay Casteel
Kaila Yu (Photo: Chris Carlo)
Sexy MySpace vixen, Kaila Yu, has more going for her than a pretty face and long list of magazine spreads. She's multi-talented -- music being her passion. Like her trim physique, she's ready to flaunt her vocal talents.
She's already as famous as they get within the import car scene as a sought after model, but this 22-year-old Taiwanese-American has bigger plans for her future and it doesn't include future modeling endeavors. No, Kaila Yu (also known as one of the top personalities on MySpace) has a musical itch that is dying to be scratched.
Growing up as a kid in Upland, California (a middle-classed community outside of Los Angeles), Kaila Yu wasn't the sexed-up import car scene bombshell she is today. She was the "goodie goodie nerdie type" as she puts it, due to the fact her household included strict traditional parents. But like most kids who are under a microscope by their parents at a young age, she rebelled, getting a little wild before leaving to go to college, which is where her career began to blossom.
She saw the import scene beginning to blow up, but because she didn't exactly know how to break into the music and acting side of the business, she dove head first into modeling. After people in the industry began inquiring her after she launched a website, KailaPop.com, she began touring car shows. She did this for nearly four years before directing her focus back into music. It obviously helped her launch her career, but there's always good and bad to everything.
"It's a double-edged sword," says Kaila. "It gives you a platform, but it's also like, 'Oh she's a model trying to sing. Not another one of those.' You have that to overcome, but you have the audience. You have the best of both worlds. At the end, if you come out with good product, then you could shut up."
Although the model-turned-singer admits there are several models that have backed up that stereo-type, she's ready to break the mold. She plans to do it through making quality music and the internet. "I think the internet is integral to everything I do. Without the internet, I probably wouldn't know what to do," she explains. "Everything I've done from day one, has been promoting through the internet."
So far, the net has worked to her advantage. Via Myspace, Kaila has garnered an impressive following of 401,500 "friends" (as of February 19) and her latest single "Move" has been streamed over 2.5 million times, both of which have contributed to her receiving press in magazine's such as Rolling Stone in a Girls Of MySpace piece, as well as Stuff Magazine who ranked her #15 in their 100 Sexiest Women Online! list over the likes of Lindsay Lohan, Charlize Theron and Denise Richards, among others.
Following up on her rising popular, Kaila is planning to shatter the poppy sound she unleashed on her self-titled debut Kaila in 2004, which she calls "a learning experience" because it wasn't her best material. On her sophomore album, Candy Coated Sugar Sex, she says she's stepped her game up and is a lot more focused than the first time around.
Kaila -- whose musical influences include rock bands like Gun 'N Roses and Skid Row all the way up to Madonna and Michael Jackson -- says her sophomore release will be a more dark rock-influenced effort rather than poppy her debut. By the sound of her singles, "Move" and the album's title track, there's still party and club tracks, just slightly darker than the previous music fans heard.
Trying to break into an industry not frequented by Asians, Kaila is up for the challenge. Knowing a tough road is ahead of her, putting her all into what she's doing is her secret to success. "I'm completely focused on my music right now, and I know it's going to be tougher than how I broke into modeling," she explains. "It's something I'm confident I can make it in."
"People always say it's hard for Asians to make it in music, but I also think it's a numbers game," Kaila continues. "If you compare how many white, Latino, or black people doing music, it's a bigger proportion than Asians trying. There's fewer Asians, but if we continue to try and give our all, someone will break through the barrier."
In addition to music, Kaila is also passionate about acting. Her work includes roles in Dark Blue and her latest, "Fast & The Furious: Tokoyo Drift." She also has an online reality show she's developing. Whether she can make it as a singer or not, Kaila Yu seems to have a bright future in various facets of entertainment. Only time will tell if music is her true calling.
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