No stranger to the music industry, Yuna began his career in his teens as one of the vocalists of the two-member boyband known as Lazy Knack, who was distributed by BMG. The pop act boasts a total of 18 releases and 10 DVDs throughout the duration of their project, which ended in the late 90's -- approximately 2 and a half years after it first began.

An avid fan of Luna Sea and a fleding guitarist, through a mutual friend -- a stylist -- Yuna somehow managed to meet Sugizo in the autumn of 1997 -- and from the first moment the two met, a spark struck between them, igniting a close friendship that had cultivated itself over the years.

With Sugizo as his mentor, Yuna broke away from the mold that pop music had carved him into with the formation of R.E.D. (Real Extreme Drive) where he was the main composer, vocalist, and guitarist.

A distinctly different project than the overproduced Lazy Knack, which primarily released pop music, R.E.D. shed a light on Yuna's songwriting abilities and a far deeper side of the musician that no one had ever seen before in the past.

In 2001, Sugizo produced R.E.D.'s single, Saga, and even lent his incredible guitar skills to a few of the tracks.

Yuna's strong -- yet sweet vocals attracted Sugizo's attention at the end of the guitarist's Spank Your Juice project, inspiring him to create a new project that featured the vocalist, catapaulting him into the media spotlight once again.

“At that age, it’s hard to find somebody like him who is so pure and has such a good personality [...] Yuna is not perfect yet [as a vocalist], but I feel there is unforeseen potential in him. By touching his pureness and igniting a catalyst, it may bring something out inside me. I feel that Yuna has that sort of ability to bring out the hidden possibility in people.” -- Sugizo