1996–1999: Career beginnings After graduating from
Mount Douglas Secondary School in 1996, she moved to
Toronto to live with her sister. There, she got a full-time job at an alarm company. She contributed vocals to their 1996 album,
Join the Ranks, on the track "Waitin' 4 the Streets". The following year, she formed Nelstar, a
trip hop duo with Newkirk. Ultimately, Furtado felt the trip hop style of the duo was "too segregated", and believed it did not represent her personality or allow her to showcase her vocal ability. Her performance attracted the attention of
The Philosopher Kings singer
Gerald Eaton, who then approached her to write with him. He and fellow Kings member
Brian West helped Furtado produce a demo. She left Toronto, but returned again to record more material with Eaton and West. The material recorded during these sessions was shopped to record companies by her attorney
Chris Taylor and led to her 1999 record deal with
DreamWorks Records, signed by A&R executive Beth Halper, partner of
Garbage drummer and record producer
Butch Vig. Furtado's first single, "
Party's Just Begun (Again)", was released that year on the
soundtrack album for
Brokedown Palace (1999).
2000–2005: Whoa, Nelly! and Folklore Furtado continued the collaboration with Eaton and West, who co-produced her debut album,
Whoa, Nelly!, which was released in October 2000. The album was an international success, supported by three international singles: "
I'm Like a Bird", "
Turn Off the Light", and "
...On the Radio (Remember the Days)". It received four Grammy nominations in 2002, and her debut single won for
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Furtado's work was also critically acclaimed for her innovative mixture of various genres and sounds.
Slant Magazine called the album "a delightful and refreshing antidote to the army of 'pop princesses' and rap-metal bands that had taken over popular music at the turn of the millennium". The sound of the album was strongly influenced by musicians who had traversed cultures and "the challenge of making heartfelt, emotional music that's upbeat and hopeful". According to ''Maclean's
magazine, Whoa, Nelly!'' had sold six million copies worldwide as of August 2006. Portions of the song "Scared of You" are in Portuguese, while "Onde Estás" is entirely in Portuguese, reflecting Furtado's Portuguese heritage. The same year, Furtado provided her vocals to the
Paul Oakenfold song "The Harder They Come" from the album
Bunkka. She also had a collaboration with Colombian artist
Juanes in the song "
Fotografía" (
Photograph), where she demonstrated her command of the Spanish language. Furtado was also featured in "Breath" from
Swollen Members'
Monsters in the Closet release; the video for "Breath", directed by
Spawn creator
Todd McFarlane, won the 2003 Western Canadian Music Awards Outstanding Video and MuchVIBE Best Rap Video. In 2002, Furtado was the recipient of an International Achievement Award at the
SOCAN Awards in Toronto for her song "I'm Like a Bird". Furtado's second album,
Folklore, was released in November 2003. One of the tracks on the album, "Childhood Dreams", was dedicated to her infant daughter. The album includes the single "
Força", the official anthem of the
UEFA Euro 2004. Furtado performed the song in
Lisbon in the
final of the tournament, in which
Portugal's national team played. The lead single released was "
Powerless (Say What You Want)" and the second single was the ballad "
Try". The album was not as successful as her debut, partly due to the album's less "poppy" sound, as well as underpromotion from her label DreamWorks Records. DreamWorks had just been sold to
Universal Music Group at the time of the album's release. In 2005, DreamWorks Records and many of its artists, including Furtado, were absorbed into
Geffen Records. "Powerless (Say What You Want)" was later remixed into a Spanish version called "Abre Tu Corazón", featuring Juanes, who had previously worked with Furtado on his track "Fotografía". The two collaborated again on "
Te Busqué" (
I Searched for You), a single from Furtado's 2006 album
Loose. In 2003, Furtado won an International Achievement Award at the SOCAN Awards in Toronto for her song "Turn Off the Light". In this album, primarily produced by
Timbaland, Furtado experiments with sounds from R&B, hip hop, and 1980s music. Furtado herself describes the album's sound as
punk-hop, described as "modern, poppy, spooky" and as having "a mysterious, after-midnight vibe... extremely visceral". with some citing the "revitalising" effect of Timbaland on Furtado's music, and others calling it "slick, smart and surprising".
Loose became the most successful album of Furtado's career to date, as it reached number one, not only in Canada and the United States, but also several countries worldwide. The album produced her first number-one hit in the United States, "
Promiscuous", as well as her first number-one hit in the United Kingdom, "
Maneater". The single "
Say It Right" eventually became Furtado's most successful song worldwide, due to its huge success in Europe and in the United States, where it became her second number-one hit. "
All Good Things (Come to an End)" became her most successful song in Europe, topping single charts in numerous countries there. On February 16, 2007, Furtado embarked on the "Get Loose Tour". She returned in March 2007 to her hometown of Victoria to perform a concert at the Save-On Foods Memorial Centre. In honour of her visit, local leaders officially proclaimed March 21, 2007, the first day of spring, as Nelly Furtado Day. After the tour, she released her first live DVD/CD named
Loose the Concert. On April 1, 2007, Furtado was a performer and host of the
2007 Juno Awards in
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She won all five awards for which she was nominated, including Album of the Year and Single of the Year. She also appeared on stage at the
Concert for Diana at
Wembley Stadium in London on July 1, 2007, where she performed "Say It Right", "Maneater", and "I'm Like a Bird". In 2007, Furtado and
Justin Timberlake were featured on Timbaland's single "
Give It to Me", which became her third number-one single in the U.S. and second in the UK. In late 2008, Furtado collaborated with
James Morrison on a song called "
Broken Strings" for his album
Songs for You, Truths for Me. The single was released on December 8 and peaked at No. 2 on the
UK Singles Chart in early January. In 2008, she sang with the Italian group
Zero Assoluto the ballad "
Win or Lose – Appena prima di partire", released in Italy, France and Germany and whose video was shot in Barcelona. Furtado made a guest appearance on the song "
Jump" by
Flo Rida from his album
R.O.O.T.S., and also made a guest appearance on
Divine Brown's
Love Chronicles, co-writing and singing on the background of the song "Sunglasses". Furtado married Cuban sound engineer Demacio "Demo" Castellón, with whom she had worked on the
Loose album, on July 19, 2008.
2009–2011: Mi Plan and The Best of Nelly Furtado in October 2009 Furtado's debut Spanish album,
Mi Plan was released with the first single, "
Manos Al Aire" ("Hands in the Air"). She had formed her own record label, Nelstar, in conjunction with Canadian independent label group Last Gang Labels. The first act signed to Nelstar is Fritz Helder & the Phantoms. "Manos al Aire" was released on the new label. The second, third and fourth singles were "
Más", "Mi Plan" and "
Bajo Otra Luz" respectively. Furtado won the
Latin Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Album for
Mi Plan. She is the first
Portuguese-Canadian to win a Latin Grammy award.
Lifestyle, her planned fourth English studio album, was not released during the summer of 2010 in favor a second leg of her Mi Plan Tour. To promote the tour in Brazil, on March 24, 2010, Furtado made a
"VIP Pocket Show" in reality show program
Big Brother Brasil 10 from
Rede Globo, the country's leading channel. Furtado participated in the live DVD recording of the Brazilian singer
Ivete Sangalo in
Madison Square Garden on September 4, 2010. Furtado released
Mi Plan Remixes featuring 12 tracks of remixed hits from
Mi Plan. This album included the Original
Spanglish Version of "Fuerte", her final release from
Mi Plan. Furtado made a guest appearance on Canadian singer
k-os's new album
Yes!, collaborating alongside Saukrates on the song "I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman", released in early July 2009. Nelly Furtado also made a guest appearance on
Tiësto's single "
Who Wants to Be Alone" on his new album
Kaleidoscope. Furtado sang in a duet with
Bryan Adams at the
opening ceremonies of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. The song was called "Bang the Drum" released on EMI album
Sounds Of Vancouver 2010 (a commemorative album). Furtado was featured in a new song by
N.E.R.D called "
Hot-n-Fun". She also participated in the
Young Artists for Haiti song, in which many Canadian artists came together and sang
K'naan's song "
Wavin' Flag" to raise money for the victims of the Haiti earthquake. Furtado was honoured with a star on
Canada's Walk of Fame in October 2010. Furtado released her first greatest hits album titled
The Best of Nelly Furtado on November 16, 2010. Three new songs were included on the greatest hits album, including "Night Is Young", "Girlfriend in the City", and the
Lester Mendez produced track, left over from the
Loose sessions, "Stars". The album's first single, "Night Is Young", was released on October 12, 2010. Furtado had previously sung two of the new songs: "Girlfriend in the City" and "
Night Is Young" at her concert in Warsaw, Poland. Furtado was featured on one of the Game's
The R.E.D. Album tracks, titled "Mamma Knows" (produced by The Neptunes). For the Canadian film
The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom, Furtado lent her vocals for the
Dolly Parton gospel cover "
The Seeker" featured during the credits of the film.
2012–2013: The Spirit Indestructible in Malta, June 2012|253x253px Furtado collaborated with recording artist
Alex Cuba and K'naan again. The duet with K'naan, "
Is Anybody Out There", was released as the first single from his
extended play More Beautiful than Silence. The song topped the charts in New Zealand and was successful in European territories as well as her native Canada. It also charted on the
Billboard Hot 100.
The Spirit Indestructible was released in September 2012. Furtado previously proclaimed that the album was most like her 2000 debut
Whoa, Nelly!, but containing elements from
urban,
alternative, and
reggae. The album's influences include
Janelle Monáe,
The xx, and
Florence + the Machine. The album had input from producers such as
The Neptunes,
Tiësto,
Timbaland,
Rick Nowels,
Ryan Tedder, and
Rodney Jerkins. The first single from
The Spirit Indestructible, "
Big Hoops (Bigger the Better)", was released digitally on April 17, 2012 and was sent to North American radio stations on May 1, 2012. The song was commercially successful in the United Kingdom, Belgium and the Netherlands, but underperformed in other territories. The second single and
title track performed well in Germany and Slovakia and charted in Japan, peaking at number 79 on the Hot 100. Other singles, "
Parking Lot" and "
Waiting for the Night", charted in Canada and several European territories. Furtado continued to collaborate with hip-hop producer
Salaam Remi, who previously worked on the 2010 single "
Night Is Young", on "The Edge". The lyrics for the Salaam Remi produced track are reported to be influenced by the
Tiger Woods cheating scandal, in which was originally referred to as "
Elin's Song". Furtado promoted the album on her
The Spirit Indestructible Tour.
2014–2019: Independence and The Ride In February 2015, Furtado co-headlined Switzerlands
Art on Ice tour with
Tom Odell. In 2016, Furtado appeared in a minor supporting role in the romantic comedy film
A Date with Miss Fortune. On February 14, 2016, Furtado performed the
Canadian national anthem at the
2016 NBA All-Star Game, which was held in
Toronto. This was the second time Furtado performed at the NBA All-Star Game, having performed "O Canada" at the
2004 NBA All-Star Game. That same month, she began teasing new music via social media, suggesting that the album would have a connection to
Dallas,
Texas, where much of the album was recorded. In 2016, Furtado collaborated with
Dev Hynes on the track "Hadron Collider". The track appears on Hynes' album
Freetown Sound. In July 2016, Furtado released "Behind Your Back" exclusively on
Spotify, describing the song as an "appetizer" for her next album. Following the release, in an interview with CBC Player, Furtado stated that her album was finished and she had recorded 16 songs with
John Congleton. On September 8, 2016, Furtado confirmed the title of the upcoming album,
The Ride, which was released in March 2017. During the interview she also confirmed a new track off the album titled "Islands of Me", which was released on streaming services on September 10, 2016. The album's first released song "Pipe Dreams" was released to
SoundCloud on November 8, 2016, with the release accompanied by a short teaser video of the album on
YouTube. The cover song "Sticks & Stones" from her album was re-made by Metro with newly recorded vocals by Furtado in May 2018. It later reached number one on the
Billboard Dance Club Songs chart. The official remixes include
StoneBridge, Bimbo Jones,
Manuel Riva &
Cristian Poow.
2020–present: Anniversary reissues, 7 and performing retirement on December 31, 2022|244x244px In October 2020, Furtado celebrated the 20th anniversary of her debut studio album,
Whoa, Nelly! by releasing an expanded edition of 22 tracks to digital and streaming platforms. In May 2021, Furtado collaborated with German duo Quarterhead on a remix of her song "
All Good Things (Come to an End)". In June 2021, Furtado celebrated the 15th anniversary of her third studio album
Loose by releasing an expanded edition of 32 tracks to digital and streaming platforms. In July 2022, after a five-year performing hiatus, Furtado joined
Drake on stage for the latter's October World Weekend concert in
Toronto, where they performed "Promiscuous" and "I'm Like a Bird". She confirmed new music in May 2023 in an interview on
Fault Magazine: "I have so much music. I've recorded a hundred songs in the last 18 months, and I'm so excited to bring people new music." She also confirmed she recorded some collaborations with artists such as Canadian singer-songwriter
Charlotte Day Wilson, Colombian band
Bomba Estéreo, On December 31, 2022, five years after her last concert in
Baloise Session in
Basel,
Switzerland, Furtado performed live at the
Beyond The Valley Festival in
Australia. Furtado continued performing live in 2023. While performing at
Machaca Fest in
Monterrey,
Nuevo León,
Mexico she performed a verse from a new song titled "Corazón". Furtado collaborated with Australian DJ and producer
Dom Dolla on the song "
Eat Your Man", that was released on June 2, 2023, her first single release after five years. On September 1, 2023, she released a new collaboration with
Timbaland and
Justin Timberlake titled "
Keep Going Up", sixteen years after their previous release of "
Give It to Me". In August 2023, Furtado reunited with
Juanes to record "
Gala y Dalí", 22 years after their first recording together, "Fotografía", and 18 years after their last release together, "
Te Busqué". The song was released on March 28, 2024, on streaming and digital download platforms. In March 2024, in an interview on
Euphoria Magazine, Furtado revealed that her seventh album was forthcoming. On May 22, 2024, Furtado released the single, "Love Bites", featuring Swedish singer
Tove Lo and British DJ
SG Lewis. On July 12, 2024, Furtado released "Corazón" as a single, more than a year after singing it for the first time in Monterrey, Mexico. The song features Colombian band
Bomba Estéreo. In summer 2024, she appeared at numerous music festivals, including
Mighty Hoopla and
Isle of MTV. Furtado's seventh studio album,
7, was released on September 20, 2024. On Christmas Day 2024, 25 December, Furtado released a remixed version of "Showstopper" as the album's next single; this version featured British rapper
AJ Tracey. On May 30, 2025, Furtado collaborated with
Don Diablo on the single "Doing Nothin'", which interpolates sections of her 2012 single "Parking Lot". During August 2025, she embarked on a festival tour in Europe and United Kingdom. In October 2025, Furtado announced on her social media her retirement from live performances "for the foreseeable future" to pursue other creative and personal endeavors. == Other ventures ==