The Spirit Indestructible

The Spirit Indestructible marked Furtado's first English language studio album since Loose (2006). She began to work in 2009, just after the release of her Spanish album Mi Plan. Furtado worked with a variety of producers. She collaborated with a variety of producers, beginning with Salaam Remi, who had also produced tracks for Mi Plan. She described his sound as "classic", "authentic" and "super soulful". She also traveled to Jamaica to work on reggae-influenced material with Di Genius, producing the track "Don't Leave Me," which she described as a "real moment on the album." By 2011, she collaborated with Darkchild, who produced the bulk of the album; Furtado spoke on working with him saying, "I feel like a child in a playground, uninhibited and happy". The first track they worked on was "Spirit Indestructible", which she called an "ode to the spirit which resides in all of us and triumphs over anything". During her trip to Kenya for Free the Children, she met The Kenyan Boys Choir with whom she worked on a track called "Thoughts" produced by herself and The Demolition Crew. It was also remixed by Tiësto and added to the deluxe edition of the album. Furtado described it as the "perfect laidback track" and shows the "mellow side" of the DJ. By February 2012, via a TSI webisode, she worked with Bob Rock and Fraser T Smith. From that session, "Believers (Arab Spring)" and "End of the World" made the final cut. She recorded around forty tracks for this album, and twenty two made the final cut. Other songs considered for inclusion on the album but did not make the final cut are "Alone", "Lose", "The Edge" and "Mystery"—which she performed at a festival. Talking about the recording sessions, she stated, "It's overall quite a simple, at times juvenile album that was very liberating to create and gave me immense joy." ==Concept and influences==

Following the introduction, she said that nostalgia is a major theme of the album and it revisits her past in a "fresh and colorful way". Also, she included that she wrote the songs in "intense personal growth" and they have "incredible meaning" to her. The first single, "Big Hoops (Bigger the Better)", is about finding strength and confidence in the size of her earrings. then about the album artwork "It's light in color so that it's black-sharpie-ready for when I sign CDs for the beautiful fans." The whole album is described as "raw and honest" and a "friendly punch in the face." The influences for the album range from Janelle Monáe, The xx, to Florence and the Machine. ==Promotion==

Singles The lead single from The Spirit Indestructible, "Big Hoops (Bigger the Better)", was released digitally on April 17, 2012. It was officially sent to US radio on May 1, 2012. It was released in Germany on May 18, 2012, and in the United Kingdom on June 3, 2012. The single was intended to be a club single but was still released to all formats as the lead single. The second European single from the album is the title track, "Spirit Indestructible". The official music video for "Spirit Indestructible" was released on July 18, 2012. The single was made available for purchase at several international iTunes stores on July 31, 2012, and subsequently in the United States on August 14, 2012. It was released in Germany on August 3, 2012. "Parking Lot", the second North American single was sent to radio on September 17, with the official music video coming out that day too. "Waiting for the Night" is the third European single, and was released as a digital download in Germany on December 14, 2012. The tour began on January 8, 2013, and concluded on March 15, 2013, comprising 25 shows in total: 15 in Canada and 10 in Central Europe. It faced challenges with low ticket sales, resulting in several cancellations and the relocation of some shows to smaller venues. To compensate for the cancelled dates, additional performances were scheduled in Burlington and Belleville. Canadian singer-songwriter Dylan Murray, signed to Furtado's label Nelstar Records, served as the tour's opening act and also joined Furtado for a live duets. Leading up to the tour, local media and radio stations organized ticket contests, including Ocean 98.5 in Victoria, the Huffington Post Canada across Canadian dates, and Mississauga News for the Toronto show. ==Critical reception==

The Spirit Indestructible received generally mixed to average reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 57, based on 9 reviews. Similarly critical, Rolling Stone reviewer Jody Rosen wrote that Furtado "tries awfully hard to be Rihanna – when she's not trying to be M.I.A. or Madonna," criticizing what he perceived as a lack of artistic identity. He argued that while producer Rodney Jerkins "keeps the beats tight and hooks polished," the album suffers from a "flaming identity crisis," calling it "cringe listening." Metro concluded that The Spirit Indestructible "tries to pick up where 2006 hit Loose left off, but it lacks the blows to match her former success." ==Commercial performance==

The Spirit Indestructible failed to replicate the success of her previous English-language album, Loose, due to poor promotion and minimal chart impact of the album's singles. In the United States, The Spirit Indestructible debuted at number 79, selling almost 6,000 copies in its first week, which represents a considerable drop from her previous album, Loose, which debuted at number one with 219,000 copies. In her native Canada, the album debuted at number 18 selling 2,700 copies in its first week. Furtado did not feel bad about the underwhelming performance in North America, stating that "I've had kind of everything happen to me commercially and at different levels. I've had different scenes and I've dabbled in a lot of markets so I see the music world as very global and I'm always looking for new avenues and opportunities, so one chart or anything doesn't necessarily [mean anything.]" Internationally, The Spirit Indestructible struggled to make an impact. In Europe, the album's initial reception was mild. It became Furtado's first studio album to miss the UK top 40, entering the UK Albums Chart at number 46 on sales of 2,637 copies. The Spirit Indestructible also missed the top 40 in the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain, and charted outside the top 30 in Italy and Poland. The album was a success in Germany and Switzerland, debuting within the top five in both countries; as well as becoming a top 10 album in Austria and Czech Republic. In Asia, the album charted in the top 40 of the international South Korean album charts. == Track listing ==

• Jerkins • Furtado }} • Furtado • Jerkins }} • Furtado • Jerkins • Niko Khale Warren }} • Furtado • Jerkins }} • Furtado • Salaam Remi • Nasir Jones }} • Furtado • Jerkins }} • Furtado • Remi • Hernst Bellevue }} • Furtado • Jerkins }} • Jerkins • Furtado }} • Furtado • Jerkins • Andre Lindal }} • Jerkins • Lindal }} • Furtado • Michael Angelakos • Chris Zane }} • Zane • Angelakos • Demacio "Demo" Castellon }} • Furtado • Remi }} • Furtado • Rick Nowels }} • Bob Rock • Nowels • Furtado }} }} • Devrim "DK" Karaoglu • Nowels • Furtado }} }} • DK • Nowels }} }} }} }} • Furtado • Nowels }} • Fraser T Smith • Nowels }} • Furtado • Stephen McGregor }} • Di Genius • Castellon }} • Furtado • The Demolition Crew }} • Furtado • The Demolition Crew • Tiësto }} }} }} • DK • Nowels • Furtado }} }} • Furtado • Karaoglu • Nowels }} • DK • Nowels }} }} }} • DK • Nowels }} • Furtado • Jerkins }} }} }} ;Notes • signifies a vocal producer ==Personnel==

Credits for the digital deluxe edition of The Spirit Indestructible. • Nelly Furtado – vocals, backing vocals, songwriter, backing vocal producer, mixing, producer, vocal producer • Brian Allison – bass • Rusty Anderson – electric guitar • Michael Angelakos – backing vocals, producer • Keith Armstrong – assistant engineer • Beatriz Artola – additional vocal engineer, engineer • Hernst Bellevue – additional keyboards • Roy Bittan – accordion • Paul Bushnell – bass • Brandon N. Caddell – assistant engineer • Karl Campbell – additional clapping • Demacio "Demo" Castellon – drums, engineer, keyboards, mixing, vocal engineer, vocal producer • Matt Champlin – engineer, mixing • Alan Chang – keyboards, synth strings • Dan Chase – additional engineer, programming • Chris Smith Management – management • LaShawn Daniels – additional backing vocals • The Demolition Crew – additional drum programming, additional programming, producer, remix • Di Genius – engineer, instruments, producer • Gleyder "Gee" Disla – engineer, mixing • Jason "Metal" Donkersgoed – assistant engineer • Jamie Edwards – electric guitar, keyboards • Lars Fox – Pro Tools editing • Lazonate Franklin – additional backing vocals • Josh Freese – drums, programming • António José Furtado – voice • Chris Gehringer – mastering • Brad Haehnel – mixing • Eric Helmkamp – engineer • Vincent Henry – guitar, saxophone • Rodney Jerkins – mixing, producer, vocal producer • Charles Judge – keyboards, synth strings • Solomon Kabiru – Kenyan Boys Choir soloist • Devrim Karaoĝlu – drums, keyboards, mixing, producer, programming, strings • Nik Karpen – assistant engineer • Sean Kelly – guitar • Kenyan Boys Choir – vocals • Andre Lindal – producer • Chris Lord-Alge – mixing • Kim Lumpkin – production coordinator • Thomas Lumpkins – additional backing vocals • Manny Marroquin – mixing • Kieron Menzies – engineer, mixing • Alex Moore – additional backing vocals • Mogollon – art direction • Greg Morgan – additional drum programming, sound designer • Dylan Murray – vocals • Nas – rap • Peter Ndung'u – hand drums • Nevis – artwork additional • Cliff Njora – nyatiti • Rick Nowels – acoustic guitar, keyboards, producer, vocal engineer, vocal producer • Jeanette Olsson – backing vocals • Thom Panunzio – A&R, vocals • Brent Paschke – guitar • Erich Preston – engineer • Niko Khale Warren a.k.a. Ace Primo – backing vocals, rap • Andrés Recio – Lisbon production coordinator • Dean Reid – drums, engineer, programming • Salaam Remi – arrangement, bass, drums, guitar, keyboards, producer • Bob Rock – producer • Jeff Rothschild – additional drums, engineer, programming • Mary Rozzi – photography • Irene Salazar – additional backing vocals • Jeianna Salazar – additional backing vocals • Judah Salazar – additional backing vocals • Sariah Salazar – additional backing vocals • Andrew Schubert – additional mix engineer • Keith Scott – guitar • John Shanks – bass, guitar, keyboards, producer • Joel Shearer – guitar • Marco Sipriano – engineer • Chris "Governor" Smith – vocals • Fraser T Smith – bass, engineer, guitar, keyboards, mixing, producer • Ash Soan – drums, percussion • Franklin Socorro – engineer • Jordan Stillwell – engineer • Shari Sutcliffe – musician contracting • Sara Tavares – backing vocals • Tiësto – additional producer, remix • Brad Townsend – additional mix engineer • Michael Turco – drums, engineer, keyboards • Jeanne Venton – A&R administration • Orlando Vitto – engineer • Henry Wanjala – Kenyan Boys Choir vocal arrangement, shaker, Swahili translation • Tony-Kaya Whitney – voice • Chris Zane – producer • Ianthe Zevos – creative director ==Charts==