Nelly Furtado has sold over 45 million albums since her 2000 debut, Whoa, Nelly!. She’s broken records, won a Grammy, a Latin Grammy, and a BRIT Award, topped charts, and brought rising stars into the spotlight through her collaborations. She’s defied genres and defined the sound of a generation. And now, she’s officially back. Though it feels like she never really left.

After a seven-year hiatus, Nelly is gearing up for the release of her highly anticipated seventh album, aptly titled 7, on September 20th. The excitement is building with her latest single, “Corazón,” an electric collaboration with Colombian band Bomba Estéreo, following May’s irresistible “Love Bites,” featuring Tove Lo and SG Lewis. And boy, we’re ready for what’s coming our way.

Just a week before our chat, I flew from London to Dublin to catch her (quite literally) set a crowd of 10,000 people at Forbidden Fruit festival on fire. “Why? You could have gone to Mighty Hoopla!” she teases with a laugh. Truth be told, she’s absolutely right. The list of opportunities to catch her dynamic stage performance this summer has been extensive — from Coachella to Gröna Lund Festival, Switzerland to Vegas, and Australia to Lithuania, she’s been everywhere,

“So much has happened in the last 18 months. It’s insane,” she agrees. “We’ve just been touring and connecting with fans again, and also meeting brand new fans that are just discovering my music. It’s mind blowing. I can’t believe it.” Well, we certainly can. As one of the most iconic artists from the early 2000s, the Toronto-born dance-music trailblazer managed to achieve a level of connection with her audience that any pop star would envy: she’s an artist who needs no introduction.

Whether in a sticky-floored backroom of a karaoke bar in São Paulo or in front of thousands of festival-goers across Europe and beyond this summer, just one note of “I’m Like A Bird,” “Promiscuous,” or “Maneater” is enough to electrify the crowd, sending hands and voices skyward in a unified, euphoric sing-along. And that’s because Nelly’s music is nostalgia-inducing, a gateway to happy and joyful moments, and a form of escapism for a hyper-aware generation. But what’s most impressive is her ability to transform these qualities into an evergreen sonic signature, now reaching new ears and connecting with younger generations who, as she notes, were born after some of her biggest hits were released.

As we sit down on a sunny morning in Central London to chat, high up in the Universal Music building, I’m eager to ask her how it all feels. Being back, after a seven year hiatus from making music, does she still connect with the craft the same way as she used to back in the day? “I’ve recently rediscovered and reconnected with the reasons behind what I do over the last three years,” she says. “While making the new album, I remembered so clearly what it’s all about, which is simply the process of making it. It’s really that simple. Hanging out with DJs reminded me that it’s just about creating something pure and letting listeners enjoy and vibe to it. I feel like I’m 19 again, stomping around Toronto in my raver pants, putting up posters. Do you know what I mean? It’s about having fun musically, and I’m in that same place again.”

And so are we. Buckle up — we’re jumping on the Nelly Furtado bandwagon. Keep scrolling to read the full interview, where she talks new album, finding her sound as a genre-chameleon, the power of collaboration, and the influence of her Portuguese roots on her stylistic choices. You’re in for a treat.

Nelly! How are you? How’s London treating you?

Nelly Furtado: I’m so good, thank you. I got here last night. We’re just here for Mighty Hoopla, which was fantastic. And then we were in Dublin as well.

I got to see you in Dublin! It was so much fun.

NF: The crowd was incredible. The crowd had such a high vibration, it was crazy. And I was out in Dublin; I got out, went out for lunch, walked around, because it was like the city was calling me. I love it in Ireland; it was so much fun.

It was my first time watching you perform live, and I was so touched by the crowd and to see how people know every single one of your songs from the first note. How is it for you, having such a strong connection with your fans?

NF: It’s fantastic. I’ve been performing a lot over the last year. My first performance was a year and a half ago, actually, at Beyond the Valley, and that was my first performance in literally five, six years. Before that, my last show was when I was about six months pregnant in Switzerland with my daughter, who’s now six. So you can see a lot of life happened in between that and then showing up on stage again. First with Drake — he brought me out at OVO Fest in Toronto. I was so nervous for that because I hadn’t set foot on a stage in like five years. It was like real cold turkey vibes, like, ‘Oh my God, I’m so rusty. What am I going to wear? What am I going to do on stage?’ But then I got out there and realised how much I had changed as a person. I had done so much work on my inner world that I was ready to share with the outer world again. I was ready to do my thing and bring so much more to the table as a fully grown ass woman, you know?

So, it’s been nice to feel this way when I’m seeing brand new fans from younger generations because I feel really confident in myself and I know who I am. Twenty years ago, I knew who I was as an individual, but now I have so much more life experience to give me that extra confidence and self-assuredness. I also have a stronger understanding of self, really. And self-love, which I think is so important because to enjoy this job, you have to have a lot of self-love. You can’t be self-critical, right? I’ve worked a lot on that inner voice, on not being critical of myself in many situations — just being able to detach, to let go, and also to be humble and grateful because it’s really not that complicated, my job. I’ve been doing this since I was three. Just open my mouth, come up with some lyrics, some melodies, sing them. Not much has changed.

Do you think that connection changed in any way since your last tour? Would you say you understand your crowd better now and the reasons why people feel so attached to your songs?

NF: I think I’m more open to it now. I’m more like, ‘Wow, that’s so special.’ I really have a lot of love and respect for my fans, especially the die-hard ones, because my music isn’t an easy arc to follow. You have to be quite open-minded to follow my career path. I mean, I’ve collaborated with everyone from N.E.R.D to Andrea Bocelli. It’s like, ‘Okay, what’s the thread?’ I’m not sure, but I just don’t really see music in terms of genre. I just don’t. I just speak music. It’s my language. Genre to me doesn’t really mean anything because I feel like they’re just notes. You know what I mean? I played every instrument growing up.

So, I don’t know, I just find genre kind of irrelevant. If you like my music, you probably just like the energy behind it, the intention. I feel like pop music is just like a shameless vocal coming through the speaker—unapologetic and straight to the heart. I think that’s why people like pop music.

And do you think you still make music for the same reasons that you started? Or do you think that’s changed?

NF: I just rediscovered and reconnected with the reasons again in the last three years. So, making the new album, I remembered so clearly what it’s all about, which is literally just the making of it. It’s so simple. Hanging out with DJs really helped me remember that it’s really just about the listeners vibing out to this pure thing you made. And I do feel like I’m 19 again, in my raver pants, stomping around Toronto, putting up posters. Do you know what I mean? Just having fun musically and just being in that same place. Music is my escape and my hobby—it’s literally my hobby. I’m constantly making playlists and getting new remixes from DJs.

Actually, a Brazilian DJ remixed “Corazón.” DJ Arana reached out to me — he’s so talented. I sent him “Corazón,” and he remixed it. It’s kind of like a Brazilian funk version. But I asked him if I should resend the lyrics in Portuguese, and he was like, ‘No, I think the whole point is bringing Brazilian funk with an international sound,’ right? Because there’s more Spanish and English in “Corazón,” no Portuguese. And literally, I sent it to him in the morning, and he finished it that night. He played it in a club the next day. That’s what I love about the music business now.

Next day it’s all over TikTok, and people are obsessing over it, right?

NF: Yeah, I just think it’s so fun. It’s really fun.

I love that. And speaking of “Corazón,” I know that it’s a song you’ve been working on for quite some time now. Tell me a bit about it.

NF: Well, you know, I worked a lot with this producer named T-Minus on this album. He’s Canadian, and he’s done a lot of work with J. Cole, Drake, Nicki Minaj — he’s really talented. What I like about him is that before I really honed in on what I was making with this album, he believed in me. He wanted to bring out the best in me. He was never quite satisfied with the stuff we were doing, and then he’s like, ‘I worked on something special for you.’ He’s really like a chef, working on his most special dish. He’ll spend weeks on it and then say, ‘Wait, no, it’s not ready.’ Then, finally, I came up with a chorus for “Corazón,” and it became “Corazón.”

I brought my friends and family to the studio, and we made a party out of it. Because I was living a very different life before I came back to the studio, once I got there, it became my social life. It became my Friday and Saturday nights. I was always thinking, ‘When is the engineer going to notice that I’m here every weekend and have no life outside the studio?’. I would literally make it all about that. Because it’s all I wanted to do. To me, that was my party, right? Because it’s like something you’ve been away from for so long. It’s like you just want to be around it and that’s your joy. So I just wanted to be around the music when I could.

“Corazón” started with T-Minus, and it had this great kind of hip-hop beat and the elements were there, the swagger was there. But I had just come back from Colombia, where I met some amazing people, and stayed at a friend’s family home near Santa Marta, in the jungle by the beach. And it was a really important sisterhood trip, you know? ‘Cause my friend’s are moms, and I am a mom. So this idea of balance, nurturing your art and being a mom. I found strength in that because I’d be coming home from the studio at 6 a.m., and I’d think, ‘Okay, this job is strange, but I’m not the only one doing this.’ I think it’s all anybody wants, this sense of community.

And for “Corazón,” I wanted Bomba Estéreo to take the song to the next level, with Li [Saumet] adding her unique rapping in Spanish. They played a sold-out show in Toronto at the time, and I begged them to come to the studio afterwards, even though they were exhausted. They brought all their instruments, I ordered an Uber that was way too small for all of them, and all her fans were outside the venue, asking for her autograph, and I’m trying to get her in this tiny hatchback Uber… It was so embarrassing but so funny.

I feel like people would do anything for you, Nelly.

NF: I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ But they came to the studio, and we just kept working on it till we got it perfect. I’m really proud of it because I think my fans like when I do fusion, bringing together different styles. That’s what I became known for in the beginning—bringing together different international sounds. I feel like this song stays true to that.

And you know what’s interesting? My daughter, who’s 20 years old, was part of the recording process for the whole album. She would always remind me to keep the music three-dimensional, to make sure it was layered and rich, which is interesting, right? Because she’s Gen Z, she’s got really diverse tastes. It was nice to have her there, grounding me and reminding me why people like my music. Just to keep it real, really. To be authentic to my whole self as an artist, and I think “Corazón” captures that.

I got to listen to snippets of the album, and I love how authentic it feels to your original sound. But I’m curious — how do you navigate industry demands and expectations? 2024 is being called the year of pop music, and it seems clear what people want to listen to. Is that something you thought about during this process, and how do you balance that with your creative freedom?

NF: Oh, that’s a good question. You know what helped me find that balance? Playing live shows. They’re humbling because they remind you why people love your hits. Honestly, it might sound pretentious, but I’m not lying, when I play “Promiscuous” live, I think, ‘this swaps.’ My band knows it too — we have this long outro, and we just party up there. I’m so aware now of why people like certain songs because there’s an energy and richness to those records. When you’re really talking records, production, and vocals, what makes songs truly special is finding ways to connect with more people. It’s a cool pursuit, and it can actually be a creative one. It’s about keeping it real and letting your true self shine. The clincher in a song like “I’m Like a Bird”, for example, is that it admits something different. Most love songs are about wanting someone back or still being in love, but this one is saying, “I love you, and… I love you, but…” It’s about not wanting to be tied down, which sets it apart.

Exactly, you’re saying it right! I’d also love to talk about your stage performances this season. You look fabulous, sexy, and powerful on this tour. Tell me a bit about your costumes and fashion choices for this round of shows.

NF: We should do an interview with my stylist and me talking about the looks — it would be so fun! My stylist, Marc Andrew Smith, is incredible. He’s so energetic and works so hard. When he has a costume ready, he’ll have three more as backups, and he’s always thinking three steps ahead. He understands the difference between style and fashion. Fashion is cool, but style is unique to you, and you shouldn’t be afraid to express that. Lately, I’ve been sending him influences, often superhero costumes or fantasy drawings, like an Iberian queen from mediaeval times. I’ve also been influenced by Brazilian carnival outfits — the embellishments, the sexiness, the skin. I come from the Azores and a fashion family, my aunts were seamstresses and they would sew hundreds of costumes by hand for the São João Festival. So I grew up around colour, fashion, and fabric. I love feeling like a superhero on stage. We’ve been using a lot of cylindrical chamber bodysuits, embellished with glitter, rhinestones, and sparkles. They enhance the body and make you feel like Wonder Woman on stage.

Nelly, do you still get “pinch me” moments?

NF: Definitely. I played a show in Stockholm, Sweden, and the front row was full of 16-year-old girls with “Nelly” Sharpied on their foreheads. And I’m thinking, first, as a mom, “Oh God, what are their moms going to say when they try to wash that off?”. Second, they knew all the words to my songs. It was one of those moments where I’m like, ‘How do they know my music? They weren’t even born when this came out’. Seeing my music trending on TikTok and social media really does translate into new fans coming to the shows. That’s been a real pinch-me moment.

And having my daughter as the creative director for my Tiny Desk performance, that was amazing.

I loved your Tiny Desk! It felt like you were in a safe space where you could really shine.

NF: Thank you! We had so much fun putting that together. I brought together a bunch of friends, new and old. That was a pinch-me moment too. We were like, “Wow, we’re at Tiny Desk, and we feel so good about what we’re bringing today.”

Speaking of the younger generation and their connection to your songs, I think my generation connects through nostalgia — the memories of simpler times, jumping around carefree on the dance floor. But the younger generation is still creating those memories. How do you translate that feeling to your new album?

NF: Well, I knew early on while recording the new album that I wanted to help people escape, you know? And the reason is because, well, I became single again, so I was going out with friends to parties, concerts, clubs, house parties, and I’d hear my music everywhere. People were dancing to “Promiscuous” and “Give It to Me” and they looked so happy. Even hearing “I’m Like a Bird” at a house party — the beats sounded so good, and everyone was happy. And I thought, “I need to make sure this new shit is good.”

Do you ever feel like you’ve set the bar too high?

NF: Yes, all the time. I listen to my first album and I’m like, “Oh shit, I’ll never outdo this.” Back then, I had nothing to do but make music. Now, life is busier, especially with three kids. But I try my best. That’s my only frustration—there’s only one life to make music, and I wish I had another lifetime to do it.

What’s next for you, and what excites you about the future?

NF: Woo, what’s next? Just making as much music as I can. The album is coming out in September, and I hope to release a deluxe version afterward because we have so much more material. We could only fit 14 songs on this album, but we have plenty more. I was going to make it shorter, but my daughter insisted the fans would be disappointed if it was too short.

I’m so glad she did!