Como uma força, como uma força...
They say that girl ya know she act too tough tough tough,
Well it's 'til I turn off the light, turn off the light,
They say that girl you know she act so rough rough rough,
Well it's 'til I turn off the light, turn off the light,
And I say follow me follow me follow me down down down down,
'Til you see all my dreams,
Not everything in this magical world is quite what it seems.
Well it's 'til I turn off the light, turn off the light,
They say that girl you know she act so rough rough rough,
Well it's 'til I turn off the light, turn off the light,
And I say follow me follow me follow me down down down down,
'Til you see all my dreams,
Not everything in this magical world is quite what it seems.
— "Turn Off The Light"
Nelly Kim Furtado (born December 2, 1978) is a Portuguese-Canadian recording artist, songwriter, record producer and actress. Her folk-pop debut album, Whoa Nelly! spawned hits such as "I'm Like a Bird", "Turn Off the Light" and "Shit on the Radio (Remember the Days)". Her second album based on the folk-pop template, Folklore, didn't do as well, sparking a change of direction musically.
In 2006 she released the controversial Loose, which was produced by Timbaland. While Loose has been her most successful release to date, spawning rave reviews and receiving Gold and Platinum accreditations worldwide, Furtado also received criticism for "selling out" and sexing up her image to sell records.
In 2009 Furtado released Mi Plan, a Latin rock album recorded entirely in Spanish. This was also a success (though not the worldwide smash Loose was), going Platinum in the US and charting in many European countries. A Greatest Hits Album was released the next year.
Her fifth studio album, The Spirit Indestructible, was released in September 2012.
Discography:
- Whoa, Nelly! (2000)
- Folklore (2004)
- Loose (2006)
- Mi Plan (2009)
- The Best of Nelly Furtado
- The Spirit Indestructible (2012)
- The Ride (2017)
Tropes:
- Age-Progression Song: "Explode".
- All Take and No Give: The titular "Maneater" is a voracious Gold Digger who entices men, takes them for everything they have, and leaves them with nothing but regrets.
- A Wild Rapper Appears!: "Afraid" and the remix of "Do It" both feature gratuitous rap verses.
- Ambiguously Bi: In a June 2006 interview with Genre magazine, when asked if she had "ever felt an attraction to women", Furtado replied, "Absolutely. Women are beautiful and sexy." Some fans considered this an announcement of bisexuality but, in August 2006, she stated that she was "straight, but very open-minded".
- Be Yourself: "Powerless (Say What You Want)", "Shit on the Radio", "Afraid", "Spirit Indestructible".
- Break Up Song: "All Good Things (Come To An End)"
- Everybody Has Standards: In November 2006, Furtado revealed that she once turned down US $500,000 to pose fully clothed in Playboy.
- Genre Roulette: She's dabbled in pop, rock, folk, R&B, Hip-Hop, Synth-Pop, Trip hop, Latin pop and world music.
- Genre Throwback: In The Spirit Undestructible she tries to go back to rap and R&B of The '90s, especially as Rodney Jerkins is one of the producers.
- Glowing Eyes of Doom: The vampires in the "Maneater" music video have this.
- Gold Digger: The "Maneater" entices men to spend all their money on her... and then leaves them.
- Gratuitous Portuguese: Given her ascendence, she is fluent in Portuguese. It shows in "Força", and the cover of Brazilian song "Sozinho"
. - Gratuitous Spanish: In Loose and the entirety of Mi Plan.
- Heartbeat Soundtrack: "Try" opens with one, taken from the sonogram of Nelly's daughter Mavis.
- Hotter and Sexier: Loose. Both the album itself and its corresponding era.
- Innocent Innuendo: "Big Hoops (The Bigger the Better)" has the phrase "the bigger the better" prominently... but as the title shows, it refers to earrings.
- Intercourse with You: Loose has plenty of it: "Do It", "Promiscuous", "Maneater"...
- Intentionally Awkward Title: "Shit on the Radio (Remember the Days)". The censored title omits the first word.
- New Sound Album: Loose marked a radical change from her previous towards an R&B-crunk direction, with some people comparing her to Gwen Stefani. Mi Plan was a throwback to her folk-rock roots but really leaned more towards traditional Latin rock with some dance-pop thrown in for good measure. The Spirit Indestructible is more focused on world music.
- Nothing Is Scarier: The music video for "Maneater" shows Nelly lose her dog Toby and going underground to look for him. She only hears briefly his dog barks and a cat meowing. Then nothing for the remainder of the opening up until her character is surrounded by hungry underground club vampires...Then the song starts.
- The Power of Language: Discussed in "Say It Right." The most likely theme of the song is the importance of open and honest communication with the one you love.
- Pun-Based Title: Whoa, N̶e̶l̶l̶i̶e̶ Nelly!
- Ready for Lovemaking: The two characters of "Promiscuous".
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Her feature on Timbaland's "Give It To Me".
- Riddle for the Ages: The subject matter of "Say it Right".
Even Furtado herself doesn't know... - Singing Voice Dissonance: Her speaking voice is pretty much your typical American's voice, no major accent present. Her singing voice? Accent in full force. However, her more American singing moments aren't QUITE as jarring, but they're still a little surprising.
- Her second language is also shocking, given her English sounds that Portuguese, but her Portuguese is akin to a Lisbon native.
- Third-Person Person: "Maneater".
- Spicy Latina: Subverted. She acts like a Latin American but she's actually Portuguese-Canadian.
- Studio Chatter: There's some practically before and after every song in Loose and The Spirit Indestructible. This is used to convey the "relaxed" nature of the album.
