SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SAY IT RIGHT (SPED UP REMIX)")
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
One of the delights of parenthood is having your children keep you informed about the latest social media trends. When Nelly Furtado's daughter showed her TikTok, there was also a surprise - remixed versions of her old hits were trending.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SAY IT RIGHT (SPED UP REMIX)")
NELLY FURTADO: (Singing) In the day. In the night. Say it right. Say it all.
I was really unfamiliar with the app at the time and kind of started connecting with lots of new fans on there (laughter).
SIMON: That's wonderful.
FURTADO: Yeah. I walked out on stage. I had my first show in about five, six years. And I saw all these girls singing all these songs that effectively, I guess, were released when they were babies or before then. There's something about people still singing your songs when they're 20 years old. It kind of hits different where you go, well, maybe I am good at this.
SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SAY IT RIGHT (SPED UP REMIX)")
FURTADO: (Singing) No, you don't mean nothing at all to me,
SIMON: That's Nelly Furtado's "Say It Right," which, along with "Promiscuous" and "Maneater," topped the charts in the mid-2000s. They cemented her status as a pop star and also established her as a musician of eclectic taste. She builds on that in her new and seventh album. It's titled "7."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CORAZON")
FURTADO: (Singing) Dropping the bass and the drum. Don't want to feel under the gun. Rakata, rakata, rum. Rakata, rakata, rum. You can't play me like I'm dumb. I already know what I've done. I've already been on the run. Don't want to be under your thumb. (Singing in Spanish).
My grandfather was a composer. He composed music for marching bands, so he knew every instrument. So I grew up playing trombone, ukulele, singing in choir, rapping at school with my friends. I also have inattentive ADHD. I get bored very easily. So that's why I've explored so many genres.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CORAZON")
FURTADO: (Singing) We, we lose control. We lose control. That's how we are. That's how we are. (Singing in Spanish). Even when I...
SIMON: Of course, "7" comes after a seven-year hiatus.
FURTADO: Yeah.
SIMON: What were those years like?
FURTADO: I went off to my own planet.
SIMON: Is your own planet a place we'd know?
FURTADO: (Laughter) I'm just kidding. So no. I don't know. I've just always taken these breaks. I like to keep one foot in, like, a very kind of normal life, I think. I had two more kids. I have three children. And so I think I was just kind of home with my kids. And also the way that my business works, like, putting out music and touring - it's kind of, like, you can do it, but you get in a little bit of a bubble 'cause you're traveling, and everything's quite fast-paced, so you don't really get to feel the poetry of life. So I need to slow down and kind of feel the poetry.
SIMON: As you noted, a couple of decades have passed. How do you think you're different as an artist now?
FURTADO: Oh, I think I'm more confident because as a sort of more mature woman coming back to the studio, I just have a clear sense of detachment and boundaries, and I'm really able to kind of say, no, let's try this. And I love kind of things that make me feel uncomfortable in the studio, like bringing perhaps two people together that I think might not get along, argue in the studio. I find that fun.
SIMON: Wow, really? You mean like a Trump supporter and a Harris supporter, or what?
FURTADO: Exactly. Like, I think music is, like, proof of life. Like, one of the only things we have that prove our unity.
(SOUNDBITE OF NELLY FURTADO SONG, "ALL COMES BACK")
SIMON: Let's listen to another one of your songs on "7." "All Comes Back."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ALL COMES BACK")
FURTADO: (Singing) It's funny how we stand in the fire, thinking that we won't get burned. Can't say no to desire even when we know we'll get hurt. Started with reluctance...
SIMON: Quite an affecting song.
FURTADO: Thank you.
SIMON: Seems to be a lot of hurt in there - am I wrong?
FURTADO: Oh, no, you're 100% correct. Yeah, I was going through major, like, life change, a major breakup. And it's so poignant sometimes when the heart is tender, and you're figuring yourself out, you know?
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ALL COMES BACK")
FURTADO: (Singing) It all comes back.
I feel like everyone's life is like this, and I get to put it into songs. I'm glad you like it. It sounds like you like the song (laughter).
SIMON: I did, indeed. Yeah.
FURTADO: Thank you so much. That means a lot to me. Thank you. It's been fun. We got to perform it recently, and I love singing it. Yeah. It feels really pure. It reminds of, like, the past. Like, it reminds me of when I was, like, a little kid sitting in the living room, like, listening to my dad's, like, vinyl collection, you know? We still have this old, like, German stereo. Like, we kept it, and he's since passed about five years ago, but - so that one just takes me somewhere. I'm not sure where, but it's a nice, warm, fuzzy feeling for sure.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ALL COMES BACK")
FURTADO: (Singing) It all comes back, back.
SIMON: I have read that you used to send pizzas to DJs to play your music.
FURTADO: Oh, yeah, at radio stations - yeah. And I see some of those people sometimes, like, people who changed my life by deciding to program their - "I'm Like A Bird" on their Top 40 station because that's what, yeah, DJs did. And we would travel sometimes to three cities in one day. And we would play these pizza parties in lunchrooms at different radio stations.
SIMON: Oh.
FURTADO: It really felt like I was banging on doors like a door-to-door saleswoman (laughter). And I was saying, hey, play my song, you know? But yeah, every day was - you were selling yourself, you know, selling your story and your personality in the hopes that, you know, someone would take a chance and play the song and believe in the music.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FLOODGATE")
FURTADO: (Laughter).
SIMON: And how does it feel to be back making music for so many people?
FURTADO: I'm really nervous.
SIMON: Nelly Furtado is nervous?
FURTADO: Oh, yeah. I couldn't sleep last night. And I was like, why can't I just sleep? Why am I so nervous? I mean, 'cause - I think it's 'cause I've been working on the album for so long. It's such a personal album. So much growth happened in the four years, you know? So it's, like, a lot to share, you know? But at the same time, there's a lot of joy in the album, a lot of joy, a lot of precious memories for me, for sure.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FLOODGATE")
FURTADO: (Singing) We had the time, yeah, that night. Was it last week? You been around, coming around me. We been feeling FaceTimе, can't deny it. I can't deny it. Oh, the way I'm loving your wavе.
SIMON: Nelly Furtado - her new album after seven years out now, and it's called "7." Thanks so much for being with us.
FURTADO: Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FLOODGATE")
FURTADO: (Singing) Guess I'll wait and see the next time that I see you. Floodgate, open up the well. Full throttle, maybe love in the front seat. Run it all over me, yeah. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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