E-mail a friendNelly Furtado
airdate October 25, 2006
Nelly Furtado's music has been described as a 'slap of fresh air.' Born and raised in Canada to parents of Portuguese descent, she's always been surrounded by music. The Grammy-winning artist plays several instruments and began writing songs at age 12. Her passion for music was inspired by a broad spectrum of genres, including pop, R&B, hip-hop and rock, and her critically acclaimed and record-breaking debut CD, 'Whoa Nelly,' showcased that diversity. She recently released her third album, 'Loose.'
Nelly Furtado
Tavis: I'm pleased to welcome Nelly Furtado back to this program. The Grammy Award-winning artist will be on tour soon in support of this year's most successful and critically acclaimed CD, 'Loose.' The first single from the disc went straight to number one on the 'Billboard' charts. In a moment, she'll perform a song from 'Loose,' but first, here is some of the video for 'Promiscuous.'
Tavis: So here's the backstory. The video's playing, and Nelly is saying to me, 'Everybody calls the song, Tavis, ‘Promiscuous Girl.' The song is just called ‘Promiscuous.'' (Laugh) Was there a point in you telling me that? Now that I've outed you on national television?
Nelly Furtado: No, 'cause I noticed you said it correctly, that's why.
Tavis: Oh, okay.
Furtado: 'Cause earlier, I was doing a show and they said 'Promiscuous Girl,' and I didn't bother correcting them. Sometimes I do. Depends how much energy I have. It doesn't really matter, does it? (Laugh) It doesn't matter a whole lot.
Tavis: No, it does matter. It's your work, and you want it to be called correctly. Labeled correctly. So I'm glad I got it right. That's good. I raise that only because the minute you said it, it kind of hit me in a different way, though. I didn't know that you were saying it to congratulate me for getting it right. I was thinking that you were saying it's 'Promiscuous' as opposed to 'Promiscuous Girl' because not only girls can be promiscuous. I thought it was a philosophical point you were making, yeah.
Furtado: Well, the song does have that charm to it. The song does have that charm to it, where the girl and the guy are on an equal playing field.
Tavis: Precisely.
Furtado: I don't think I would have done the song if it didn't have that meaning to it. And for me, all the bands I loved when I was growing up in the early nineties, sort of like 12, 13. I loved TLC; I loved Salt-N-Pepa. I loved those groups because they were sexy, and they weren't apologetic about it. But they were also smart, and they were also funny, and they had humor about it. And I guess that was my little tribute.
Tavis: Is there, to your point about being smart and funny and all that and then some, is there - how do I phrase this? Is there something inside of you that says, from time to time, or on certain records that you wanna respond to the opportunity to say something that is, in fact, smart, as opposed to just entertaining?
Furtado: Yeah; all the time. Yeah. I think that I've done it so much in my career that I thought it was time to do the opposite, and show my fans that oh, I'm human, too. (Laugh) I'm just a regular mortal. And sort of just be more in touch with myself, as well. The reason why this album sounds so different is 'cause Timbaland produced it, and the two of us really put our heads together.
And he's a very primal person. Like, when he's - he's as human as it gets. He's very just spontaneous, and when we get together, there's, like, a magic. There's like an alchemy that happens, and it just really puts you in your body. The album's more about the body, this album. The first two albums were a little more intellectual. This one was a chance for me to let go and have some fun.
Tavis: How do you pull that off, though? There are a lot of people who write songs where they are attempting, or in fact saying something, but the message gets in the way of the music sometimes. That is to say, it's so preachy that people can't even get down with it. You pulled that off, though.
Furtado: Well, I've tried to, yeah. (Laugh)
Tavis: You've done better than tried, you succeeded, yeah.
Furtado: Thank you. Thank you very much. I go through phases. Whatever I'm feeling passionate about at the time, I write about, because I'm a very truthful person, and I'm a very bad liar. Which works to my advantage, and my disadvantage sometimes. (Laugh) And when I'm in the studio, I can't be on the microphone and doing something that doesn't ring true in here.
And for instance, this record, that's why there are palm trees on the cover. I was in Miami, and Miami is sexy. Miami is alive. It's very free, it's fast-paced, and I felt like I was on holiday. So my defenses were way down. And I also felt very Latin, speaking Portuguese and Spanish every day, and I felt at home. And I think that's why the album feels at home, feels loose.
Tavis: Let me flip this sex appeal thing on you.
Furtado: Sure. (Laugh)
Tavis: Do you ever feel - strange question - do you ever feel burdened or trapped by your sexiness? You couldn't downplay your sex appeal if you wanted to. You ever feel trapped by it?
Furtado: Have you seen me in a paper bag or a potato sack? (Laugh)
Tavis: I have not. I have not had that pleasure.
Furtado: Have you seen me at 3:00 AM when my daughter gets up and wants a warm (unintelligible) cup of milk?
Tavis: No, I haven't had the pleasure of seeing Nelly Furtado at 3:00 AM. (Laugh) Let me rephrase that.
Furtado: 'I want milk, Mama.' (Laugh)
Tavis: When you come out of the house, do you ever feel trapped by it? As an artist, do you feel trapped by it?
Furtado: Yeah. It's funny, 'cause people used to ask me that. I remember being 13, sitting in my bedroom, writing songs. I had my picture of Mary J. Blige on the wall. And I never looked at her as a female artist. I only looked at her as an artist. And being a woman never held me back, because I knew how to kick it with the boys. And my ability as a musician and as a writer got me in those worlds.
And what was interesting in Miami was I was surrounded by men all the time, hip-hop, everything. Rappers, producers, everything coming through. And I loved - being a woman almost made me invisible in that environment, because men have their own politics to deal with. And so then I could just recess into the background and pick up what I wanted and flow between those things.
And I've always been able to do that. So luckily, that never stood in my way. I remember at certain points in my life wishing, yeah, you wish sometimes that you had a different thing on the exterior, because you got so much going on in your brain you want people to take you seriously all the time. But I think it can work to your advantage as well.
Tavis: You mentioned your baby. When you were here last, your baby was months old, really just starting to move around. And now, three years old, something like that?
Furtado: Yeah, last time I was here, she was probably three months old.
Tavis: Yeah. Does that change your music? Does that change your work? Does it change your outlook? What does that do for you as an artist?
Furtado: Yeah, it's just crazy. It's 180. I'm a different person. Like, I watch my first video, 'I'm Like a Bird' now, and it reminds me more of my daughter than myself. I go, 'Oh, that reminds me of Nevis.' It's really cute. I love it; it was great, but I've just changed so much. I think that with becoming a mother, I think you start to accept all the sides of life. You accept the little mistakes, the little details.
You just kind of let it all flow. And I really live my life in five-day spans. Every 48 hours it's like I've (laugh) - I was joking that I think it's fish that have a 30-second memory. I have, like, a 48-hour memory, and I just press reset and I do it again. (Laugh) 'Cause everything's - it's micromanaged, my life, right? But she's amazing. She really inspired me, because she's so full of energy, and I just go, 'Wow.'
Tavis: Wonder where she got that from, being full of energy? Maybe her mama. Her mama's name is Nelly Furtado. The new CD is 'Loose.' She is going to, with her band, perform a track from this new CD in just a moment. Nelly and the band. Stay with us.
From one of the biggest-selling CDs of 2006, here is Nelly Furtado and her band performing 'Maneater.' Enjoy. Good night from Los Angeles, and keep the faith.
Back to October 25, 2006