Nelly Furtado: What happened to the pop singer and where is she today?

It's been 23 years since Nelly Furtado catapulted to stardom with her breakout single I'm Like A Bird.

The pop star performed some of the biggest songs of the early '00s that still show up on our nostalgia playlists – like Promiscuous and Maneater – and some of her hits have been given a new lease on life on TikTok.

But after spending more than five years at the top of the charts, breaking records and winning awards, she practically vanished overnight.

That is, until, she made her big return to the spotlight recently with a magazine shoot.

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The singer posed for Fault magazine, marking her first official photoshoot in six years.

"I ripped another Band-Aid off! First photoshoot in 6 years?! Thanks @FAULTMagazine, Happy to be your cover woman," Furtado, 44, tweeted, sharing her cover with fans.

The mum-of-three looked positively glamorous in the series of images, where she posed in several stylish outfits.

It marks Furtado's tentative return to mainstream media after her last album release, The Ride, in 2017.

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So what happened to Nelly Furtado over the past six years? Here's everything you should know about the former pop icon.

Why did Nelly Furtado disappear?

Nelly Furtado took a step back from music and the public spotlight after a nervous breakdown in 2006.

"I had a nervous breakdown on stage," she told the Daily Mail in 2017.

"I was on the Loose tour [2007] and my daughter was with me – I was being a mum and a singer on the road. I was exhausted."

"Then one night I went on stage and I suddenly realised how stressed out I was. I actually cried my way through the first two songs. I took a break from music and went home. And I realised that being at home and having the whole family experience was what I was seeking."

She said she shot to such heights of fame so quickly that she couldn't handle it.

"It was too much too soon," she added.

"After two years of intense touring and partying, I'd spend hours alone in my LA home, just staring at the floor. I felt like a fraud, believing that people liked me for my image and not my music."

She released a Spanish language album in 2009 called Mi Plan, and another album in 2012, The Spirit Indestructible – after which she took a five-year break.

Furtado spent those five years travelling and doing a lot of charity work with Save The Children.

In 2017, she released an independent album, The Ride, under her own record label. It only sold 1,814 copies in its first week in the US.

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After releasing her independent album in 2017, it's unlikely that Furtado will ever return to mainstream music.

She decided to start her own record label because she feels very passionately about artists owning the master recordings of their own songs –– an issue Taylor Swift has spoken about at length.

She told Forbes: "Becoming independent and owning this new record has been very pivotal for me because I'm able to own everything that I sing."

However, the singer did delight fans when she made a surprise appearance at Drake's concert at OVO Fest in Toronto on July 30. The rapper invited his fellow Canadian on stage, in what appears to be her first public gig in years.

"This right here took a lot … this next person's music changed my life so much. I love her with all my heart so when she comes out here you better show her some f---ing love too," Drake told the crowd to hype them up as he introduced Furtado. 

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The pop star was met with cheers and applause as she engaged with fans before performing her hit song Promiscuous Girl.

Drake and Furtado later sing a duet of her other hit, I'm Like a Bird.

Where is Nelly Furtado today?

After releasing her independent album in 2017, it's unlikely that Furtado will ever return to mainstream music.

She decided to start her own record label because she feels very passionately about artists owning the master recordings of their own songs –– an issue Taylor Swift has spoken about at length.

She told Forbes: "Becoming independent and owning this new record has been very pivotal for me because I'm able to own everything that I sing."

What is Nelly Furtado's net worth?

Because Furtado holds song-writing and producer credits on her songs – some of which were the biggest of their decade – she continues to make a lot of money off her first few albums.

Estimates put her net worth at around $US20 million ($26.6 million).

What happened to Nelly Furtado and Timbaland?

Ever since Timbaland and Furtado worked on her 2006 album Loose together, they've been close friends – and that friendship still remains today.

In 2017 Timbaland surprised contestants on the TV show The Pop Game with a mentoring session from the pop star.

What is Nelly Furtado's nationality?

Furtado was born in Canada to Brazilian parents who migrated to North America in the 1960s.

She first began singing in Portuguese as a child and performed in a Portuguese marching band as a teen.

Nelly Furtado's relationship history

The Promiscuous singer married sound engineer Demacio Castellon in 2008, though the pair divorced in 2016. She has one daughter, Nevis Chetan, born in 2003 from a previous relationship.

What does Nelly Furtado look like now?

Nelly Furtado does have an Instagram, but she doesn't use it for much other than to promote her re-release of the album Woah, Nelly.

She does have a few stories archived, including this photo from February 2021.

When was 'I'm Like A Bird' released?

Arguably her best-known single, I'm Like A Bird was Furtado's first single, released in 2000, on her debut album Woah Nelly.

That album also included bangers like Turn Off The Light and Hey, Man.

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Title: Nelly Furtado: What happened to the pop singer and where is she today?
Sourced From: celebrity.nine.com.au/music/nelly-furtado-what-happened-pop-singer-explainer/5cc66cf2-2bb6-40b3-8f73-317f9583609d
Published Date: Wed, 24 May 2023 05:05:00 GMT