After rattling the charts with her sexedup clubquake Loose, Nelly Furtado faced a difficult riddle: How to follow the biggest success of her career, a disc that sounded like nothing else in her catalogue?
She took her time pondering that question. First, she took a couple years off, enjoying a slice of homebody life for the first time in her career. But still, the answer didn't come - after three years, she pressed ahead and issued the Spanish-language disc Mi Plan, in part to tide over fans.
Eventually, still uptight over Loose, she mused on quitting English-language music altogether.
"I go through this lovehate thing with my career," the chipper 33-year-old Victoria native said in a recent interview at a Toronto hotel.
"I really think it's psychological, where I tell myself I'm going to quit so I can get back into the studio and create something that's too good for me not to quit.
"I have to create that tension. I have to create that door-die, gotta live for it. I guess it's my way of making sure the quality's there."
Well, it appears as though she won, because today, Furtado will release The Spirit Indestructible, her first English-language album in more than six years.
It's a testament to the taut power of Loose that it was so hard to craft a followup. That album featured four top-five hits in Canada, went multi-platinum in 32 countries and moved 10 million copies worldwide.
And it's not a coincidence that she approached Spirit differently.
Where gifted hip-hop producer Timbaland gilded nine of Loose's tracks with his distinct sound, he's nowhere to be found on Furtado's new disc, which features production from Grammy winner Rodney (Darkchild) Jerkins and Amy Winehouse collaborator Salaam Remi. And while Loose cast Furtado as a glam, hip-swivelling vixen, Spirit finds the singer exploring disparate sides of her personality.
"It's back to the fun and the risk and the real irreverence. What I like most about it is I feel some of that punk attitude on this album that I had on my first album [Whoa, Nelly]."
Primarily, The Spirit Indestructible finds Furtado revelling in nostalgia.
Propulsive first single Big Hoops (Bigger the Better) is a callback to "that 14-year-old girl with that fire inside - who knew the microphone was really where she should be," with lyrics that directly reference early '90s hip-hop hitmakers Salt-N-Pepa. The booming Parking Lot was inspired by Furtado's recollections of late-night teenage gatherings outside her local 7-Eleven, while pianopowered knocker High Life goes "back to the girl in the bedroom dreaming about being a famous singer.
"There's a big difference between her dreaming about it and what happens when you achieve those things," said Furtado.
A moment later, she realizes the implications of such a statement - that she sounds like a celebrity complaining about being famous.
"I never want to be that artist to write songs about 'Ahh, it's so hard,"' she says, laughing.
"High Life is the closest I've come to writing that song, but I think I've at least tied it together with something that people can at least sing along to."
Indeed, Furtado has tried hard to maintain her approachable normalcy even as her profile has ballooned.
Following the success of Loose, she retreated into routine - swapping stilettos for rubber boots and velour track pants while she drove her daughter to school each day.
"I really viciously guard that - it's my only way to stay grounded really," Furtado said.
She also sought rejuvenation away from home, loading up an RV and embarking on a month-long journey through the U.S. south.
"I think that solitude is an important piece I forget sometimes," she said. "I mean, I grew up in Victoria - it's nothing but solitude, really."
While she admits Loose left a daunting shadow, she says Spirit doesn't necessarily need to sell in similarly huge numbers to soar.
"I'd be lying if I said there wasn't any pressure. There always is some. But for me, it's about sharing the songs."
