Seven years since her last album, 2017’s The Ride, Nelly Furtado’s seventh album is, quite sensibly, named 7. The Canadian Portuguese musician’s return to music was partially inspired, she has said, by going out and hearing her defining hits – Maneater, Promiscuous, Like a Bird – being remixed by DJs, and her eldest daughter showing her how they were being enjoyed by a new generation on TikTok. The album embraces Furtado’s Latin roots, featuring collaborations with Bomba Estéreo, and her pop bona fides, with the likes of SG Lewis (Dua Lipa) and Tove Lo on board – threading the joins between her introspective 2003 album Folklore and 2006’s pop-R&B smash Loose, which doesn’t seem to have aged a day.
Since then, Furtado has been named as an influence by the likes of Lorde, Billie Eilish and Lipa; she’s also collaborated with artists including Justin Timberlake, NERD and Dev Hynes. It’s been a storied career, from breaking out as a hippy alternative to the reigning early 00s pop queens with I’m Like a Bird, to releasing her debut Spanish language album, Mi Plan, in 2009 – with more than 45m record sales and a brace of awards along the way.
You can ask Furtado about any of that, or anything you fancy, when she sits for the Guardian’s reader interview. Post your questions in the comments by noon BST on 11 September 2024 and we’ll put the best of them to her.
