Oct. 24 marks the 25th anniversary of Nelly Furtado’s debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, and Furtado marked the milestone with some news: she will be retiring from performing live.
“I have decided to step away from performance for the foreseeable future and pursue some other creative and personal endeavours that I feel would better suit this next phase of my life,” she shared in a heartfelt post on Instagram.
“I have enjoyed my career immensely, and I still love writing music as I have always seen it as a hobby I was lucky enough to make into a career,” she continued. “I’ll identify as a songwriter forever.”
She ended the post by wishing “many years of fruitful and passionate performance” to the next generation of up-and-coming artists.
Whoa, Nelly! won Junos and a Grammy
Released in 2000, Whoa, Nelly! was double-platinum certified and launched Furtado into the spotlight with hits such as I’m Like a Bird.
WATCH | The official music video for I’m Like a Bird:
In 2001, she won three Junos for best songwriter, best solo artist and best single for I’m Like a Bird, and in 2002, the song won a Grammy Award for best female pop vocal performance.
WATCH | Nelly Furtado sweeps the 2001 Juno Awards:
CBC Music named Furtado the best artist of 2001 as a result of the success of Whoa, Nelly!, with Emma Johnston-Wheeler writing: “The album’s eclectic combination of pop and trip-hop with traditional Portuguese sounds was the fresh take that was needed for the Y2K era, as well as a catalyst for a wider acceptance of unfettered female pop artists.”
Last year, the album was released on vinyl for the very first time.
Furtado has recently been touring and performing around the world in support of her 2024 album, 7. This summer, she played at European festivals including Sziget Festival in Budapest, Hungary, Super Bloom Festival in Munich and more.
