Nelly Furtado reveals Pinoy connection

MANILA, Philippines - Wondering if Nelly Furtado’s newest record The Spirit Indestructible is somewhat of a throwback to her debut album more than a decade ago? Wonder not.

“It reminds me of my first album to an extent,” the Canadian singer-songwriter herself told The STAR in an exclusive phone interview.

This is because of the intentionally positive vibe going on in the album — in fact, the title itself is telling enough — which is similar to that of her breakthrough work in 2000, the critical and commercial hit Whoa, Nelly! which produced the first batch (I’m Like A Bird, Turn Off The Light, etc.) of her chart-toppers.

It’s been 12 years since and that positive tone is now tinged with nostalgia which, according to the 33-year-old Nelly, is the biggest theme of her forthcoming studio album, due for release in the Philippines in September under MCA Music, Inc.

She explained, “I came from a small town (in Victoria, British Columbia in Canada) and now, just as I grow older, I’m really starting to look at my upbringing in a really nice way, where I remember all the good memories which kind of enable me to write songs about them. Some of my favorite pop songs of other artists are about nostalgia, and it’s good thing to draw from because sometimes your nostalgic memories are very vibrant, and also very positive.”

One favorite memory of hers inspired the Big Hoops track, which talks about her being a “young teenager, hanging around with my friends and going to little parties, where I would grab the microphone, and sing for everybody, and freestyle.”

She further related, “I’ve always felt the microphone as my sword, and I always felt so powerful behind it. I think that is what Big Hoops is all about, the bigger the attitude, the better the confidence. It’s really feeling my spirit for the first time — individuality through my expression on the microphone as a singer.”

Another song titled High Life had her musing on fame and success 12 years after first making it huge. “Some of its lyrics say, everybody’s dreaming of the high life, it may look good from the outside, but all I want is a good life... When you’re younger and you’re dreaming of this dream, you’re so focused on it, because I’ve always wanted to be a singer since I was a child. I’m from a very small town, and I’m sure people can relate to that — living in a small town and wanting to go to a big city like Manila or whatever, to make their dreams come true,” Nelly said.

“So (it’s about) going to the big city and making your dreams come true, then (you) realize at a certain point that with success, there’s no finish line. True success is a lifestyle. True success is you having time for balance (in) life, having time for family and friends, and hobbies. All the other things don’t really matter as long as you’re happy with yourself.”

And this is one major lesson that her music career has taught her: “The difference in looking at success as a destination versus looking at success as a journey. That’s what I’ve learned. Success is never finished, success is the way you live every day.”

The Spirit Indestructible also unabashedly speaks of where she’s at in her life right now. For the last two years, Nelly has been heavily involved with the not-for-profit organization Free The Children, which “encourages kids to start going from me-thinking to we-thinking — thinking about the greater good, and service.”

Because of her work with Free The Children, she went to Africa, visiting communities as well as schools that the organization is building. She also came up with a special T-shirt line called Spirit Indestructible, and all the sales go directly to the new school that the organization is building.

Describing this cause as “very satisfying,” it has also merited a song in the album titled Miracle. “I wrote the song because I feel working with them made me believe in miracles again, and how much goodness in the world there is. We see so many negative things in the news, but there are also positive things).”

She continued, “I waited my whole career to find an organization that I would feel close with. I really like their message which is inspiring the youth to take action. It’s just so nice to have something positive to talk about. It’s one thing to talk about your music, but if you can also highlight other people that are doing good in the world, it’s great. And it’s probably where I’m at. I’m in a very happy place in my life right now.”

It’s not really a surprise how personal Nelly is in this fifth album of hers. She’s always been so if you recall her previous records.

“I’ve been writing songs since I was little. I love to write lyrics and melodies. In the studio, I write my songs kinda like a jazz musician when they improvise a jazz solo. It just kind of comes to me, from the top of my head. I usually like to finish the lyrics of the song within the first hour I write the song, so that I can get all my ideas, the inspiration and the emotion, into the moment. So, my songs are kinda like diaries. I don’t write a diary, instead I just like to sing a song, and I sing songs almost every day, and a lot of my songs I don’t even record. It’s a way of life. Songwriting is a lifestyle.”

After her Spanish album Mi Plan in 2009, Nelly admitted that she took her time for The Spirit Indestructible, which is also her return to song-writing in English (she last did it in 2006 with Loose, which gave her the No. 1 hits Promiscuous, Say It Right, Maneater, etc.)

Nelly said, “I actually recorded almost 40 songs but I just chose the best 12 songs for this album. It took some time and was kinda (difficult to make) because I wanted to experiment in finding the sounds that I like. I kind of collaborated with so many different people and the finished product I really love. I think it’s a very strong, sort of pop album, and there’s a lot of sounds, pop, dance, hip-hop and rock all mixed together.”

Interestingly, she shared that after Mi Plan, which won the Latin Grammy for Best Female Pop Album, she seriously thought about quitting the music industry. “Yeah, after every album, I would go through six months of doubt about the future, and of confusion about what I want to do next ‘cause I’ve always wanted to go back to university and finish my writing studies,” she said. “(But every time) I would tell myself, I’m gonna quit, so I get forced to go to the studio and make music that I’m too excited about to quit. I have to make music that keeps me interested in my job. That’s my sort of measuring rod, if I feel excited about the music.”

But more than just music that’s exciting, she also wants it to be empowering, owing to the kind of background she grew up in.

Nelly, whose parents are immigrants from Portugal, described her family: “I’m lucky I grew up in a very grounded, spiritual family. And also, I have very strong female role models in my family, very matriarchal…”

When this writer commented that Filipino families are the same, she reacted knowingly: “Yeah, I was about to say that, that the Philippine culture is the same. The women have a lot of power. And the men kinda listen to what the women say (laughs) so, yeah, I kinda identify with that, my mother and all the women in my family are strong and really good role models for me. They raised me to think with my heart and with my mind.”

And it’s the way she’s raising her nine-year-old daughter Nevis, who apparently is her most potent Filipino connection, thus making the singer, who loves Filipino food like pancit, lugaw and puto, doubly excited about coming to Manila on Aug. 16 for a “hyper, fun, sort of rock concert” with the Gym Class Heroes at the Big Dome.

“Actually, my daughter is a quarter-Filipina,” Nelly happily revealed. “Her (paternal) grandmother is from the Philippines, so yeah, part of her beauty comes from her Filipina side, and I think it’s a beautiful culture.”