Nelly Furtado
Loose
(Geffen)
You might be wondering what Nelly is attempting to tell us with an album called Loose and a single called “Promiscuous”—but this is not an artist you can call easy. After the resounding success of her debut Whoa, Nelly! turned into backlash against her sophomore release Folklore, Furtado had to re-evaluate her place in the pop spectrum. She enlisted the help of Timbaland to help her re-introduce her hip-hop roots back into the mix and the results are irresistible. From “Promiscuous” to the vicious “Maneater,” the infectious “Afraid” and retro throwback “Do It,” Furtado has recorded an album that re-asserts her relevance in the current aural landscape.
—Trevor Savory
This article appears in Dec 6-12, 2007.
