Nelly Furtado announces she will ‘step away’ from performing indefinitely
Nelly Furtado is saying goodbye to performing for now, noting that she will be pursuing other creative and personal endeavors "that I feel would better suit this next phase of my life."
On Friday, the Canadian singer-songwriter shared a carousel post of her 20-year-old self before performing at her first show at Lilith Fair, where she reminisced about the time she bought her outfit—a pink dress and sparkly platform shoes—from a local store in Toronto.
"It was so meaningful and my artist self felt so actualized," she recalled.
In the next slide, she shared a video of her performing in Berlin this year.
"25 years later, my music has reached a whole new generation of fans and I couldn’t be happier about that," Furtado added.
The Maneater singer shared that back then, her only hope was "some kid would dust off the Whoa, Nelly! vinyl one day in a record shop and think it was cool or inspiring."
"I never could have guessed that there would be so many new ways to discover 'old' music in 2025," she continued. "To have so many people rediscovering my music has been surreal and joyful. It’s been so fun embracing this opportunity, getting out on stages again, and seeing up close the true lasting power of good music. It’s made me really believe in magic."
Furtado then announced that she is stepping away from performing to pursue other personal endeavors, emphasizing that she "still love[s] writing music."
"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. I’ll identify as a songwriter forever," she said, thanking all her supporters.
"I’m grateful for all the years of fun, community and wonder. Endless gratitude to anyone who has ever listened and vibrated with my music and attended any of my shows. I love you and your open hearts," she continued. "I deeply thank all of those who have worked so hard to help me make my pop dreams come true on a creative and organizational level. I thank all my brilliant collaborators and loyal champions."
She wishes that the next generation of artists may have "many years of fruitful and passionate performance."
Furtado rose to prominence with her 2000 debut album, Whoa, Nelly!. This album featured chart-topping hits like Turn Off the Light and I'm Like a Bird, the latter of which earned her a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
More recently, Furtado released her seventh studio album, 7, in September 2024, and collaborated with Don Diablo on her latest single, Doing Nothin'.
