Nelly Furtado has announced that she will be stepping back from live performances to focus on other projects and personal growth.
The 46-year-old Grammy-winning singer shared the news in a statement posted to social media on Friday, October 24, explaining that she is taking a break “for the foreseeable future [to] pursue some other creative and personal endeavours that I feel would better suit this next phase of my life.”
Furtado’s announcement was accompanied by a two-photo carousel that reflected her journey as a performer. The first image showed a 20-year-old Furtado before her “first show as a professional artist at Lilith Fair,” the influential all-female music festival where she launched her career in the late 1990s. The second slide featured a video of her performing in Berlin during the summer of 2024, in which she described “finally understanding what receiving flowers means” while the crowd chanted her name.
In her caption, Furtado shared memories of her debut performance, recalling how she purchased a pink dress from a Toronto boutique called Original on Queen West and paired it with sparkly platform shoes. “It was so meaningful and my artist self felt so actualized,” she wrote.
Marking 25 years since the release of her debut album Whoa, Nelly!, Furtado reflected on how her music continues to reach new audiences. “Twenty-five years later, my music has reached a whole new generation of fans and I couldn’t be happier about that,” she said. The singer, known for early hits such as “I’m Like a Bird,” “Turn Off the Light,” and “…On the Radio (Remember the Days),” celebrated how her first album continues to resonate with younger listeners decades later.
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Furtado added that when her debut album was released, her biggest wish had been that “some kid would dust off the Whoa, Nelly! vinyl one day in a record shop and think it was cool or inspiring.” She expressed amazement that there are now “so many new ways to discover ‘old’ music in 2025,” referencing the revival of her songs across streaming platforms and social media.
She called the experience of seeing “so many people rediscovering” her music “surreal and joyful,” adding that performing for audiences who know her songs “up close” has “made me really believe in magic.”
Furtado emphasized that she has always viewed songwriting as her true calling. “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.
In her message, she thanked “anyone who has ever listened and vibrated with my music and attended any of my shows,” as well as “those who have worked so hard to help me make my pop dreams come true.” She also extended a message to emerging artists, writing, “I also wish, to the new generation of artists, many years of fruitful and passionate performance.”
Furtado’s appreciation for younger audiences was also reflected in a September 2024 interview with PEOPLE, where she discussed the connection she felt performing for Gen Z fans at a festival in Australia. “The Gen Z’s singing all the words blew my brain,” she said. “I went, ‘Whoa, this is real. This is not just a fun app. This is my music reconnecting. This is a big deal.’”
The Canadian singer released her seventh studio album, 7, in September 2024 — her first new record in seven years. The album was a collaborative effort with her daughter, Nevis Gahunia, 22. Speaking about the creative process, Furtado said, “I’d been given this opportunity to connect with my teenager in this way. It just felt like the greatest gift in the world. What a blessing.”
With 7, Furtado marked a new chapter in her musical evolution while celebrating her long career. Now, as she steps away from the stage, she leaves open the possibility of exploring new artistic directions while maintaining her lifelong identity as a songwriter.