In 2000, Nelly Furtado became an iconic pop star basically overnight.
The singer rose to fame with her breakout single 'I'm Like A Bird', which peaked at number one in Portugal, number two in Australia and New Zealand and number nine in the United States.
The song even won the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and was part of Furtado's debut studio album: Whoa, Nelly!
The fame was instantaneous but overtime become one of the most famous songs of the decade.
Watch this clip of Nelly Furtado in 2021. Post continues after video.
"I've heard it sung at karaoke or by cover bands and it was awesome — I was like, wow, I've got one of those songs," she said in 2006. "Somebody once called it a 'hairbrush song', one that girls and guys sing in front of the mirror with their hairbrush. I just think I'm lucky I have it — it's paying the bills!"
In 2006, Furtado teamed up with her longtime friend and music producer Timbaland, the pair worked diligently to create her most famous album, Loose.
"There was a really weird work schedule [when creating that album]," Furtado said to Fader in 2016.
"I personally would be hanging out at the beach, in the pool with my daughter, working on my suntan, and then I would head to the studio at like, 8 pm."
It's been 23 years since we first met Furtado and almost 18 since we last saw her have her moment in the spotlight.
In fact, after spending more than five years breaking records, being nominated for Grammy awards and shining at the top of the charts, Nelly Furtado chose to leave the industry.
The singer took a step back from music in 2006, telling Daily Mail over a decade later that she'd had a "nervous breakdown on stage."
"I was on the Loose Tour and my daughter was with me — I was being a mum and a singer on the road. I was exhausted," she explained in 2017.
"Then one night I went on stage and I suddenly realised how stressed out I was. I actually cried my way through the first two songs. I took a break from music and went home. I realised that being at home and having the whole family experience was what I was seeking."
Furtado realised that fame and everything that comes with it happened all too quickly.
"It was too much too soon," the singer added. "After two years of intense touring and partying, I'd spend hours alone in my LA home, just staring at the floor. I felt like a fraud, believing that people liked me for my image and not my music."
Furtado went on to release an album in Spanish in 2009 called Mi Plan, and another album in 2012, The Spirit Indestructible.
Following The Spirit Indestructible, the singer hit pause on music for five years. During that time, the singer spent years travelling and enjoyed philanthropy, working closely with Save The Children.
In 2017, she released an independent album, The Ride, under her own record label. It only sold 1,814 copies in its first week in the US.
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She told Forbes: "Becoming independent and owning this record has been very pivotal for me because I'm able to own everything that I sing."
During her several-year hiatus', Furtado married sound engineer Demacio Castellon in 2008, the pair were married for eight years, before divorcing in 2016. The singer also had a daughter, born in 2003, named Nevis Chetan to Castellon.
Becoming a parent changed Furtado's perspective on creating music, saying it made the work "joyful".
"Once you become a parent it kind of forces you to look more outside yourself and become a little more in the moment, which is kind of great because an artist's life can be one of solitude," she told Terra. "I find my songs become more joyful, fun and inspired."
This week, Furtado returned to the spotlight in a dazzling magazine shoot with Fault Magazine.
"I ripped another Band-Aid off! First photoshoot in 6 years?! Thanks @FAULTMagazine, Happy to be your cover woman," she tweeted this week.
In the interview the singer revealed she was diagnosed with ADHD in her 40s, admitting she "loves" to talk about her condition and sharing her story.
"I just got diagnosed with ADHD in the last 18 months of my life. I believe I’ve had it my whole life, but playing instruments six days a week as a kid kept me in check," she said. "So now I’ve been using choreography and getting in the dance studio as a natural way of dealing with my ADHD.
"I find the discipline really helps my brain. The good news is I’m getting to know my brain really well. I love talking about it, so I’m hoping to share my experience with people and have conversations about it," she continued... I think it was probably a blessing that they didn’t know until now.
"Because I think I’m mature enough now to not be overly dramatic about it and just deal with it and find solutions rather than dwell on the emotional side of it."
Feature Image: Getty/YouTube.
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