A singular voice in the urban terrain of turn-of-the-millennium Canadian popular music, international phenomenon Nelly Furtado has been unfairly underestimated and underrated throughout her impressive quarter-century career. While the Portuguese-Canadian icon has experienced multiple eras of major mainstream success — from flying like a bird to devouring men — her cycles of commercial disappointment quietly showcased Furtado at her most profound. So, with the knowledge of emotionally and artistically charged tracks like "Try" and "Pipe Dreams" in her repertoire, it's disappointing that Furtado's grande post-TikTok reinvention, 7, sounds as surface and risk-free as it does.
It's easy to imagine that the stakes were high for Furtado to deliver a third miraculously successful album with 7 after several failed restarts, including 2012's colourful The Spirit Indestructible and the excellent 2017 indie rebrand, The Ride. A desperation to succeed is palpable on the album, and it's not so different from what we're witnessing with Katy Perry's latest era. There's a sexist and unfair assumption that a certain number of "flop eras" will lead to a pop star finally being dispatched behind the barn like a sick family dog. This fear can lead to an aversion to risk-taking or presenting anything perceived as inaccessible or alienating. It's worth wondering if the fear of pop expulsion is one of the reasons 7 sounds the way that it does.
There are still glimmers of Furtado's emotionally engaging songwriting here, a signal that the artist hasn't lost her edge or skill after a long-lived pause out of the hustle of a main stage spotlight. The late album track "Better Than Ever" is a piano-captained power ballad that stands as a striking reminder of what Furtado is capable of. It may not be what the general public remembers her best for, but the songwriter shines brightest in moments of confessionalism and heartache. While album highlights like the opening cut "Showstopper" and the densely collaborated-on "Save Your Breath" don't bring anything especially new to her catalogue, they're still helpful and vulnerable reminders of what she's capable of as a storyteller. Canadian drag icon Tynomi Banks has a standout feature on the latter track, an exciting example of 7 at its most future-facing.
"Save Your Breath" is, unfortunately, immediately followed by "Ready for Myself," a track that quickly summarizes what makes Furtado's latest comeback something of a disappointment. It's a pop song stuck in the past and sounds uncannily like fellow underrated Canadian queen Carly Rae Jepsen at her least interesting. Jepsen, like Furtado, is a pop icon who deserves countless chances, as they've both already proven themselves invaluable additions to the culture. As the recent success of Sabrina Carpenter's Short N' Sweet proves, it can take six flailing albums before juggernaut popularity arises. There are no rules anymore.
If history has taught us anything, it's that you should never put Nelly in a corner. She's got an uncanny ability to surprise critics with her Madonna-like shapeshifting and a knack for exciting rebrands. Who knows, maybe 7 will become another massive era for the singer, who, historically, has managed to buck expectations more than once before. Unfortunately, its lead singles, "Love Bites" (ft. Tove Lo & SG Lewis) and "Corazón" (ft. Bomba Estéro), have done very little to entice fans, new or old, to rejoin the party. But I'd love to be proven wrong.