Nelly Furtado, 45, Still Looks AMAZING!!

Nelly Furtado released her first album in seven years this month. Years after her debut, she stepped out looking stylish and fresh faced.

Over two decades after getting her start in the music industry, Nelly Furtado is still turning heads. The Canadian singer and songwriter was recently in New York City to discuss her new album, 7. She looked casually chic and glowingly beautiful as she strolled through the streets of Manhattan.

On Sept. 20, Furtado released her seventh studio album, 7. This is also her first album in seven years. While promoting her new project, Furtado stepped out in New York City wearing a matching charcoal gray sweat suit. She accessorized with a small black handbag with gold accents. She also wore gold rings, hoop earrings, and a thick gold collar necklace. A pair of rhinestoned sunglasses topped off the look.

Furtado wore her hair in a high bun. Her makeup kept her looking glowy and sunkissed in the waning days of summer.

Furtado said that before she started work on 7, she had been taking an extended break from the studio. Recently, though, she began to feel the urge to work on new music.

“I hadn’t set foot in a studio in about three years, but something told me I needed to get back in,” she told NME. “I knew I wanted to make an album that reminded me of the vibes and energy you get at a soundcheck when you hear your voice coming back at you loud from the speakers.”

She added that her 19-year-old daughter, Nevis, played a big role in the album’s creation.

“She’d literally be like, ‘Mom, why are you using Auto-Tune on this song?’ You think it sounds cool but it doesn’t,” Furtado said. “She also reminded me that people love my music because it’s three-dimensional, which made me dig even deeper.”

Though Furtado took a lengthy break between albums, she didn’t step away from the public eye entirely. In 2023, she received the Artist for Peace and Justice Award for her support of children’s rights and education. In 2024, she attended the event again, this time performing with Charlotte Day Wilson.

“So proud to have been part of another successful [Artists for Peace] fundraiser! Donations came in just shy of $1M. Huge congratulations to everyone involved,” she wrote on Instagram. “Special shoutout to [Charlotte Day Wilson] for performing ACB with me for the first time ever, and to [Kardinal Offishall] and [George Stroumboulopoulos] for being incredible hosts. I also have to say I was absolutely floored by [Jane Goodall] and her powerful speech – what a goddess!”

Promotion of her new album is not the only thing on Furtado’s mind. Nearly 20 years after the release of her groundbreaking album Loose, she is flirting with the idea of performing it during a Las Vegas residency.

“I think it would be really fun for Timbaland and I to do a Vegas residency of Loose,” she said. “We could play the album from beginning to end, because I do think it captures the world we were in at the time.”

Right now, Furtado is grateful that the lengthy break she took between albums has allowed her to feel greater appreciation for the work she does.

“When I look at my career, I feel most like the person who made [my debut album] Whoa, Nelly! again now,” she said. “It’s hard to get back to that kind of creative space, but this is where my long breaks [between albums] really pay off. You get to step away, live your life and remember why you do this again.”