7 (Nelly Furtado album)


7 is the seventh studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado, released on September 20, 2024, through Nelstar Entertainment and 21 Entertainment Group. It is her first album since 2017's The Ride, and was preceded by the singles "Love Bites" featuring Tove Lo and SG Lewis and "Corazón" featuring Bomba Estéreo. The album additionally contains collaborations with singer Charlotte Day Wilson, DJ and producer Dom Dolla and producers WondaGurl and T-Minus.

Background

After several years of inactivity, Furtado confirmed new music in an interview in Fault magazine in May 2023, saying that she had "recorded a hundred songs in the last 18 months" and was "so excited to bring people new music".
With the album's announcement in July 2024, Furtado said that she wrote "400–500 pieces of music in 4 years" and explained that her ADHD does not "always allow for to organize creations in a methodical way so it's hard to explain how we have chosen 14 songs that magically rose to the top of the heap". Furtado likened the songs to "random seashells that may be similar but not at all alike" and said that her intention was to "provide some portals to trip out and release and escape". Her label called the album "four years of artistic discovery".
About the album title, Furtado stated it was the only title that made sense to her, as well as being her seventh studio album and seven years having passed since her previous album, because "it's more like a collection. Fashion collections don't really have titles, they're just called collection number 10 or 21. This is my collection seven."

Promotion

Singles

Furtado released the lead single "Love Bites" in May 2024, a collaboration with Swedish singer Tove Lo and British DJ SG Lewis. Furtado stated in 2023 that she wanted to work with DJs as she felt "called back to music from the DJ community" and "realized how much people like to dance and escape to music". The song peaked at number 36 on the Canadian Billboard CHR/Top 40 chart, number 2 on the US Billboard Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart, and at number 21 on the Dance/Electronic Songs chart.
The second single "Corazón" was released on July 12, 2024, the day following the album announcement. Furtado first performed the song at Machaca Fest in Monterrey, Mexico, in June 2023; she had mentioned a collaboration with Colombian band Bomba Estéreo in August 2023 after performing with them at the Osheaga Festival earlier that month. In Canada, "Corazón" peaked at number 17 on the CHR/Top 40 chart. The DJ Arana Remix was released on January 1, 2025.
On the day of the album's release, Furtado released an official visualizer video for "Honesty", which was sent to Italian radio as the album's third single.
On December 25, 2024, Furtado released "Showstopper" as the album's fourth single, remixed and adding a feature from British rapper AJ Tracey.

Live performances

In June 2024, Furtado performed the closing set to that year's Mighty Hoopla festival. Among her best known tracks, she performed "Love Bites". On July 16, 2024, she performed at the Isle of MTV concert in Malta. In September 2024, Furtado performed "Save Your Breath" as part of the City Sessions at Amazon Music Live. In August 2025, Furtado embarked on the "Better than Ever Summer Festival Tour" with festival concerts throughout Europe.

Promotional videos

Aside from Furtado's music videos released in support of the album's official singles, she released official visualisers for a number of tracks; on November 13, 2024, she released the visualizer for "Untitled", and a visualizer for "Floodgate", which followed on December 13, 2024. Subsequently, she released lyric videos for "Better For Worse" on December 25, 2024, "Showstopper" on January 1, 2025, and "Better Than Ever" on January 14, 2025.

Critical reception

Fabio Magnocavallo from Euphoria praised 7 for balancing modern and nostalgic elements, showcasing her evolution while maintaining the essence of her early 2000s sound. He highlighted tracks like the moody "Showstopper" and the bilingual "Corazón" with Bomba Estéreo, reminiscent of her Loose era. The album's diversity, from the electropop "Love Bites" with SG Lewis and Tove Lo to the piano ballad "All Comes Back", reveal Furtado's personal growth. Despite a somewhat scattered tracklist, Magnocavallo commended her multi-faceted artistry and gave the album 4 out of 5 stars.
Josh Korngut, writing for Exclaim!, expressed disappointment with the album's overall lack of risk and depth. Korngut acknowledged Furtado's past musical successes, highlighting her ability to deliver emotionally powerful tracks like "Try" and "Pipe Dreams", but felt that 7 falls short of her potential. He suggested that the pressure to deliver a commercially successful album after several "flop eras" may have led to a safer, less adventurous project. Korngut noted that while some tracks, like "Better Than Ever", showcase Furtado's strength in confessional songwriting, many others, such as "Ready for Myself", feel outdated or uninspired. The track "Save Your Breath" was praised for its future-facing collaboration with drag star Tynomi Banks, though Korngut felt that the album's lead singles, including "Love Bites" and "Corazón", failed to captivate fans. Despite these criticisms, Korngut acknowledged Furtado's talent and ability to reinvent herself, suggesting that while 7 may not have hit the mark, she still has the potential to surprise critics in the future.

Commercial performance

7 saw minor success in five European countries; in the United Kingdom, 7 debuted at number 37 on the UK Album Downloads Chart and at number 60 on the UK Album Sales Chart.

Track listing

Notes
  • signifies a co-producer
  • signifies an additional producer
  • signifies a vocal producer
Samples
  • "Floodgate" contains a sample from "You" by Mei Ehara.

    Personnel

Musicians
  • Nelly Furtado – vocals
  • Herag Sanbalian – guitar, programming ; drums, synthesizer ; synthesizer programming
  • Stephen Kirk – additional vocals
  • Jim Beanz – additional vocals
  • Anthony Yordanov – additional vocals
  • Pacho Carnaval – additional vocals, flute
  • Jaime Alzate – additional vocals, percussion
  • José Castillo – additional vocals, guitar
  • Mamic Itoua – additional vocals
  • Sam Lewis – programming ; bass, drums, keyboards, violin
  • Gray Hawken – additional vocals, piano
  • Drew Veloric – drums, programming, synthesizer programming
  • Will Lamoureux – violin
  • Billa Joints – guitar
  • Charlotte Day Wilson – vocals, piano
  • Taborah Johnson – additional vocals
  • Tynomi Banks – additional vocals
  • Mignone Moïse a.k.a. Williane 108 - vocals
  • Charmie Deller – additional vocals
  • Anjulie Persaud – additional vocals
  • Dom Dolla – vocals
  • Nevis Gahunia – additional vocals
  • Benny Bellson – additional vocals
  • Charlie Joy – additional vocals
  • Lido Pimienta – additional vocals
  • Jenna Andrews – additional vocals
Technical
  • Nelly Furtado - executive producer, additional A&R, production, vocal production
  • Chris Smith - executive producer
  • WondaGurl - production
  • T-Minus - production
  • Sam Lewis – production, engineering
  • Jim Beanz – production, vocal production, engineering
  • Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs - production
  • Michael "Finatik" Mulé - production
  • Isaac "Zac" De Boni - production
  • Aaron Bow - production
  • Thislandis - production
  • Teddy Walton - production
  • Billa Joints - production, co-production, additional production
  • Charlotte Day Wilson – production
  • Dom Dolla – production, mixing
  • Herag Sanbalian – production, co-production, engineering
  • Gray Hawken – production, vocal production, additional production
  • Oliver Cazier - production
  • Owen Pallett – additional production, string arrangement
  • Chris Gehringer – mastering
  • Manny Marroquin – mixing
  • Jaycen Joshua – mixing
  • Anthony Yordanov – A&R, vocal production, mixing, co-mixing, engineering
  • Lido Pimienta – additional A&R, production coordinator, string arrangement
  • Juro "Mez" Davis – mixing
  • Mamic Itoua – engineering, mastering assistance, engineering assistance
  • Juan Pena – engineering
  • Len Rodriguez – engineering
  • Ashley Jacobson – engineering
  • Charlie Joy – mastering assistance
  • Josh Lich – engineering assistance
  • Nevis Gahunia - A&R
  • Evan Peters - A&R
  • Valentin Herfray - art direction, photography
  • Guillhaume Sbalchiero - graphic design, typography

    Charts