‘Grateful for the years of fun’

Key points

• Nelly Furtado announced her plans to “step away” from performing live for “the foreseeable future.”

• The “Promiscuous” singer said she will “pursue some other creative and personal endeavors” during her next chapter.

• The musician also said she will continue to “identify as a songwriter forever.”

Nelly Furtado is saying goodbye to the spotlight.

The “Promiscuous” singer announced that she plans to “step away” from live performances in an Instagram post on Friday, though she reiterated that she will “identify as a songwriter forever.”

Furtado began her lengthy Instagram caption by contextualizing the first photo in the post — a snap of her at 20 years old circa 2000, when she went shopping for a dress and shoes to wear on stage — to commemorate the 25th anniversary of her debut album, Whoa, Nelly. “It was so meaningful and my artist self felt so actualized,” she wrote.

Furtado went on to explain how she had hoped her music would endure past the era of its original release and that it has, in fact, “reached a whole new generation of fans and I couldn’t be happier about that.”

She continued, “In the year 2000 I remember feeling purpose in hoping some kid would dust off the Whoa, Nelly vinyl one day in a record shop and think it was cool or inspiring, so I never could have guessed that there would be so many new ways to discover ‘old’ music in 2025!”

The “Maneater” singer said witnessing new listeners “rediscovering” her music has been “surreal and joyful.”

“It’s been so fun embracing this opportunity, getting out on stages again, and seeing up close the true lasting power of good music,” Furtado wrote. “It’s made me really believe in magic.”

Despite that magic, however, Furtado explained that she plans to stop performing live. “All this aside, I have decided to step away from performance for the foreseeable future and pursue some other creative and personal endeavors that I feel would better suit this next phase of my life,” she wrote.

“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,” she continued. “I’ll identify as a songwriter forever. I’m grateful for all the years of fun, community, and wonder.”

Furtado also sent “endless gratitude to anyone who has ever listened and vibrated with my music and attended any of my shows,” adding, “I love you and your open hearts.”

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The singer later expressed her gratitude for “all of those who have worked so hard to help me make my pop dreams come true on a creative and organizational level” as well as her “brilliant collaborators and loyal champions.”

The musician ended her remarks with a message for future entertainers. “I also wish, to the new generation of artists, many years of fruitful and passionate performance,” she wrote. “Thank you and goodnight!”

Furtado released her most recent album, 7, in September 2024. Earlier this year, she collaborated with Don Diablo on his single “Doing Nothin’.” Her most recent string of live performances came as part of the Better Than Ever Summer Festival Tour, with her final live set taking place at Superbloom 2025 in Munich on Aug. 30.

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