''Folklore'' is the second

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

by Canadian singer-songwriter

Nelly Furtado Nelly Kim Furtado (; ; born December 2, 1978) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Furtado has sold over 40 million records worldwide making her one of the most successful Canadian artists. She first gained fame with her trip hop-inspired de ...

. It was released on November 5, 2003 through

DreamWorks Records DreamWorks Records (often referred in copyright notices as SKG Music, LLC) was an American record label founded in 1996 by David Geffen, Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg as a subsidiary of DreamWorks Pictures. The label operated until 20 ...

. While the album did not match the success of her previous album in such markets as the United States and Australia, it did however become a success in several European countries. ''Folklore'' spawned five singles: "

Powerless (Say What You Want) "Powerless (Say What You Want)" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado from her second studio album, '' Folklore'' (2003). The song was written and produced by Furtado, Gerald Eaton, and Brian West. It contains a sample of Malc ...

", " Try", " Força", " Explode" and " The Grass Is Green". The album has sold 2 million copies worldwide. Primarily a

world In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

and

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, ear ...

album, ''Folklore'' also incorporates

ethnic An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established fo ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

, folk,

alternative pop Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...

and worldbeat elements.

Background

The album's title was influenced by Furtado's parents'

immigration to Canada According to the 2021 Canadian census, immigrants in Canada number 8.3 million persons and make up approximately 23 percent of Canada's total population. This represents the eighth-largest immigrant population in the world, while the proport ...

, "When I look at my old photo albums, I see pictures of their brand-new house, their shiny new car, their first experiences going to very North American-type places like

Kmart Kmart Corporation ( , doing business as Kmart and stylized as kmart) is an American retail company that owns a chain of big box department stores. The company is headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States. The company was inc ...

. When you have that in your blood, you never really part with it it becomes your own personal folklore." Furtado attributed the mellowness of the album to the fact that she was pregnant during most of its recording. "Saturdays" features vocals by

Jarvis Church Gerald Eaton (born November 22, 1971) is a Canadian R&B singer-songwriter and music producer, also known by his stage name Jarvis Church. Career Eaton is the lead singer for the R&B-pop group The Philosopher Kings, which reached its peak popula ...

and "Island of Wonder" features vocals by

Caetano Veloso Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso (; born 7 August 1942) is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo, which encomp ...

. ''Folklore'' includes the single " Força" (meaning "carry on" or "strength" in

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

), which was written as the official anthem of the

UEFA Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. Th ...

. Furtado performed the song at the championship's final in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

, in July 2004. Other singles included the ballad " Try" and "

", in which she embraces her Portuguese heritage; the song deals with "the idea that you can still feel like a minority inside, even if you don't look like one on the outside". Additional singles were released in certain territories; " Explode" in Canada and Europe, and " The Grass Is Green" in Germany.

Critical reception

''Folklore'' received mixed reviews from critics.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, oc ...

stated that " ile there are some interesting musical moments on ''Folklore'' -- enough to make it worth a listen -- the dogged seriousness and

didactic Didacticism is a philosophy that emphasizes instructional and informative qualities in literature, art, and design. In art, design, architecture, and landscape, didacticism is an emerging conceptual approach that is driven by the urgent need t ...

worldview become a bit overbearing not long before the album is a quarter of the way finished, particularly since the fusion of worldbeat and

adult An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of maj ...

often seems heavy-handed." ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...

'' gave a positive review stating that "exultant music goes on its merry, multicultural way". While ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' gave a negative review, calling ''Folklore'' "slick, multicultural hodgepodge" but "without a single as good as '

I'm Like a Bird "I'm Like a Bird" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado. It was written by Furtado and produced by Gerald Eaton and Brian West for her debut studio album, ''Whoa, Nelly!'' (2000). Released as the album's first single, it became ...

'." As she focused more on the songwriting, rather "than on frenetically switching genres five times in one song", BBC felt that it had "twice the originality" of her debut. '' The A.V. Club'' wrote that while "few tracks on ''Folklore'' stand out, the album hangs together agreeably..."

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number eighteen on the

Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Oce ...

with first-week sales of 10,400, and at number thirty-eight on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling 68,000 in its first week. According to

Nielsen SoundScan Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and eve ...

, it had sold 425,000 copies in the US by August 2008.Caulfield, Keith
"Ask Billboard - Divalicious"
''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

''. 8 August 2008. It was not as successful as Furtado's debut album, ''

Whoa, Nelly! ''Whoa, Nelly!'' is the debut studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado. It was released in North America on October 24, 2000, by DreamWorks Records. Recording sessions for the album took place from 1999 to 2000. It peaked at numbe ...

'' (2000), partly because of troubles at

and the less

poppy A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, '' Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug o ...

sound. It lacked promotion because DreamWorks was sold to

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

at the time of ''Folklores release, and it spent only eleven weeks on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart. In 2005, DreamWorks Records was shut down and many of its artists, including Furtado, were absorbed into

Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...

. Furtado noticed that the album was particularly successful in Germany, where it reached the top 5 on the albums chart, and said, "Why do

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

love this album? I think I figured it out: It's so cerebral. It's great in its own way, but that's a different side."Anderson, Jason
"Bustin' ''Loose''"

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the governmen ...

. 20 June 2006. Retrieved 18 September 2006.

Track listing

All tracks produced by

Gerald Eaton Gerald Eaton (born November 22, 1971) is a Canadian R&B singer-songwriter and music producer, also known by his stage name Jarvis Church. Career Eaton is the lead singer for the R&B-pop group The Philosopher Kings, which reached its peak popul ...

and Brian West, except for " The Grass Is Green" which is produced by Furtado and

Mike Elizondo Mike Elizondo (born October 22, 1972) is an American producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. A protege of Dr. Dre, Elizondo has worked with 50 Cent, Eminem, Carrie Underwood, Fiona Apple, Mastodon, Ry Cooder, Skylar Grey, Twenty ...

and "Island of Wonder" which is produced by Furtado, Lil' Jaz, Eaton and West. ;Samples *"

" contains elements from "

Buffalo Gals "Buffalo Gals" is a traditional American song, written and published as "Lubly Fan" in 1844 by the blackface minstrel John Hodges, who performed as "Cool White". The song was widely popular throughout the United States, where minstrels often al ...

" by

Malcolm McLaren Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren (22 January 1946 – 8 April 2010) was an English impresario, visual artist, singer, songwriter, musician, clothes designer and boutique owner, notable for combining these activities in an inventive and provo ...

. *"Island of Wonder" contains elements from "Tonada de Luna Llena" by

Personnel

Credits adapted from the ''Folklore'' liner notes. *

: lead and background vocals, lyricist, songwriting, acoustic guitar *

: lead and background vocals (11) *

a.k.a. Jarvis Church: electric harmonium (right hand), tambourine, B3 organ, background vocals * Brian West: acoustic guitar, flange guitar, electric harmonium (left hand), squeaky organ, rhythm guitar, telecaster, stadium guitar, space echo guitar, electric mantra guitar, pedals, Rhodes *George Doerling: Banjo, mandolín, cavaquinho, dulcimer, Hawaiian mini-guitar. *Russ Miller: percussion, drums * David Harrington: violin (1) * John Sherba: violin (1) * Hank Dutt: viola (1) * Jennifer Culp: cello (1) *Stephen Prutsman: string arrangement *Steve Carnelli: banjo, mandolín * James Bryan: acoustic guitar, electric guitar, island guitar, tender rogue guitar *Mike Elizondo: echoplex slide guitar, bass *Michael Einziger: lead guitar, drill guitar, chime guitar *Brad Haehnhel: fireworks display *

Joey Waronker Jon Joseph Waronker (born May 20, 1969) is an American drummer and music producer. He is best known as a regular drummer of both Beck and R.E.M., and as member of the experimental rock bands Atoms for Peace and Ultraísta. Background Waronker ...

: drums *Bob Leatherbarrow: vibraphone *Alex Alessandroni: piano, echo harmonium *Jasper Gahunia a.k.a. “Lil’ Jaz”: scratching, scratch effects, subliminal speeches *Justin Meldal-Johnsen: Ocean bass *Alan Molnar: vibraphone *Béla Fleck: banjo *Gurpreet Chana: tabla *Dean Jarvis: bass *Luis Simãõ: accordion *Daniel Stone: percussion, Shakere, Caxixi, finger cymbals, cajon, congas, chascarra de gaita *Jef Ten Kortenaar: violin *David Wadly: violin *Amanda Goodburn: viola *Orly Bitou: cello *David Campbell: arranger *Mike Fratantuno: upright bass *Jon Levine: piano *Rafael Gomez: acostic guitar, Portuguese shout outs *Manuela Furtado: whistling *Kyle Erwin: Huge organ, chimes, 64-foot pipes *Vonette Yanaglmnuma: harp

Production

*Nelly Furtado: producer *Track: producer, programming *Field: producer, programming, engineering *Lil’ Jazz: producer, programming, additional engineering *Mike Elizondo: producer, programming *Brad Haehnhel: mixing, engineering *Joseph Lobato: engineering *Adam Hawkins: engineering *Marcelo Sabola: engineering *Steve Chahley: assistant engineering *Ian Bodzasi: assistant engineering *Chris Gordon: assistant engineering *Neil Couser: assistant engineering *Brian Gardner: mastering *Bernie Grundman: mastering *Beth Halper: A&R *Jennifer Ross: A&R coordinator *Frances Pennington: creative director *Gravis Inc.: art direction, design *Warrick Saint: cover photo *Isabel Snyder: photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Folklore (Nelly Furtado Album) 2003 albums Nelly Furtado albums Albums produced by Mike Elizondo Albums recorded at Metalworks Studios DreamWorks Records albums Interscope Geffen A&M Records albums Festival Records albums Mushroom Records albums Warner Records albums World music albums by Canadian artists