"Cold Hard Truth" is a song by Canadian singer and songwriter

Nelly Furtado Nelly Kim Furtado ( , ; born December 2, 1978) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has sold over 45 million records, including 35 million in album sales worldwide, making her one of the most successful Canadian artists. Critics have noted ...

. It was officially released on January 27, 2017, as the second single for her sixth studio album, '' The Ride'' (2017). The single was written and produced by

John Congleton John Congleton is a grammy winning American record producer, engineer, mixer, writer and musician. In addition to his production work, Congleton has fronted the alternative rock band The Paper Chase, and writes music for a newer project entitl ...

and

. The song was performed for the first time on national Canadian television on January 26 evening, during Furtado's appearance on ''

Late Night With Seth Meyers ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'' is an American late-night news and political satire variety talk show hosted by Seth Meyers on NBC. The show premiered on February 24, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. Airing w ...

''. The song is about lovers who have to part ways.

Critical reception

Laurence Day of ''

The Line of Best Fit ''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music. It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...

'' wrote that "Cold Hard Truth" is a powerful, fist-pumping preview of Furtado's exciting new release - it's stuffed with punchy beats and propelled by a

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

-solid bassline, with boisterous

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

melodies ready to get stuck in your brain for days." Joey Nolfi of ''

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

'' called the song "a

funky Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the mi ...

, upbeat toe-tapper complete with cowbell and wobbly synths". Craig Jenkins of ''

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to Nort ...

'' observed, "The withering

electro-funk Electro (also known as electro-funk, and sometimes referred to as electro-pop)
Gl ...

opener "Cold Hard Truth" surges with confidence after a breakup, but the newfound independence in the chorus... gives off a sense that it's her own preferred methods of making and selling music getting the boot, not some smarmy beau."

Release history

References

External links

* {{Nelly Furtado songs 2017 singles 2017 songs Nelly Furtado songs Song recordings produced by John Congleton Songs written by John Congleton Songs written by Nelly Furtado