Folklore
Studio album by Nelly Furtado
Released	November 25, 2003
Recorded	The Gymnasium and 4th Street Recordings (Santa Monica, California); Metalworks Studios (Mississauga, Ontario); Left Brain Studios and 1st Congregational Church (L.A., California)
Genre	Pop Folk Pop
Length	50:26
Label	DreamWorks
Producer	Track & Field, Nelly Furtado, Lil' Jaz, Jacques Morelenbaum
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Amazon [1] Blender Magazine link Rolling Stone link Slant Magazine link Entertainment Weekly A- link
Nelly Furtado chronology
Whoa, Nelly! (2000) Folklore (2003) Loose (2006)
Singles from Folklore
"Powerless (Say What You Want)" Released: December 8, 2003 "Try" Released: March 15, 2004 "Força" Released: June 14, 2004 "Explode" Released: September 27, 2004 "The Grass Is Green" Released: February 28, 2005

Folklore is the second album by Canadian pop singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado, released by DreamWorks Records in North America on November 25, 2003 (see 2003 in music).

Production and release

The album's title was influenced by Furtado's parents' immigration to Canada, "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. When you have that in your blood, you never really part with it—it becomes your own personal folklore."^[1] The album also displayed a diverse sound but with a more rock-oriented, acoustic approach.^[2]Furtado attributed the mellowness of the album to the fact that she was pregnant during most of its recording.^[1]

Folklore includes the single "Força" (meaning "carry on" or "strength" in Portuguese), which was written as the official anthem of the 2004 European Football Championship. Furtado performed the song at the championship's final in Lisbon, in July 2004.^[3] Other singles included the ballad "Try" and "Powerless (Say What You Want)", 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".^[1] Additional singles were released in certain territories; "Explode" in Canada and Europe, and "The Grass Is Green" in Germany.

The album debuted at number eighteen on the Canadian albums chart with first-week sales of 10,400,^[4] and at number thirty-eight on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 68,000 in its first week.^[5] According to Nielsen SoundScan, it had sold 425,000 copies in the U.S. by August 2008.^[6] It was not as successful as Furtado's debut album, Whoa, Nelly! (2000), partly because of troubles at DreamWorks Records and the less poppy sound.^[7] It lacked promotion because DreamWorks was sold to Universal Music Group at the time of Folkore's release, and it spent only eleven weeks on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. In 2005 DreamWorks Records was shut down, and many of its artists, including Furtado, were absorbed into Geffen Records.^[8] An enhanced CD, Folklore sold two million copies worldwide^[9] and was most successful in Germany. Furtado said, "Why do Germans 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."^[10]

Critical reception

Folklore received mixed reviews from critics. All Music Guide's Stephan Thomas stated that "[w]hile there are some interesting musical moments on Folklore -- enough to make it worth a listen -- the dogged seriousness and didactic 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 alternative pop often seems heavy-handed."^[11] Entertainment Weekly gave a positive review stating that " exultant music goes on its merry, multicultural way"^[12]. While Rolling Stone gave a negative review , calling Folklore "slick, multicultural hodgepodge" but without a "good as a single as I'm Like A Bird" ^[13]As she focused more on the songwriting rather "than on frenetically switching genres five times in one song",^[1] BBC felt that it had "twice the originality" of her debut.^[7]

Track listing

All songs were written by Gerald Eaton, Nelly Furtado and Brian West, except where noted.

1. "One-Trick Pony" featuring the Kronos Quartet – 4:47
2. "Powerless (Say What You Want)" – 3:52
   • Samples Malcolm McLaren's "Buffalo Gals" (Anne Dudley, Trevor Horn, McLaren)
3. "Explode" (Eaton, Furtado) – 3:44
4. "Try" (Furtado, West) – 4:39
5. "Fresh Off the Boat" – 3:16
6. "Força" – 3:40
7. "The Grass Is Green" (Mike Elizondo, Furtado) – 3:50
8. "Picture Perfect" – 5:16
9. "Saturdays" (Furtado) – 2:05
10. "Build You Up" – 4:58
11. "Island of Wonder" (S. Diaz, Furtado, J. Gahunia) – 3:49
    • Samples Caetano Veloso's "Tonada De Luna Llena" and features new vocal recordings by Veloso
12. "Childhood Dreams" – 6:35

UK bonus tracks

• 13. "Try" (acoustic version)
• 14. CD-ROM video footage

Japanese bonus tracks

• 13. "Powerless (Say What You Want)" (alternative acoustic mix)
• 14. "Try" (acoustic version)

Latin American re-issue

• 13. "Powerless (Say What You Want)" featuring Juanes

Singles

• Powerless (Say What You Want)
• Try
• Força
• Explode (song)
• The Grass Is Green (Germany only)

Limited CD/DVD Edition

^[14]

CD 1: DVD

1. "I'm Like A Bird [music video]"
2. "Turn Off The Light [music video]"
3. "...On The Radio (Remember The Days) [music video]"
4. Making of "Folklore"

CD 2: CD

1. "Fresh Off The Boat" [medley]
2. "Powerless (Say What You Want)" [medley]
3. "Explode" [medley]
4. "Try" [medley]
5. Nelly Furtado talks about "Folklore"

Charts

Sales and Certifications

References