"Turn Off the Light" is a song 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 deb ...

from her debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''

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 num ...

'' (2000). Written by Furtado, and produced by Gerald Eaton, Brian West, and Furtado, the song was released as the album's second

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

on 2 July 2001, reaching number one in New Zealand, Portugal, and Romania, as well peaking within the top 10 in several other countries, including Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Music video

There are two music videos for "Turn Off the Light": the underground version and the regular version. The regular version was directed by

Sophie Muller Sophie Luise Elisabeth Muller (born 31 January 1962) is a British music video director who has directed more than 300 music videos. She won a Grammy Award for Annie Lennox's 1992 '' Diva'' video album, and an MTV Video Music Award for Lennox's so ...

and was filmed in Chinatown's Central Plaza in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. The music video for the regular version of "Turn Off the Light" begins in a swamp where Furtado is sitting on the edge of a log and people are swimming in the swamp. She begins to sing the first verse and when the chorus commences the people in the swamp pull her in and they start dancing in the swamp. When the second verse begins Furtado is seen at a temple singing while dancers jump out and dance with Furtado. During the second part of the chorus, she is surrounded by a group at the temple and they dance around her while she sings. During the bridge Furtado is shown at an old house singing and playing the guitar, with the

flag of the Azores The Flag of the Azores ( pt, Bandeira dos Açores) is the regional flag of the Portuguese Autonomous Region of the Azores. It is a rectangular bicolour with a field unevenly divided into blue on the hoist, and white on the fly. It was establis ...

both behind her and on her guitar (this scene is interpolated with shots of a DJ playing, also with the Azorean flag behind him, and topless men dancing while using skirts that resemble those used in Sufi whirling). The video ends with Furtado back at the temple eating noodles. The underground video features Furtado playing the guitar in a wooden shed, wearing a white top and jeans. She is also seen buying flowers. Behind the scenes footage of the photoshoot for the ''

'' cover is interwoven throughout the video.

Chart performance

The song became Furtado's most successful song at the time of its release. In New Zealand, it became her first number-one single and stayed on the chart for 27 weeks. "Turn Off the Light" was certified Gold by

Recorded Music NZ Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded Mus ...

for sales greater than 5,000 copies. The song became the second-most successful song of New Zealand in 2001, behind

Craig David Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is a British singer and songwriter who rose to fame in 1999, featuring on the single "Re-Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta), Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger (UK band), Artful Dodger. David's debut studio album, ' ...

's " Walking Away". It peaked at number 5 on the US '' Billbard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

on 10 November 2001. A remix featuring rappers

Ms. Jade Chevon Young (born 1979), better known by the stage name Ms. Jade is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 2002 she released her only album to date, ''Girl Interrupted (album), Girl Interrupted'', which featured the single (mus ...

and

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He has received widespread acclaim for his innovative production work and distinc ...

was also released, and a dance remix topped the ''Billboard''

Hot Dance Music/Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as th ...

chart. In Australia, although the song peaked at number 7, it remained in the top 50 for 21 weeks and was certified Platinum for sales exceeding 70,000 copies. The song debuted and peaked at number 4 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, becoming Furtado's second top-5 single there, and reached number 2 on the

UK R&B Chart The UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart and the UK Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart (also known as The Official UK Hip Hop and R&B Charts, the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Singles and the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Albums, or simply the UK Urban Chart) are 40-posi ...

Track listings

UK CD single # "Turn Off the Light" # "Turn Off the Light" (remix featuring

and

) # "

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 ...

" (acoustic version) # "Turn Off the Light" (CD-ROM video) UK 12-inch single :A1. "Turn Off the Light" (remix featuring Timbaland and Ms. Jade) :A2. "Turn Off the Light" (

So Solid Crew So Solid Crew are a British UK garage and hip hop collective originating from the area on and surrounding the Winstanley and York Road Estates in Battersea, London which achieved wide success in the early 2000s. The group consisted of many m ...

remix) :B1. "Turn Off the Light" (album version) :B2. "Turn Off the Light" (Sunshine Reggae mix) UK cassette single and European CD single # "Turn Off the Light" (radio edit) – 3:36 # "I'm Like a Bird" (acoustic version) – 3:50 Australasian CD single # "Turn Off the Light" (radio edit) # "Turn Off the Light" (Sunshine Reggae mix) # "I'm Like a Bird" (acoustic) # "Turn Off the Light" (underground video)

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the ''Whoa, Nelly!'' album booklet. Studios * Recorded and engineered at The Gymnasium (Toronto, Canada) and Can-Am Recorders (

Tarzana, Los Angeles Tarzana is a suburban neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Tarzana is on the site of a former ranch owned by author Edgar Rice Burroughs. It is named after Burroughs' fictional jungle hero, Tarzan. History ...

) * Mixed at Can-Am Recorders (Tarzana, Los Angeles) * Mastered at Classic Sound (New York City) Personnel * Nelly Furtado – writing, lead vocals, background vocals, programming,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

* Gerald Eaton – additional background vocals, programming, production * James McCollum – swamp guitar * Brian West – pitched-up guitar,

scratching Scratching, sometimes referred to as scrubbing, is a DJ and turntablist technique of moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable to produce percussive or rhythmic sounds. A crossfader on a DJ mixer may be used to fade between two record ...

, production, programming, recording, engineering * Brad Haehnel – mixing, recording, engineering * John Knupp – second engineering * Scott Hull – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2000 songs 2001 singles DreamWorks Records singles Music videos directed by Sophie Muller Nelly Furtado songs Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Portugal Number-one singles in Romania Songs written by Nelly Furtado