''Whoa, Nelly!'' is the debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by Canadian singer-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 ...

, released in North America on October 24, 2000 by

DreamWorks Records DreamWorks Records (often referred in copyright notices as SKG Music, LLC) was an American record label founded in 1996 by David Geffen, Mo Ostin, his son Michael Ostin and Lenny Waronker as a subsidiary of DreamWorks Pictures. The label opera ...

. Recording sessions for the album took place from 1999 to 2000. It peaked at number twenty-four on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, and received critical acclaim. It produced four singles: "

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 on Septem ...

", " Turn Off the Light", " Shit on the Radio (Remember the Days)", and " Hey, Man!". The album spent seventy-eight weeks on the ''Billboard'' 200, and hit double-platinum status in the US in January 2002. After the release of the album, Furtado headlined the Burn in the Spotlight Tour and appeared on

Moby Richard Melville Hall (September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, disc jockey, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "amo ...

's Area:One tour. According to ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...

'' magazine, ''Whoa, Nelly!'' has sold 5-6 million copies Worldwide as of 2006. The album also caught the eye of record producer

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer and rapper. Born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, he is widely acclaimed for his distinctive production work and "stuttering" rhythm ...

, who later signed Furtado to his record label.

Composition

''Whoa, Nelly'' combines elements of a large number of genres.

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

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 Mus ...

states that "much of the record sounds like

folk-pop Folk-pop is a broad Music genre#Subtypes, musical fusion genre that includes contemporary folk songs with pop music, pop arrangements, and pop songs with intimate, acoustic music, acoustic-based folk music, folk arrangements. Folk-pop has been ...

tinged with bossa nova" and describes the songs as "blends of

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 ...

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

, and

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

". According to Heidi Sherman from ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' "Furtado takes on mainstream urban pop, alternative folk, R&B-

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

, and Brazilian

samba Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...

on ''Whoa, Nelly!''". ''

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 advertis ...

'' notes that "Nelly Furtado sees no reason for separating

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 ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

s from pop melodies from R&B/

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

beats from effervescent bossa nova". Other articles on ''Billboard'' describe ''Whoa, Nelly'' as a trip-

and

worldbeat Worldbeat is a music genre that blends pop music or rock music with world music or traditional music. Worldbeat is similar to other cross-pollination labels of contemporary and roots genres, and which suggest a rhythmic, harmonic or textural co ...

/rock album.

Critical reception

''Whoa, Nelly!'' was well received by critics for its eccentric, yet intriguing instrumentations as well as Furtado's vocals. It currently holds a score of 79 from

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

. '' Slant'' magazine called it "a delightful and refreshing antidote to the army of ' pop princesses' and rap-metal bands that had taken over popular music at the turn of the millennium." The sound of the album was strongly influenced by musicians who had traversed cultures and "the challenge of making heartfelt, emotional music that's upbeat and hopeful."

gave a positive review while commenting that "Furtado is a restless vocalist, skitting and scatting with abandon, spitting out rapid repetitions, bending notes, and frequently indulging in

melisma Melisma (, , ; from , plural: ''melismata''), informally known as a vocal run and sometimes interchanged with the term roulade, is the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession. Music sung in ...

s." and also stating that "''Whoa, Nelly!'' unfolds as a rewarding, promising debut." Rolling Stone gave ''Whoa, Nelly!'' a positive review calling it a "wild-ass pop go-go, filled with songs that pursue adventure yet could still make the hit parades." '' Q'' listed ''Whoa, Nelly!'' as one of the best 50 albums of 2001. As a result of critical acclaim, the album received four nominations at the

44th Annual Grammy Awards The 44th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 27, 2002, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The main recipient was Alicia Keys, winning five Grammys, including Best New Artist and Song of the Year for " Fallin'". U2 won fo ...

ceremony in on 27 February 2002. The album itself received a nomination for

Best Pop Vocal Album The Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality vocal pop music albums. Awards in several ...

, while Furtado herself was nominated for

Best New Artist The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since the 2nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1960 (except in 1967) "for a new artist who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that ar ...

as well as Song of the Year and

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance was a Grammy Award recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. It was discontinued after the 2011 Grammy season. The awar ...

for "I'm Like a Bird", in which she won the latter.

Commercial performance

''Whoa, Nelly!'' debuted with first week sales of 4,087 in the United States. It officially made its debut on the ''Billboard'' 200 at number 190 on the week of January 13, 2001.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200/2001-01-13 Due to the help of radio airplay, by the end of 2000 the album was now selling up to 12,000 copies per week; by the end of 2001 it was selling up to 55,000 copies per week. It eventually reached its peak at number 24 on the chart and is currently certified double platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA). In Furtado's home country of Canada the album peaked at number two and is currently certified 4× platinum.

Track listing

All tracks produced by

, Gerald Eaton and Brian West, except for "Well, Well", which is produced by Furtado and Jon Levine. Samples * Hey, Man!" contains a sample from "White Man Sleeps (Second Movement)" by

Kronos Quartet The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classical musi ...

. *"My Love Grows Deeper" (Part 1) contains a sample from "Stride With Ease" by

Jeff Tyzik Jeff Tyzik (born Jeff Tkazyik, August 1, 1951) is an American conductor, arranger, and trumpeter. He has recorded jazz albums as a soloist and arranged pop and jazz music for orchestras. Early life and education Tyzik, born in Hyde Park, New Yo ...

and a sample from "Eli Eli" by

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer. Starting his 69-year career with singles of standard (music), standard music, Mathis is one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century and became highly popular as ...

Personnel

Credits are adapted from

. *Nelly Furtado – lead and background vocals, acoustic guitar, songwriting *

Field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

– bass guitar, acoustic guitar * Track – tambourine, background vocals, quica, shakers *Curt Bisquera – drums *Lil' Jaz –

turntables A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration Waveform, waveforms are recorded as correspond ...

*Johnny "The American" – electric guitar *Bob Ludwig – mastering *Rick Waychesko – trumpet, fluglehorn *Mike Elizondo – bass guitar, double bass *Victor Rebelo – percussion, berimbau, shaker * Camara Kambon – piano *Martin Tillmann – cello * James McCollum – guitar *Russ Miller – drums *Allan Molnar – vibraphone *Brad Haehnel – shaker *Roberto Occhipinti – bass guitar *Luis Orbegoso – congas, toms *Joe "Public" Allen – trumpet *Nuno Cristo – guitar *Alex Rebelo – rhythm guitar *Daniel Stone – udu, shaker, triangle *Martin Tillmann – cello

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2000 debut albums Nelly Furtado albums DreamWorks Records albums Interscope Geffen A&M Records albums Festival Records albums Mushroom Records albums Warner Records albums Albums produced by Jon Levine Albums recorded at Metalworks Studios Trip hop albums by Canadian artists