Folklore (album)

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This article is about the Nelly Furtado album. For other uses, see Folklore (disambiguation).
Folklore
Folklore cover
Studio album by Nelly Furtado
Released Flag of the United StatesFlag of Canada 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, pop rock, folk-pop
Length 50:36
Label DreamWorks
Producer Track & Field, Nelly Furtado, Lil' Jaz, Jacques Morelenbaum
Professional reviews
Nelly Furtado chronology
Whoa, Nelly!
(2000)		 Folklore
(2003)		 Sessions@AOL
(2004)
Singles from Folklore
  1. "Powerless (Say What You Want)"
    Released: December 8, 2003
  2. "Try"
    Released: March 15, 2004
  3. "Força"
    Released: June 14, 2004
  4. "Explode"
    Released: September 27, 2004
  5. "The Grass Is Green"
    Released: February 28, 2005

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

Contents

[edit] 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] 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.[3] 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, Portugal in July 2004.[4] 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 radically altered edits of "Força" and "Try" released to radio stations do not appear on the album, nor does the Spanish single version of "Powerless (Say What You Want)" featuring Juanes.

The album debuted at number eighteen on the Canadian albums chart with first-week sales of 10,400,[5] and at number thirty-eight on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 68,000 in its first week.[6] According to Nielsen SoundScan, it had sold 416,000 copies in the U.S. by January 2007.[7] 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.[3] 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]

[edit] Track listing

  1. "One-Trick Pony" (Gerald Eaton, Nelly Furtado, Brian West) featuring Kronos Quartet – 4:47
  2. "Powerless (Say What You Want)" (Anne Dudley, Eaton, Furtado, Trevor Horn, Malcolm McLaren, West) – 3:52
    • Samples Malcolm McLaren's "Buffalo Gals"
  3. "Explode" (Eaton, Furtado) – 3:44
  4. "Try" (Furtado, West) – 4:39
  5. "Fresh off the Boat" (Eaton, Furtado, West) – 3:16
  6. "Força" (Eaton, Furtado, West) – 3:40
  7. "The Grass Is Green" (Mike Elizondo, Furtado) – 3:50
  8. "Picture Perfect" (Eaton, Furtado, West) – 5:16
  9. "Saturdays" (Furtado) – 2:05
  10. "Build You Up" (Eaton, Furtado, West) – 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" (Eaton, Furtado, West) – 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

[edit] Singles

[edit] Limited CD/DVD Edition

[11]

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"

[edit] Charts

Chart (2003/2004) Peak
position[12]
Austria Top 75[13] 10
Australian Albums Chart 82
Canadian Albums Chart 18
France Top 200[14] 122
German Albums Chart[15] 4
India International Albums Chart 1
Italy Top 75[16] 35
Mexican Albums Chart[17] 8
Netherlands Top 100[18] 4
Portugal Top 30[19] 2
Switzerland Top 100[20] 13
U.S. Billboard 200[21] 38
UK Albums Chart 11
United World Chart[22] 31

[edit] Sales and Certifications

Chart Certification Sales/Shipments
Brasil (ABPD) -[23] 8,000
Canada (CRIA) Platinum[24] 100,000
France (SNEP) - 12,000[25]
Germany (IFPI) Platinum[26] 200,000
India (IMI) Gold 10,000
Netherlands (NVPI) Gold 35,000
Portugal (AFP) Gold[27] 10,000
Switzerland (IFPI) Platinum[28] 30,000
UK (BPI) Gold[29] 239,000[30]
U.S. (RIAA) Gold[31] 416,000[32]
Worldwide 2x Platinum 2,000,000[33]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Interview: Nelly Furtado. Interview. Retrieved on 29 May 2006.
  2. ^ Folklore. Amazon.com. Retrieved on 28 May 2006.
  3. ^ a b Folklore. BBC. Retrieved on 28 May 2006.
  4. ^ Nelly Furtado Gets Her Kicks. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 9 December 2005.
  5. ^ Williams, John. "New Furtado stumbles on chart". Jam! Showbiz. December 12, 2003. Retrieved January 29, 2007.
  6. ^ Dansby, Andrew. "Jay-Z Bounces Britney". Rolling Stone. December 3, 2003. Retrieved January 29, 2007.
  7. ^ Caulfield, Keith. "Ask Billboard - 'Loose' Change". Billboard. January 26, 2007. Retrieved January 29, 2007.
  8. ^ Universal Music Snags DreamWorks Records. Blogcritics.org. Retrieved on 29 May 2006.
  9. ^ Pattenden, Mike. "The big cd - Nelly Furtado". The Times. Retrieved January 29, 2007.
  10. ^ Anderson, Jason. "Bustin' Loose". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. June 20, 2006. Retrieved September 18, 2006.
  11. ^ "Limited CD/DVD Edition tracklisting"
  12. ^ Maria-Charts.com
  13. ^ "Austrian Albums Chart"
  14. ^ "French Albums Chart
  15. ^ Details - "Musicload"
  16. ^ "Italy Top 75 Albums"
  17. ^ "Amprofon Top 100 Albums"
  18. ^ "Dutch Albums Chart
  19. ^ "Portuguese Albums Chart"
  20. ^ "Switzerland Albums Chart"
  21. ^ Nelly Furtado discography - Folklore
  22. ^ "Media Traffic Week 15, 2004"
  23. ^ "Brazilian Official Sales Database"
  24. ^ Platinum Certifications
  25. ^ "Estimated album sales"
  26. ^ "Sound Recording Canada"
  27. ^ "Portuguese Top Albums Chart"
  28. ^ "Switzerland certification". Retrieved March 24, 2007.
  29. ^ "Platinum Awards Content"
  30. ^ "Nelly Furtado's sales on UK"
  31. ^ "Folklore" Certifications
  32. ^ "Ask Billboard"
  33. ^ "Rolling Stone Magazine review of Folklore"
v • d • e
Nelly Furtado
Studio albums
Whoa, Nelly!  · Folklore · Loose
EPs
DVDs
Singles
Guest singles
Tour
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