Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado has made a public appearance, five months after she announced her shock retirement from music.
In October last year, Furtado, who burst onto the scene in 2000 with the worldwide hit I’m Like A Bird, announced she was stepping away from performance to pursue endeavours that better suited this next phase of her life.
The announcement on Instagram came weeks after the 46-year-old brushed off comments about her figure during her headlining set at the Manchester Pride event.
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On Thursday, Furtado attended a Women for Women’s event held in Toronto, Canada, where the singer was “honoured” to be receiving the 2026 Trailblazer award.
Furtado stunned on the pink carpet, dressed in an all-black suit, before she was recognised for her longstanding commitment to empowering women and girls through her music, philanthropy and advocacy.
“Being surrounded by so many inspiring women and their stories was a beautiful reminder of how important community and supporting one another is,” Furtado posted on Instagram.
Before announcing her retirement last year, Furtado became the subject of cruel posts scrutinising her body following a string of music festival appearances.
While headlining Manchester Pride in August, Furtado graced the stage in an oversized T-shirt bearing a cartoon hourglass figure and the phrase “better than ever” on the back.
Though she didn’t explicitly comment on the fashion statement, her bold look was perceived as a response to the body-shamers who had criticised her natural appearance, which she has talked openly about embracing and encouraged followers to be “body neutral”.
Two months later, Furtado announced her retirement on Instagram.
“In the year 2000 I remember feeling purpose in hoping some kid would dust off the Whoa, Nelly! vinyl one day in a record shop and think it was cool or inspiring, so I never could have guessed that there would be so many new ways to discover ‘old’ music in 2025,” Furtado wrote.
“To have so many people rediscovering my music has been surreal and joyful. It’s been so fun embracing this opportunity, getting out on stages again and seeing up close the true lasting power of good music. It’s made me really believe in magic.
“All this aside, I have decided to step away from performance for the foreseeable future and pursue some other creative and personal endeavours that I feel would better suit this next phase of my life.
“I have enjoyed my career immensely, and I still love writing music as I have always seen it as a hobby I was lucky enough to make into a career. I’ll identify as a songwriter forever.
“I deeply thank all of those who have worked so hard to help me make my pop dreams come true. I also wish, to the new generation of artists, many years of fruitful and passionate performance.”
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