Nelly Furtado announced she is stepping away from live performance “for the foreseeable future” to concentrate on other creative and personal pursuits.
On Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, the 46-year-old artist posted to Instagram that she has chosen to pause touring and large-scale performances in order to explore projects that better suit the next phase of her life. In her message she emphasized that songwriting remains central to her identity: she’ll always consider herself a songwriter.
“I have decided to step away from performance for the foreseeable future and pursue some other creative and personal endeavors that I feel would better suit this next phase of my life … I’ll identify as a songwriter forever.”
The announcement arrives as Furtado marks the 25th anniversary of her debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, which reached No. 24 on the Billboard 200 in January 2001.
Her Instagram carousel opened with a youthful photo from around age 20, taken just before her earliest professional appearance at Lilith Fair in 1999. Another slide showed footage from a recent concert in Berlin, where she paused to absorb a warmly chanting crowd and reflected on the emotional significance of receiving flowers from fans.
Furtado reflected on an unexpected resurgence: her music has found new listeners across generations. “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,” she wrote, noting her surprise at the many ways older music is discovered in 2025.
She described the experience of reconnecting with fans as “surreal and joyful,” saying that returning to the stage recently reaffirmed for her the enduring power of great songs.
Her most recent record, 7, was released in 2024. Furtado told People that working on that album — which she created alongside her daughter Nevis — helped her re-focus on craft and revealed a renewed sense of strength and confidence in her artistry.
Below is Furtado’s full Instagram announcement.
A post shared by Nelly Furtado (@nellyfurtado)
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