Long before she sold millions of albums to the world, was already performing in the streets of Vancouver.
Every year there was this big feast, this big Portuguese party, and I would come over with my Portuguese church and collaborate with a local marching band from the church in Vancouver, says Furtado who was 12 at the time. So every year Id look forward to this wed get on the 7am ferry, wed have our lunch in Stanley Park and wed march around, playing in the blistering heat all afternoon and then have a beef sandwich on the ferry home. Those were some of the best days of my life.
And long before she was awarded two Grammies and 10 Junos, Furtado was your normal music fan visiting Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»to see a show.
My first concert I ever went to was in Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»and it was Boys II Men, with Brandy opening, and Usher, the Victoria native says almost wistfully. I was 15, but had some older, 18-plus people in our group and thats why we could go. And we waited outside to see if we could get autographs.
Like Furtado when she was a teenager, there will more than likely be a long line of excited fans waiting outside the to catch an autograph from the singer when she performs in Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»on . This will be the second stop of a long tour supporting her most recent release, Spirit Indestructible; her first English album since 2006s mega-seller Loose.
The album is kind of like a big hallelujah because its my first time really writing passionate songs in English after like six years, she says. I went off and did Spanish songs (2009s Mi Plan) for a while because I wasnt really feeling inspired to write in English. So when I finally felt ready to put some out, it was because I felt so strongly about the material that you hear on the album.
The inspiration returned after meeting several enduring spirits while working with young girls in Kenya.
Its the result of a very inspiring time in my life, sort of a spiritual high from the last couple of years, she explains. Being an ambassador, working with , travelling to rural Kenya and Africa and feeling really inspired again and hopeful about the future. Some of those themes are on the album, for instance on Spirit Indestructible, the title track, inspired by a lot of the great, fighting personalities that I met the bulletproof spirits.
Before travelling to Kenya and after an admirable streak of hit songs, Furtado retreated from the prying public eye, focusing more on herself and her young daughter. She embraced the role of mother and, with it, the virtues of privacy, which was a bit scarce at the time.
I dont know, I like the spotlight maybe when Im on stage, she says with a cynical laugh, but other than that, I dont crave it or really want it. I live a really simple life. I wear a lot of hats and glasses and keep it low key. I really treasure my privacy so I appreciate any chance I get to lay low. Its not like I despise the spotlight but its just that Im primarily a songwriter and if I dont live a normal life I wont be able to write songs anymore thats why I do regular stuff. Im a mom its my number one job. I love being a mom and all the joy that brings and I like taking time off to
She pauses for a few seconds.
Taking time off just to live, you know?
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