Folklore is the second studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado, released on November 5, 2003, through DreamWorks Records. While the album did not match the success of her previous album in such markets as the United States and Australia, it did however become a success in several European countries. Folklore spawned five singles: "Powerless (Say What You Want)", "Try", "Força", "Explode" and "The Grass Is Green". As of 2008, the album had sold 2 million copies worldwide.
Primarily a world and pop rock album, Folklore also incorporates ethnic, alternative pop and worldbeat Furtado attributed the mellowness of the album to the fact that she was pregnant during most of its recording.
Folklore includes the single "Força" (meaning "carry on" or "strength" in Portuguese), which was written as the official anthem of the UEFA Euro 2004. Furtado performed the song at the championship's final in Lisbon, in July 2004. 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".
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1Score =
| rev3 = Dotmusic
| rev3score = 3/10
| rev4 = Entertainment Weekly
| rev4Score = A−
| rev6 = Now
| rev6Score =
| rev7 = Rolling Stone
| rev7score =
| rev9 = Spin
| rev9score = 6/10
| rev10 = The Times
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Folklore received mixed reviews from critics. Caroline Sullivan from The Guardian remarked that Folklore was "essentially the sound of an artist taking a risk (and, amazingly, being allowed by her label to do it)" and called the album an "admittedly brave follow-up [that] is a long way from pop'n'breakbeats." Amy Linden of The Village Voice noted that Folklore "may be more focused than Whoa, Nelly!s candy-coated culture clash, but mature doesn't translate to dull [...] Armed with a Fendi bag and a fiddle, Nelly has figured out a way to find one's bliss and shake one's ass. Her grown-up pop still believes in girl power." As she focused more on the songwriting, rather "than on frenetically switching genres five times in one song," Slant Magazines Sal Cinquemani concluded that "if Whoa, Nelly! was the introduction of a promising new talent, Folklore is the transition that builds on that promise and brims with life, even if it does include a misstep or two." Noel Murray, writing for The A.V. Club felt that while "few tracks on Folklore stand out, the album hangs together agreeably," while Nows Sarah Liss described the album as a "muddled stylistic mess of overly chilled beats and bland, indistinct melodies." and at number thirty-eight on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 68,000 in its first week. According to Nielsen SoundScan, it had sold 425,000 copies in the US by August 2008. 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. The album's greatest success was in Germany where it peaked at number four and finished as the fifth best-selling album of 2004, eventually getting certified multi-platinum there. Furtado noticed that the album's success in the region and 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."
Track listing
All tracks produced by Nelly Furtado, Gerald Eaton and Brian West, except for "The Grass Is Green" which is produced by Furtado and Mike Elizondo and "Island of Wonder" which is produced by Furtado, Lil' Jaz, Eaton and West.
;Samples
- "Powerless (Say What You Want)" contains elements from "Buffalo Gals" by Malcolm McLaren.
- "Island of Wonder" contains elements from "Tonada de Luna Llena" by Caetano Veloso.
Personnel
Credits adapted from the Folklore liner notes.
- Nelly Furtado – lead and background vocals, lyricist, songwriting, acoustic guitar
- Caetano Veloso – lead and background vocals
- Gerald Eaton – electric harmonium (right hand), tambourine, B3 organ, background vocals
- Brian West – acoustic guitar, flange guitar, electric harmonium (left hand), squeaky organ, rhythm guitar, telecaster, stadium guitar, space echo guitar, electric mantra guitar, pedals, Rhodes
- George Doerling – banjo, mandolín, cavaquinho, dulcimer, Hawaiian mini-guitar
- Russ Miller – percussion, drums
- David Harrington – violin
- John Sherba – violin
- Hank Dutt – viola
- Jennifer Culp – cello
- Stephen Prutsman – string arrangement
- Steve Carnelli – banjo, mandolín
- James Bryan – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, island guitar, tender rogue guitar
- Mike Elizondo – echoplex slide guitar, bass
- Michael Einziger – lead guitar, drill guitar, chime guitar
- Brad Haehnhel – fireworks display
- Joey Waronker – drums
- Bob Leatherbarrow – vibraphone
- Alex Alessandroni – piano, echo harmonium
- Jasper Gahunia – scratching, scratch effects, subliminal speeches
- Justin Meldal-Johnsen – Ocean bass
- Alan Molnar – vibraphone
- Béla Fleck – banjo
- Gurpreet Chana – tabla
- Dean Jarvis – bass
- Luis Simãõ – accordion
- Daniel Stone – percussion, Shakere, Caxixi, finger cymbals, cajon, congas, chascarra de gaita
- Jef Ten Kortenaar – violin
- David Wadly – violin
- Amanda Goodburn – viola
- Orly Bitou – cello
- David Campbell – arranger
- Mike Fratantuno – upright bass
- Jon Levine – piano
- Rafael Gomez – acoustic guitar, Portuguese shout outs
- Manuela Furtado – whistling
- Kyle Erwin – Huge organ, chimes, 64-foot pipes
- Vonette Yanaglmnuma – harp
Production
- Nelly Furtado – producer
- Track – producer, programming
- Field – producer, programming, engineering
- Lil' Jazz – producer, programming, additional engineering
- Mike Elizondo – producer, programming
- Brad Haehnhel – mixing, engineering
- Joseph Lobato – engineering
- Adam Hawkins – engineering
- Marcelo Sabola – engineering
- Steve Chahley – assistant engineering
- Ian Bodzasi – assistant engineering
- Chris Gordon – assistant engineering
- Neil Couser – assistant engineering
- Brian Gardner – mastering
- Bernie Grundman – mastering
- Beth Halper – A&R
- Jennifer Ross – A&R coordinator
- Frances Pennington – creative director
- Gravis Inc. – art direction, design
- Warrick Saint – cover photo
- Isabel Snyder – photography
Charts
Weekly charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Weekly chart performance for Folklore
! scope="col"| Chart (2003–2004)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums (ARIA)
| 82
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"|Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)
|18
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
!scope="row"|Japanese Albums (Oricon)
|28
|-
!scope="row"|Mexican Albums (Top 100 Mexico)
|65
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|}
Year-end charts
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+Year-end chart performance for Folklore
!scope="col"|Chart (2004)
!scope="col"|Position
|-
!scope="row"| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)
|31
|-
!scope="row"| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
|69
|-
!scope="row"| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)
|15
|-
!scope="row"| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)
|5
|-
!scope="row"| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)
|21
|-
!scope="row"| UK Albums (OCC)
|109
|}