Whether you’ve seen her recently hosting the Junos, judging on Canada’s Drag Race, reuniting with her old collaborators for a nostalgia-fuelled anthem, or accepting a venerable guest spot to perform at Drake’s live show, there’s no doubt that Victoria-born pop star Nelly Furtado has reached legacy status. For many artists, that’s the time to dial things back and play it safe. As an artist who has always been lauded for blending her singer-songwriter tendencies with genre experimentation, however – perhaps through her collaborations with the hip-hop world or exploring her Portuguese roots – Furtado doesn’t do that on her appropriately titled seventh album, 7, released after a seven-year break from the spotlight.

You won’t find any watered-down variations of “I’m Like A Bird” here. Just looking at the list of collaborators – Colombian electro-cumbia collective Bomba Estereo, South African rapper Blxckie, drag queen Tynomi Banks and a Charlotte Day Wilson in top form among them – lets you know that Furtado is still showcasing the free-spirited approach to creativity that made her such a crossover success. 

Whether rapping over reggaeton beats, experimenting with vocal filters on trap-influenced cuts, mining early-2000s EDM nostalgia with some pure bubblegum anthems, showcasing her distinctive vocal tone on breakup piano ballads, or even yodelling, it makes sense that Furtado explained the album’s title in yet another way by comparing it to a fashion collection: “Fashion collections don’t really have titles, they’re just called collection number 10 or 21,” she said. Like the quizzical glances you might shoot down the runway at a series of colourful and ostentatious outfits, not all of it sticks, but you have to respect that Furtado is still trying to be as head-turning and playful as ever.