On ‘Mi Plan,’ Nelly Furtado gets into her Latin groove

By MESFIN FEKADU

NEW YORK — Nelly Furtado’s last record, the multiplatinum, dance-flavored “Loose” was mostly recorded at night. The CD showcased the party girl in Furtado, showcasing her vocals over Timbaland-produced beats designed for the clubs.

Her new CD though, “Mi Plan,” takes a 180-degree spin from that. The album was recorded during the day and was more reflective of her life now, as the married mother of a 5-year-old girl.

“I would literally wake up in the morning, drive my daughter to school and drive right to the studio and work all day,” said the 30-year-old, who got married last July. “That’s why it has a fresh, light, pure energy.”

The CD is also her first album in Spanish. The Grammy-winning Furtado, whose parents migrated from Portugal to Canada, says writing Spanish pop songs helped her get over the writer’s block that came after trying to recreate songs such as her No. 1 hits “Promiscuous” and “Say It Right.”

Q. What was different about writing songs in Spanish?

A. I’m singing with a strength but I’m also conveying a vulnerability, and I think that it’s something that I’m only capable of doing if I sing in a Latin language, that very succinct emotion. So really I use this album as a tool to further explore my emotions and my songwriting.

Q. What is the theme of the CD?

A. This album, “Mi Plan,” is really a personal album. Basically, the big theme is love. My last three albums, I had songs that maybe explored certain aspects of love, but they’re not really direct love songs. On this album, the songs are a lot more simple.

Q. How did your love life play a role on the making of the CD?

A. I’ve been really happy. It’s been a fun year for me. I just got married a year ago and I think that a lot of the sort of commitment and joy of commitment, that experience ... helps me creatively. I find that creativity flourishes when I’m really settled in my personal life and that’s reflected on “Mi Plan.”

Q. Did your daughter have any influence on the CD?

A. She has an opinion on my music. About six months ago I had about 20 demos to choose from (and) I played her some stuff and she liked the faster songs better. She said, “Mommy, there are too many slow songs.” And I went, “Hmm, there are some things that 5-year-olds can be right about ...” So I went back to the studio and I did more fast songs (laughs).

Q. Since “Loose” was so successful, did you feel like you needed to capitalize on that and put out something similar?

A. It was a big success commercially, and of course my record company would have loved an English album right after. But at the same time they understood that really as an artist you have to grow at your own pace, you have to do what feels right. ... I think after eight years of recording English pop songs, I just had writer’s block. And then when I started writing pop songs in Spanish, I really felt alive again ... and actually it cured my writer’s block because I have since written in English again.

Q. Have you worked with Timbaland?

A. Timbaland and I hooked up over spring break and we wrote about 10 songs together and we had a blast. The magic’s still there between us. We love each other so much. We fight some times, but we really always come back to that special musical friendship that we have.