Full-Figured Pop Superstar Nelly Furtado is quitting music to focus on her mental health.
During a performance in Manchester, England, on Aug. 25, Nelly hit the stage wearing an oversized T-shirt with a cartoon image of a woman wearing a cropped white tank top and black pushup bra underneath.
Her stylist said Nelly wore the outfit to “shut down body-shamers.”
But the discourse over her weight gain continued and the pop singer has had enough.
Nelly, 46, made the shocking retirement announcement in an emotional Instagram post on Friday. She shared a throwback image of herself and a video from her concert in Berlin.
The Grammy-winning pop star performed to packed arenas everywhere she went. Most of her fans today weren’t born yet when her debut album dropped in 2000.
“25 years later, my music has reached a whole new generation of fans and I couldn’t be happier about that,” she wrote.
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 , so I never could have guessed that there would be so many new ways to discover “old” music in 2025!
To have so many people rediscovering my music has been surreal and joyful . It’s been so fun embracing this opportunity , getting out on stages again and seeing up close , the true lasting power of good music . It’s made me really believe in magic.
All this aside , I have decided to step away from performance for the foreseeable future and pursue some other creative and personal endeavours that I feel would better suit this next phase of my life.
I have enjoyed my career immensely , and I still love writing music as I have always seen it as a hobby I was lucky enough to make into a career . I’ll identify as a songwriter forever.Endless gratitude to anyone who has ever listened and vibrated with my music and attended any of my shows . I love you and your open hearts.
Thank you and goodnight!
Nelly
Nelly was once one of the world’s biggest pop superstars. She gained fame for her debut album Whoa, Nelly! in 2000, featuring the hit single “I’m Like a Bird.”
She is best known for her third album, Loose (2006), which spawned the hits “Promiscuous” (featuring Timbaland), “Say It Right”, “Maneater”, and “All Good Things (Come to an End).”
Her young fans hope she will reconsider and come out of retirement soon.
