Mi Plan () is the fourth studio album and the first Spanish-language album by Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado. It was released independently on September 11, 2009, by Furtado's own record label Nelstar Entertainment with distribution by Universal Music Latino. This marks Furtado's first independently released album. Recording sessions for the album took place from 2008 to 2009. The album was produced primarily by Furtado with other contributions made by James Bryan, Lester Mendez, Salaam Remi, The Demolition Crew, Julieta Venegas and Brian West. Furtado described the songs on the album to be "simple love songs".
Mi Plan was generally well received by music critics, most applauding Furtado's vocals. The album reached number one on the US Latin Billboard chart, and was later certified platinum (Latin field) album by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album won a Latin Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Album in 2010. The lead single from the album, "Manos al Aire" was released in June 2009. The song became Furtado's first solo number one single on the US Billboard Top Latin Songs chart. She also became the first North American artist to top the chart with an original Spanish song. Two further singles came from the album, "Más", released in December 2009, and "Bajo Otra Luz", released in June 2010. The album was further supported by her 2010 Mi Plan Tour, her first tour reaching Latin America. Mi Plan Remixes, a remix album, followed in October 2010, featuring remixes of the singles.
Background Furtado began working with guitarist and producer James Bryan on My Plan, as a possible English-language album.(Posted: August 30, 2009) Spanish album an unexpected 'Plan' for Furtado kuwaittimes.com. Kuwait Times Newspaper. Retrieved November 3, 2010. She said she would try to write songs in English and then in Portuguese but that she did not feel inspired.Nelly Furtado Went On 'Musical Journey' For Mi Plan Album MTV.com. Retrieved November 3, 2010. She mentioned that fellow Canadian singer-songwriter Alex Cuba suggested that they try writing the lyrics in Spanish and then he would go on to write the melodies. After approving of the idea, she said that she, Cuba and Bryan started "really organically writing songs" in Spanish. Cuba then helped them pen more songs, including the title track, "Mi Plan", and "Manos al Aire". "Mi Plan" features Cuba on vocals.Singer-songwriter Alex*Cuba hails from Artemisa, Cuba (1 hour west of Havana) and resides in Smithers, B.C. (14 hours north of Vancouver). Musically, he lives everywhere in between. domingolatino.co.nz. Retrieved October 4, 2010.Reed Johnson, (October 2, 2010) Nelly Furtado weds her music to a Latin soul. At least that's her 'Plan' Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 4, 2010. According to Cuba, the three got together five times between September 2008 and February 2009 and wrote nine songs, six of which made it onto the album.(Posted: November 25, 2009) T'Cha Dunlevy, "All according to Mi Plan: How Alex Cuba changed Nelly Furtado life" nationalpost.com. National Post Inc. Retrieved November 4, 2010. Furtado also worked with Julieta Venegas, who wrote the song "Bajo Otra Luz" and also contributed to another song called "Vacación", playing the accordion. Altogether, Furtado wrote 24 Spanish-language songs, 12 of which made the final track list.Jen Wilson and Robert Thompson, "Nelly Furtado builds on her global strength with her first spanish language album" interscope.com. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
Content In an interview with the Associated Press, Furtado said that the album was a personal statement and that the central theme was love. She noted that her previous albums had songs that "explored certain aspects of love, but they're not really direct love songs" and that the songs on Mi Plan were more simple. She also claimed that she "wanted to abandon the dance-pop vibe of her last record and try a different sound". Furtado explained that she decided she wanted to perform in Spanish because she did not follow commercial or sales trends and that the album was "the next phase".
She said that writing songs in Spanish felt "very liberating", allowing her to "express other emotions" because, as she put it, "In English, especially as a woman, the moment you start to be angry, you get labelled bad-tempered like Alanis Morissette, or if you're too sad, you get written off as fragile and sappy."
The album contains influences of Latin jazz, flamenco pop, techno-pop, reggae pop, cumbia, electro, bachata pop, and alternative rock.
The opening track, "Manos al Aire", is an uptempo dance-influenced song about having a "heated argument" with a love interest; Furtado noted that in the chorus, she puts up the "white flag" and "surrenders" to him. "Bajo Otra Luz" is about being in a relationship where you feel like "something is glowing on you and there is something different about the world." The seventh track, "Suficiente Tiempo", describes the busy life of an overworked wife trying to make time for a date night.
Furtado stated that the album was "purposefully collaboration-heavy" because she wanted it to sound like a "community effort" with "all those layers of experience." She collaborated with Josh Groban on "Silencio", calling it a "huge blessing" and noting it was important to feature an artist known for English recordings to demonstrate that "language isn't a barrier when it comes to music."
Promotion Prior to the album's release, three promotional singles were released exclusively on Apple's iTunes Store as a "Countdown to Mi Plan". "Más" was the first promotional single released on July 21, 2009. The following month, "Mi Plan" was released, followed by "Bajo Otra Luz" in early September. "Silencio" was digitally released as a promotional single in the US via Rhapsody on September 1, 2009.
On October 26, 2010, a 12-track album titled Mi Plan Remixes was released, featuring various remixes of the album's singles. An English version of "Fuerte" was released as a promotional single from both Mi Plan and the remix album on the same day. Furtado also appeared at various award shows and venues to promote the record, including a performance at the 2009 ALMA Awards. At the Latin Grammy Awards of 2010, she performed a medley of "Fuerte" and "Bajo Otra Luz" alongside La Mala Rodríguez and Jabbawockeez.
Critical reception
The album was generally well received by critics: it scored 71/100 among professional music critics cited by Metacritic."Mi Plan by Nelly Furtado". Metacritic. Retrieved on October 8, 2009 In a positive review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote that the album is "assured and cohesive" and claimed that it is her "strongest album yet". Billboard described the album as "straightforward songs that appeal to melodic sensibilities rather than rhythmic contraptions, the set is a mix of vulnerability and earnestness". The Boston Globe said "Furtado bridges pop sensibilities with Latin music" and also mentioned the songs, "Sueños" and "Silencio", saying that they "bring out the purity in Furtado's vocals".(Posted: September 14, 2009) "Nelly Furtado, 'Mi Plan' - The Boston Globe". Boston.com. The Boston Globe. Retrieved December 29, 2010. The New York Times editor Jon Pareles found that "Furtado’s own sensibility is never eclipsed. The music uses all the technology it wants; programmed beats carry most of the arrangements, while Ms. Furtado often overdubs herself as a backup girl group. And the songs stay bright, friendly and generalized yet heartfelt, awaiting the singalongs they invite in Ms. Furtado's latest language."
Digital Spy writer, Mayor Nissim, asserted that "aside from the vocals and lyrics, much of the music here wouldn't sound out of place in the UK or US charts, which is both a good and bad thing." He also went on to say that "the fact Manos and several other songs feature rather Americanised production can prevent them from completely hitting the mark" because, as he put it, "Furtado's tunes don't always get the Spanish wallop her vocals deserve." MusicOMH said in its review that "For the most part, the album is a pretty good listen" and claimed that songs from the album are "pleasant but never overly diverting". Paul Lester, a writer for BBC, gave the album a mixed review and said the music is "equally inoffensive". The writer compared it to her previous release, Loose and claimed that "Timbaland's inventive approach to dance motion is much missed".(Posted: September 22, 2009) Paul Lester, "Music - Review of Nelly Furtado - Mi Plan". BBC. Retrieved December 9, 2009. Entertainment Weekly also stated, "Without the Midas touch of studio magician Timbaland, Furtado has only her nasal, pleasant-enough vocals and a distinctly middlebrow musicality." Kevin Liedel of Slant Magazine was very critical, writing, "[it] manifests itself here in a labored and predictable fashion" and also said it is "heartless, with forced sincerity".
Commercial performance Mi Plan debuted at number 39 on the Billboard 200, including number 1 on the Top Latin Albums and Latin Pop Albums charts selling nearly 13,000 copies in its first week.[ Nelly Furtado Album & Song Chart History] Billboard 200 For Nelly Furtado. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 23, 2010."Top Latin Albums - Nelly Furtado - Mi Plan - Week of October 3, 2009". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved November 23, 2010."Latin Pop Albums - Nelly Furtado - Mi Plan - Week of October 3, 2009". Billboard. Nielson Business Media, Inc. Retrieved November 23, 2010. On November 6, 2009, the album received a platinum certification (Latin field) by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling over 100,000 copies. According to Nielson SoundScan, the album was the highest selling Latin pop album in 2009.(Posted: September 24, 2009) Reuters, "Nelly Furtado hits Latin sales high for year". new.music.yahoo.com. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
In Switzerland, Mi Plan entered the charts at number three and stayed in the top ten for five weeks. There, the album was certified gold for shipping over 15,000 units.
At the 11th Annual Latin Grammy Awards, Furtado won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Album.(Posted: November 12, 2010) Mandy Bierly, Juan Luis Guerra, Camila, Nelly Furtado win Latin Grammys mix-music.ew.com. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
Track listing
Notes signifies a co-producer. signifies an additional producer.
Personnel Credits below are adapted from the Mi Plan liner notes.(2009) Album notes for Mi Plan by Nelly Furtado [liner notes]. Nelstar Entertainment, Inc. (Universal Music Latino).
Production Andrés Recio – executive producer, A&R Nelly Furtado – executive producer, producer, mixing Chris Smith – executive producer James Bryan – producer, guitar, drums, keyboards, engineer Julieta Venegas – producer, accordion Lester Méndez – producer, percussion, guitar, keyboards, mixing, engineer, string arrangements Brian West – producer The Demolition Crew – producer Salaam Remi – producer, drums, keyboards Vanessa Freebairn-Smith, Alex Grant – cello Alex Grant – cello Daniel Stone, Raphael Padilla, Roger Travassos – percussion Dan Warner – guitar, bass guitar Dan Turco, Vincent Henry – guitar StayBent Krunk-a-Delic – guitar, keyboards Ramón Stagnaro – guitar, cuatro Matt Scannell – guitar, bass guitar Michael Anthony Turco – producer, drums Lee Levin – drums Julio Hernandez, Alex Cuba – bass guitar Chris Gehringer – general mastering Demacio Castellón – mixing Franklin Emmanuel Socorro – mixing, engineer Jason "Metal" Donkersgoed – mixing, engineer Joel Numa – mixing, engineer Ron Taylor – digital editing Jorge Vivo – engineer Antonio Resendiz – engineer Julian Vazquez – engineer Allan Leschhorn – engineer Ryan Evans – engineer Enrique Larreal – engineer Carlos Alvarez – engineer Aureo Baqueiro – vocal producer Marc Rogers – double bass