What has Nelly Furtado been up to? From her Coachella performance of ‘Eat Your Man’ with Dom Dolla to prepping for London’s Mighty Hoopla festival ... but why did the Y2K pop icon leave the public eye?

Over 20 years ago, Nelly Furtado burst onto the music scene with her hit “I’m Like a Bird”, quickly becoming a fixture on early 2000s pop charts. She followed that success with danceable tracks like “Promiscuous” and “Maneater”, which are still beloved today, often popping up on throwback playlists and even finding new popularity on TikTok.

But after a navigating the whirlwind of success and racking up a shelf full of awards, the mum-of-three unexpectedly stepped away from the spotlight when the pressures of fame began to weigh heavily on her.

After years away from the stage, she made a surprising and thrilling return in 2022, taking the stage on New Year’s Eve at Australia’s Beyond the Valley festival. Now 45, she’s gearing up to headline London’s Mighty Hoopla festival in June.

So what’s she been up to during her time away from the spotlight?

Why did Nelly Furtado walk away from public life?

In 2007, at the height of her fame, Furtado unexpectedly disappeared from the public eye. The Canadian singer had a mental breakdown on stage due to exhaustion the year before. “One night, I went on stage and I suddenly realised how stressed out I was. I actually cried my way through the first two songs,” she told Daily Mail in 2012.

This led her to go back home to Canada, where she aimed to slow things down. “Being at home and having the whole family experience was what I was seeking,” she said.

What did she do away from the spotlight?

During her hiatus from the limelight, Furtado experimented with different roles, including a stint at a record shop. She enrolled in university courses ranging from playwriting to ceramics, and she even picked up sewing, per The List.