Nelly Furtado is highlighting her brand new album, “The Ride”, released at the end of March. She received a Grammy Award in 2002 and a BRIT Award in 2007, and made a name for herself with a number of hit songs including, “I’m Like a Bird”, “Turn Off the Light”, “Say It Right”, “Maneater” and “Promiscuous”. With a career spanning two decades, five studio albums, 16+ million records sold world-wide, and a plethora of accolades, Nelly Furtado is a proven chart-topping luminary.
Éric Pineault, founding president of Montréal Pride, is very pleased that Nelly Furtado accepted the invitation. “This is a really big win for us at Montréal Pride. Nelly Furtado is a Canadian artist of international stature with chart-topping hits that everyone knows! And with her new album, we get to discover a whole new side of Nelly. And most importantly, she’s always been an outspoken ally of our communities, caring about the struggles of the members of the sexual diversity and gender plurality. It’s a perfect match!”
In an interview that Nelly Furtado did a few years ago with Chicago Pride, she talked about her connection with the LGBTQ+ communities. “My gay and lesbian fans have been with me from the beginning. I think they could connect to the individualism and free-spiritedness that’s in the songs. A lot of my gay fans really like my early radio stuff, which I think are a lot about being true to yourself and not listening to what other people have to say about the choices in your life. Honestly, I’m not quite sure, but it’s great!”
From August 10 to 20, Montréal will be the host city for Canada Pride Montréal 2017, a special nation-wide edition of Montréal Pride. For the occasion, a new outdoor site will be inaugurated at Parc des Faubourgs with four times the capacity of Place Émilie-Gamelin, the festival’s primary venue in past years which will continue to play a major role during this year’s festivities. The complete program, which will include more than 150 activities, will be coming soon. The festival will of course include Montréal’s revered drag performers, with multiple events including a recognition of Mado’s 30 years of drag, a showcase of local performers at ILLUSION, and even a special show with Drag Superstars from RuPaul’s Drag Race.
In addition to the exciting daily shows, Canada Pride Montréal 2017 will also host two human rights conferences – a three-day national conference and a one-day international conference highlighting issues in the Francophonie – as well as a sports tournament, a Community day and the traditional Pride Parade.
