Los Angeles, Jun 4 (IANS): Rapper Drake encouraged Nelly Furtado's musical comeback. Nelly, 44, revealed that fellow Canadian Drake, 36, - who invited her to be a surprise guest for his All-Canadian North Stars event in Toronto last summer - reminded her about her legacy and value to the music industry and urged her to get back in the studio to work on new music.

She told Variety: "I have more gratitude nowadays so I know how blessed I am to be a performer and creator. I'm really leaning into my profession. I met Drake a year ago and we had some deep conversations about life and art and he blew up my head reminding me what a valuable artist I am and told me to 'boss up' and make new music, and I listened. So, I couldn't say no when he invited me on stage, I had to be brave and boss up and start the next chapter."

As per Female First UK, Nelly has been working on her new album - her first since 2017's 'The Ride' - since last year and she has enjoyed the collaborative, creative process.

She added: "I have been making new music solid, nonstop for the last year the way I like to: late nights, space to create wildly and loads of community and collaboration. I am making a pop album influenced by sounds that I love. My album touches on dance - I did a record with SG Lewis that I adore. T-Minus produced my Bomba Estereo song. T-Minus is a beast! I am proud of that record. One of my tunes is produced by Wonda Gurl - I love her energy."