Nelly Furtado's new album The Spirit Indestructible was released on Tuesday, and ahead of the release of her fourth English studio album (fifth overall) she held an album release party at the Highline Ballroom in NYC. I was lucky enough to get tickets to the show, and it was actually a great deal because it only cost $20 and we got a copy of the deluxe edition of the album as well. Can't beat that deal! Little did I know, that $20 was going to be the best $20 I've ever spent.
The concert was set to begin at 9PM so I arrived at the Highline just after 8PM to get a good place on the floor. Luckily, I was one of the first 20 or so people there so I went right in and got a place about ten feet from the stage. It was a great view and being so close to the stage was a huge plus. At about 8:20 Jenna Andrews, the first opening act, took to the stage. She's a pop singer and was actually very good. Her songs were entertaining and had some fun lyrics. She also worked with the crowd very well and got us all into the music. She even made eye contact with me at one moment and sang a few lines to me which was awkward but fun at the same time. After performing about six songs, the stage was reset for the second act.
A Canadian folk singer by the name of Dylan Murray took the stage next. Dylan actually wrote one of the bonus tracks on Nelly's album. He was just an okay performer. His songs were kind of been-there-done-that and he didn't interact with the crowd very much, but he wasn't terrible so I can't complain. He played about four songs, and then it was time for Nelly. Getting there an hour before the show started felt like nothing since both of the opening acts together took up about forty minutes of the wait time.
At about ten past 9PM, Nelly Furtado took the stage and performed one of my favorite songs 'Big Hoops (Bigger the Better)'. The song was an incredible way to open the show as Nelly danced around the stage like a maniac and got the crowd all fired up. I've never seen Nelly in concert before so this was alike a dream come true having her ten feet in front of me. Despite the lack of success 'Big Hoops' had, it's a great number to perform live and it seems like Nelly adores the song. After catching her breath she quickly went into one of the biggest songs of her career: 'Maneater'. This one of course got everyone singing along and really elevated the energy of the crowd past the breaking point. Nelly constantly went to every edge of the stage to ensure that everyone got a great view of her. I don't know how she did it, but she performed for an hour straight without taking any breaks and without losing her momentum. It was honestly a spectacle to watch because it was full throttle the whole way through which translated to a huge dance party for all in attendance. It was fun to hear the older songs mixed with her newer songs because she updated them and gave them a more club/dance vibe.
Nelly even included her most popular Spanish language song 'Manos al Aire' (one of my personal favorites), and it was one of the highlights of the show. Every one in attendance seemed to know the lyrics, and it brought a different dimension to the show that was very much welcomed. Straight after that Nelly slowed things down with her very first single that brought her into all of our hearts: 'I'm Like a Bird'. She did a simple piano arrangement that actually made the song even more beautiful than it already was, and of course she had us sing along with her. It made for a really special moment between us all, and there was actually one fan in the very front who came all the way from South America just for this event. This fan was the most enthusiastic one there, and after the song finished Nelly actually let him sing the chorus which he did surprisingly well. Just another moment that showed how much Nelly cares about her fans.
The best part of the night was the finale when she surprised everyone and did a medley of nine songs, some of which were hers and others were covers. This was probably the most epic performance I've ever seen in a concert. All of the songs were uptempo, high energy jams that had us all dancing and singing along with her. She started off with one of her hits 'No Hay Igual' then segued into the ever popular 'Promiscuous' where she stayed only briefly before moving into her Timbaland collaborations ('Give It to Me' and 'Morning After Dark'), and then she did covers of 'Hot 'n Fun', 'Who Wants to be Alone', 'Night Is Young', 'Gangnam Style' and 'Jump'. It was basically an all out dance party by the end, and when she began singing 'Gangnam Style' I thought I might just die. She did the full choreography and everything! She really ended the show on a high note.
Nelly then came back on stage to perform one of the most beautiful, emotional and popular songs of her illustrious career. That's right, she closed the show with none other than 'Say It Right'. I can't tell you how much I adore this song so I was ever so excited to see it performed. The song started off normal, but as it picked up it switched over to a more upbeat rock mix which was but different but still entertaining. She basically blew the roof off the Highline Ballroom by the end, and I was on Cloud Nine. It could not have been a better concert.

You can watch the entire concert HERE.
I would post individual videos, but it was just such a great concert that I would have ended up posting almost every song anyway. If you want to go straight to the Medley it begins at about the 40 minute mark.