Nelly Furtado
Mi Plan (Universal)

Back when my sister took the same Spanish classes as Nelly Furtado at Victoria’s Lansdowne Junior Secondary, nobody anticipated this spunky daughter of Portuguese parents would someday make her fourth major-label album in Español—and it would actually work. What’s most endearing about Furtado’s chosen title of Mi Plan is that she doesn’t actually appear to have a career plan. Every time the 30-year-old singer achieves commercial success, she makes a creative left turn. After the exuberant-yet-eccentric pop of her first hit, “I’m Like a Bird,” Furtado dove into a turgid exploration of her roots on 2003’s Folklore.

The logical step after out-Britneying Britney on 2006’s Loose with ’80s-shiny hits like “Promiscuous” and “Maneater” would be to crank out more Top-40 dance-floor grindage. Mi Plan, while catchy enough, downplays pumped-up production and showcases Furtado’s vocals. Our heroine goes all Sheryl Crow with rolled r’s on the single, “Mano Al Aire”. The jaunty “Vacación” is spiced up with enough steel drums and accordions to tickle fans of Madonna’s “La Isla Bonita”, and romance without schmaltz defines the surging duet with Josh Groban titled “Silencio”. The booty-shaking factor here isn’t of Shakira-esque proportions, but Victoria’s premier Portuguese export can still get the heart pumping in any language.

Download This: “Vacación”