Loose - Nelly Furtado
Metascore
71 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 27 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 27
  2. Negative: 1 out of 27
  1. She's found the perfect collaborator to match her voracious appetite for all things pop.
  2. As thrilling as Gwen, as badass as MIA. [17 Jun 2006, p.37]
  3. The most relevant reference points for "Loose" are Gwen Stefani's "Love Angel Music Baby" and Justin Timberlake's "Justified" - producer-defined albums that reinvented their performers as stand-alone solo artists with a wide, hip remit.
  4. Aside from a few duff tracks 'Loose' is an absolute beauty that couldn't have arrived at a better moment.
  5. 80
    It has at least seven killer tracks. [Jul 2006, p.101]
  6. Timbaland has revitalized Nelly Furtado both creatively and commercially.
  7. 80
    In the way the tunes crash and throb, much of the album could be the "Milkshake" follow-up Kelis never got around to recording. [Jun 2006, p.84]
  8. Loose is slick, smart and surprising - the first great pop album of the year.
  9. This is glorious, 21st-century Technicolor po.
  10. "Loose" is an addictive, deceptively lightweight album of electronic pop; at different points it evokes Janet Jackson, M.I.A., Gwen Stefani and Gnarls Barkley. [19 Jun 2006]
  11. Furtado is game for anything Timbaland tosses out, and his production on most tracks unifies the disparate styles and moods. [18 Jun 2006]
  12. A notably tight album of summer bangers marked by more melody than either Furtado or Timbaland has played with before.
  13. 70
    It's her most enjoyable record yet. [Jul 2006, p.92]
  14. It probably won't appeal to all, and some of Furtado's fans may be hugely turned off by the more danceable tracks. Yet Timbaland has revitalized Furtado - this is the sound of an artist having the time of her life.
  15. Furtado's style-hopping nature makes her a never less-than-interesting artist, but it doesn't work to her advantage when it occurs within the same record, and that's what ultimately keeps Loose from cohering as a singularly great pop album the way her prior efforts did.
  16. A welcome exercise in versatility.
  17. Although a respectable, yet fickle bid at club fodder, schmaltzy ballads, and trend riding one offs, something about it just doesn't fit.
  18. Unfortunately, the result is like a blind date where the chemistry doesn't quite click.
  19. She mysteriously trims away her individuality and morphs into a J.Lo imitator.
  20. The strangest thing about Loose isn't its irregularity, but the simple fact that this doesn't sound like Nelly Furtado at all.
  21. 60
    Loose feels less like an album than a clutch of singles plus accompanying extras. [Jul 2006, p.100]
  22. Much of it is an inventive, hio-hop-inflected delight. [Jul 2006, p.112]
  23. [Furtado] scat[s] her quirky high-school-musical vocals over [Timbaland's] mostly Eighties beats. [15 Jun 2006, p.94]
  24. 60
    While she loses herself in Gwen Stefani-like posturing... Furtado masterfully combines Spanish and pop influences in her own unique way. [Jun 2006, p.164]
  25. There is nothing awful here, but Loose never meets the dizzyingly high expectations it was saddled with.
  26. Furtado is game... but Timbo brings beats, not chemistry. Loose isn't a love child, but a bump-and-grind that never finds a groove.
  27. Unfortunately, Furtado doesn't have the rhyming skills, vocal chops or attitude to pull off any one of her new personae.
User Score

Universal acclaim- based on 107 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 63 out of 76
  2. Negative: 10 out of 76
  1. With club-ready songs like "Maneater" and "Promiscuous", quiet soothing songs like "In God's Hands", "Showtime" and "Alll Good Things (Come to An End)", and all the rest, "Loose" is the perfect mix. I admit that "Whoa, Nelly!" and "Folklore" have more quiet and less "poppy" songs, but "Loose" is perfect for anyone, anywhere. Full Review »
  2. YaminY
    10
    Nelly Furtado has re-invent herself with this album, and i think it shows how she's still like a bird but a bird's gotta have a little fun once in a while. This album has produced many of the best recent singles like Say it Right ,All goo Things, and In god's hand . Also, people just take one look at the song Promiscuous, and they go 'Oh , i hate her now cuz she's totally different'. Well, let me tell u something, nelly furtado is still the same amazing bird you've heard on Whao! Nelly but this time, she has stepped into another genere and showed how talented she is. Full Review »
  3. AdamE.
    10
    this album is really something special I admit it a long ways away from 'I'm Like A Bird'. But I enjoy how she is dipping into new genres. My personal favorites are 'In God's Hands','Afraid' and All Good Things (Come To An End). Check out the cd it is an explosion of artistic freedom. Full Review »