The Ride is the sixth studio album released by Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado. It was released on 31 March 2017 by her own record label, Nelstar Music. It is her second independently released album after Mi Plan (2009).
Background
Furtado initially worked with the producer Mark Taylor on material for The Ride. She had wanted to work with Taylor ever since he had produced "Broken Strings", her 2008 duet with the British singer-songwriter James Morrison. Shortly after splitting with her manager, Taylor sent Furtado an email informing her that he had written a song called "Sticks and Stones" (originally performed by the English singer-songwriter Arlissa), and said it would suit Furtado's voice. She responded by saying she loved the song and wanted to record it, but also expressed an interest in composing new songs with him and his regular collaborator Paul Barry. Working from Taylor's studio in Ripley, Surrey, "Phoenix" was the first song composed by the trio. Furtado said she "kind of hit bottom" a week before writing the song, elaborating that she had been going through a rough patch in her life at the time. The trio also composed "Bliss", which was included on the deluxe vinyl.
Furtado was introduced to the Dallas-based producer John Congleton in August 2014 by the American indie rock musician Annie Clark, better known as St. Vincent, whom Furtado first met in Japan in 2012. The material produced by Congleton is decidedly more artistic than anything previously released by Furtado. The first song they wrote together was "Flatline", which emerged from Congleton's criticism of the pre-prepared GarageBand demos Furtado had created in preparation for their sessions. She explained, "He didn't like anything. Then, luckily, I remembered this melody – the chorus of "Flatline" – and I sang it to him, and he was, 'Well, I like that. Let's do that.' He had already booked session players for the next day. I showed him my first draft of the lyrics for [the song] and he was tinkering away at the music, and he said, 'Those are all right, but I think you can do better. I think you can dig a little deeper.' And here I am – six albums in – and I'm just thinking: 'Wow. Okay.'" Furtado, who recorded a total of sixteen songs with Congleton, described the album's sound as "modern pop-alternative".
While recording The Ride, Congleton introduced Furtado to people involved in the local Texan art scene, including Samantha McCurdy, who created the album cover. It consists of Furtado clutching a bouquet of flowers and two hands holding a pyramid-shaped piece of wood behind her, while a green protrusion on the right side of the image closes in on her face. The cover proved divisive, with Furtado disabling comments on the image when it was posted on her Instagram account on 12 December 2016. She later said of the cover, "To me, it's a little bit vulnerable. I like that it conveys a feeling of humility," and explained that disabling comments on the image was in part a reaction to the negative response to her performance of "O Canada" at the 2016 NBA All-Star Game.
Composition
The Ride has been described as a rock-influenced pop and indie pop album that incorporates elements of R&B ("Pipe Dreams"), synth-rock ("Sticks and Stones") and piano ballads ("Carnival Games", "Phoenix").
Promotion
Furtado promoted the album by doing many interviews and performances with BBC Breakfast, Loose Women, Q, Larry King Now, Forbes, GQ, Refinery29, Billboard, Paper, Idolator, Maclean’s, and Late Night with Seth Meyers.
Singles
"Pipe Dreams" was released as the first single on 15 November 2016. When asked if the song was the first single from the album, Furtado said that she would not be releasing any singles from the album and that she would instead release songs that she wants to share, "which is all twelve", but the song was released to airplay. Furtado released "Cold Hard Truth", along with the pre-order of the album, on 27 January 2017.
"Sticks & Stones" was remixed by Metro with newly recorded vocals by Furtado in May 2018. It reached number one on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart.