“Promiscuous” still gets around. The chart-topping Timbaland duet redefined Nelly Furtado’s career two decades ago, and a new streaming milestone demonstrates its continued popularity. The song has surpassed two billion streams on Spotify, becoming Furtado’s first track to reach that rare statistical echelon.
Furtado released “Promiscuous” in April 2006 as the lead single from Loose, her third album. (It was preceded by the club single “No Hay Igual,” but “Promiscuous” was the first to be released to radio and MTV.) She worked closely with producers Timbaland and Danja on the project, embracing a bold, eclectic pop sound that marked a major change from the folkier sounds of her first two albums, 2000’s Whoa, Nelly! and 2003’s Folklore.
Those changes came through loud and clear on “Promiscuous,” which features extensive rapping and singing exchanges with Timbaland over a synth-streaked, rhythmically charged beat. The song was an instant success. By July, it had become her first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, dominating radio playlists and helping Loose to maintain brisk sales figures. Thanks to the continued popularity of “Promiscuous” and other Loose singles like “Maneater” and “Say It Right,” the album has surpassed 10 million in worldwide sales.
Furtado began writing “Promiscuous” with Timothy Clayton, aka Attitude, her Mosley Music Group labelmate. She later told Blender, “We were actually flirting, which is why the song is so playful.” They nicknamed it “The BlackBerry Song” because they imagined the lyrics as text messages being exchanged. Producers Timbaland and Danja laced the track with elements of hip-hop, electropop, new wave, and more, developing a percussion-forward sound that proved compulsively listenable throughout 2006 and beyond.
In terms of lyrics and presence, Furtado pulled inspiration from ‘90s hip-hop and R&B stars. “I’m influenced by the assertive female sexuality of ’90s hip-hop, from Queen Latifah to MC Lyte, Yo-Yo, Salt-N-Pepa, TLC,” she told MTV News at the time. “They were sexy, smart and creative — strong women in control.”
