Força Explained

Força
Cover:File:Nelly Furtado - Forca.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Nelly Furtado
Album:Folklore
B-Side:Powerless (Say What You Want)
Studio:
Label:DreamWorks
Producer:
  • Track & Field
  • Nelly Furtado
Prev Title:Try
Prev Year:2004
Next Title:Explode
Next Year:2004

"Força" (Portuguese for "strength") is a song by Canadian singer Nelly Furtado from her second studio album, Folklore (2003). Written by Furtado, Gerald Eaton, and Brian West, the track is sung mainly in English, with the chorus completely in Portuguese. The song was produced by Furtado and Track & Field and received a positive reception from music critics. Released in June 2004 as the album's third single, served as the official song of the 2004 European Football Championship held in Portugal.

Background and writing

Nelly Furtado said about the song: "When I was touring in Portugal, people would frequently say goodbye to me by saying 'Força', which is Portuguese slang. It translates as 'Keep going', or 'Kick ass'. It's also associated with sports, especially football. I put a feminine twist on the idea of how you feel when you're watching your favorite team. When you tie that into nationality, it becomes pretty intense. So this is a happy song, a burst of energy. Plus, we have [banjoist] Béla Fleck playing on the song. His contribution here is amazing".[1]

Music video

The music video was shot in Toronto, Ontario and directed by Ulf Buddensiek. It was released in 2005 to the iTunes music Store.

The music video begins with Furtado wearing a pink top and gold hoop earrings, and a necklace with her hair tied back, singing in an alley way while in front of the camera. In the back drop while Furtado is singing, a boy with the Portugal national football team shirt is playing with a football and doing tricks. It also shows Furtado sitting on a ledge in the video singing to the camera. In the middle of the video the boy accidentally kicks the ball too high and it gets stuck on the pipes in the corner of the apartment building where he's playing. As Furtado continues singing more and more people come to help the little boy and they end up building a human pyramid to lift and support him up the side of the building. Furtado finally joins the pyramid and the group lifts the boy up to his ball.

The version of the song used in the video is different from the album version. It's the version that was prepared to be used on the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 (a.k.a. Swiss American Federation Mix Edit) which Nelly Furtado composed for Portugal. The second version of the video features a Radio Edit for the Album version.

Track listings

European and UK CD maxi-single[2]

  1. "Força" (radio edit) – 2:58
  2. "Força" (Swiss American Federation Mix) – 3:08
  3. "Powerless (Say What You Want)" (Spanish version featuring Juanes) – 3:54
  4. "Força" (video) – 3:40

European 2-track CD single

  1. "Força" (radio edit) – 2:58
  2. "Força" (Swiss American Federation Mix) – 3:08

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the Folklore album booklet.[3]

Studios

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2004)Peak
position
Canada CHR/Pop Top 30 (Radio & Records)[4] 27
Czech Republic (IFPI)[5] 5
Romania (Romanian Top 100)[6] 57

Year-end charts

Chart (2004)Position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[7] 48
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[8] 79
Germany (Official German Charts)[9] 67
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[10] 39
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[11] 40
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[12] 41

Release history

RegionDateFormatLabel
Germany7 June 2004CD singleDreamWorks[13]
14 June 2004Maxi single[14]
United Kingdom12 July 2004Digital download[15]
CD single[16]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Nelly Furtado Central - News Archives - Nellys descriptions of her new songs . 16 January 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080405061620/http://nellycentral.com/archive.php?nid=21 . 5 April 2008 . dead .
  2. https://www.amazon.com/Forca-Nelly-Furtado/dp/B00028X278 Enhanced
  3. Folklore. Folklore (Nelly Furtado album). Nelly Furtado. 2003. US CD album booklet. DreamWorks Records. B0001007-12.
  4. R&R Canada CHR/Pop Top 30. Radio & Records. 1564. 31. July 16, 2004. October 14, 2020.
  5. Web site: Oficiální Česká Hitparáda – Pro týden 39/2004. IFPI ČR. cs. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20040929030722/http://www.ifpicr.cz/radio.htm. September 29, 2004. January 12, 2020.
  6. Web site: Arhiva romanian top 100 – Editia 31, saptamina 2.08 – 8.08, 2004. Romanian Top 100. ro. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20050117105653/http://www.rt100.ro/editie-top-100_x10130.html. January 17, 2005. October 14, 2020.
  7. Web site: Jahreshitparade Singles 2004. austriancharts.at. February 17, 2020.
  8. Web site: Jaaroverzichten 2004. Ultratop. nl. February 17, 2020.
  9. Web site: Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts 2004. GfK Entertainment. de. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20150605180151/https://www.offiziellecharts.de/charts/single-jahr/for-date-2004. June 5, 2015. November 24, 2018.
  10. Web site: Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 2004. Dutch Top 40. February 17, 2020.
  11. Web site: Jaaroverzichten – Single 2004. MegaCharts. nl. February 17, 2020.
  12. Web site: Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2004. hitparade.ch. de. February 17, 2020.
  13. Web site: Forca. Amazon Germany.
  14. Web site: Forca. Amazon Germany.
  15. Web site: Forca. Amazon UK.
  16. New Releases: Singles. Music Week. 27. 10 July 2004.