Nelly Furtado, “7.”

“Feel like I’m ready to change,” Nelly Furtado croons shortly into the synth-laced, peppy two-and-a-half-minute “Showstopper.” It’s been seven years since her last album, and she opens her new one, 7, by doing just that.

The album opens the door wide open on a direction she’s been teasing for several years. There’s more dance music, more collaborations, but also more of her roots this time around. And yet, the vocals are still as powerful as they’ve always been.

After the opening statement, Furtado’s second song moves to her Latin roots, introducing the direction the rest of the album is headed. “Corozon,” a single, is a collaboration with Colombian band Bomba Estereo. Introduced to Li Saumet by a mutual friend, she flew to Santa Maria, Colombia to work with the group. The result is a bilingual fusion of roots and modern dance music.

The other single, “Love Bites,” is also a collaboration, this one with Tove Lo and SG Lewis. “I want your body,” she sings, perhaps harkening back to 2006 smash hit “Promiscuous,” which netted her and Timbaland countless award nominations.

Furtado has sold 35 million albums since her debut in 2000, but she’s been mostly out of the public eye since releasing 2017’s The Ride, raising her children in her native Canada. To her surprise, the TikTok generation found her 2006 music video for “Say It Right.” With her eldest daughter’s encouragement, she started performing again, including a set at San Francisco’s electronica-leaning Portola Festival last year and san NPR Tiny Desk concert. She followed it up with Coachella and made an appearance with Ed Sheeran in Europe. She was clearly feeling the collaborative energy as the album has appearances by Charlotte Day Wilson, Blxckie and others.

The peppy beat of “Honesty” and staccato rhythm of the the following song, “Floodgate,” most resemble Furtado’s earlier music. The repetitive lines on the latter are begging for a singalong.

The album then moves into the slow-simmering, hard-hitting “Crown” (this one with South African rapper Blxckie, The song emphasizes Furtado’s dominant voice, soaring into her highest range and at times slightly restrained.

“I cry when you look at me with those eyes/ I see the things/ You keep/ Inside/ When you look at me with those eyes,” she sings.

The following song, “All Comes Back” (with fellow Canadian Wilson), is even more earnest, featuring a stripped-down piano-led arrangement that shows how Furtado’s melodic tone is still as clear as ever.

The album ramps back up with bluesy break-up “Save Your Breath,” which continues building with driving piano melody, dramatically swelling strings, Caribbean-influenced bars by one of several guest stars and even an emphatic “hawk tuah”  sound effect.

“How many times did I save your life?/ How many ways did you throw me under the bus?” Furtado sings. “You keep trying to talk to me/ Save your breath.”

Furtado has clearly been through ups and downs, including a breakdown and a loss of confidence, and her statement on “Ready for Myself” is clear: “I got ready for myself, not for anybody else.” That theme continues on banger “Take Me Down” (there’s yodeling!) and ballad “Better Than Ever,” which returns to the piano and then builds, emphasizing Furtado’s powerful voice as she firmly repeats the title as a mantra.

Clearly, Nelly Furtado is back, standing firmly and proud to say so.