Explode
Nelly Furtado · Folklore [2003]
With a lighter and some hairspray
Smoking in the girls' room
Not worse than Shelley's rape behind the McDonald's
By a man she thought was fine, didn't tell anybody
Or maybe back then we just thought that she was getting some
Now we look back and see that she didn't know how
We never thought that we'd get caught up
Stuck in the teenage waste
As we explode
As we explode
Then getting drunk in the bushes by the road outside the Kmart
Rolling around in them to see if you would get prickled
Slip the acid on your tongue rooftop shopping mall parade
We couldn't get enough
Then count the stars and the ten million woes
Just you and the universe judging each other
We never knew that we'd get caught up
Stuck in the teenage waste
As we explode
As we explode
As we explode
As we let go
It's a fight, it's a fight and you finally belong
Got a shiner now and it's more than a battle scar
More than a battle scar, such a good, good story to tell
At lunch break, lunch break, lunch break, lunch break
Such a good, good story to tell
You bully, you break, you bully, you break
You fake, you fake, you fake, you fake
You smoke, you toke, you want, you flaunt,
you hit it and you're in it and it's spinning
And it's wild
We never thought that we'd get caught up
Stuck in the teenage waste
As we explode
As we explode
As we explode
As we let go
We're counting the stars
We're counting the stars
We're gonna go far, we're gonna go far
We're counting the stars, we're counting the stars
We're not very far, we're not very far
And it's you and me in the open air
It's truth or dare, we don't care
We're counting the stars, we're counting the stars, we're counting the stars,
we're counting the stars
Explode - Nelly Furtado
Nelly Furtado's 'Explode' stands as a defining track from her 2003 album Folklore, marking a pivotal shift in her musical direction. The song blends electronic dance elements with her signature vocal style, moving away from the pop-rock sound of her earlier work to embrace a more rhythmic, club-oriented aesthetic. Released during a period where Furtado was actively redefining her artistic identity, the recording showcases her ability to adapt her voice to diverse genres while maintaining emotional depth. As a key component of the Folklore catalogue, the track exemplifies the electronic-pop fusion that would characterize her subsequent career, influencing the direction of her discography and solidifying her status as a versatile artist in the global music scene.

