"Big Hoops (Bigger the Better)" Nelly Furtado

From soulful folkie to dance floor maneater, Nelly Furtado has had many incarnations in her decade-long career—and it seems that she's still got more up her sleeve. After a five-year absence from the pop music scene, she returns on new song "Big Hoops (Bigger the Better)" as an '80s-inspired b-girl, a decision that can only be described as...unexpected. Actually, it's downright wacky (and I'm not just referring to the bizarre video, where a giant, stilts-wearing Furtado takes over Downtown Los Angeles). Serving as the lead single from her upcoming fourth studio album, The Spirit Indestructible, "Hoops" is an essentially tuneless, hookless Darkchild production that reduces Furtado to bleating like a young Rihanna. While its stuttering beat is undeniably transfixing after a couple of listens, the song is missing the driving passion behind her most inspired hits. It's hard to imagine this limp entry will do much for the former chart-topper's comeback. C+