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Nelly Furtado sings praises of summers spent as Victoria hotel chambermaid

'It was such a good experience because I worked there for probably ten summers straight'
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Nelly Furtado performing at the Juno awards in Halifax on March 24, 2024. (The Canadian Press/Darren Calabrese)

Last week, on a podcast called Call Her Daddy, international pop star and Victoria native Nelly Furtado recalled her time working as a chambermaid at the city's Robin Hood Motel. 

鈥淢y mom ran the housekeeping department,鈥 the singer told the podcast鈥檚 host Alex Cooper. 鈥淪he was like the head honcho there and so she hired me.鈥 

Furtado鈥檚 sister, brother, aunt and cousin also worked at the 61-year-old establishment, which sits on Gorge Road, between Washington Avenue and Caroll Street. 

The star, who attended Mount Douglas Secondary School, joked that working there was 鈥渉arder in the teen years when you鈥檙e out the night before and you get there at 6 a.m.鈥 

Despite the early starts, Furtado said she enjoyed her time at Robin Hood. 

鈥淚t was such a good experience because I worked there for probably 10 summers straight,鈥 she said.

Her memories aren't all rosy, though.

鈥淎fter I graduated high school and I went to Toronto and thought I was going to be famous in two months, but ... that鈥檚 not how it works. Our goals take a while to achieve. Moved back home, worked there again that year when I was going to college in my hometown," she said, adding that experience led her to doubt whether she would be able to turn her passion for music into a career.  

鈥淭hat was the year I was like, 鈥極h, I wonder if my dreams will come true,鈥欌 she added.

But eventually, they would.

Furtado went on to win Grammy, Juno and Billboard awards and release dozens of classic songs, including chart-toppers Say It Right, Promiscuous and Give It To Me. 

The singer implied working at Robin Hood helped her get where she is today.

鈥淕rowing up doing that was good because, when you get into this industry, the hours can be long," she said. "When you鈥檙e starting out, it鈥檚 a lot of hustling.鈥

 

No one ever forgets their first job 馃槄 Daddy Gang, what was your first job???

 



About the Author: Greater Victoria News Staff

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