Nelly Furtado wants more 'professional' image

Nelly Furtado has cleaned up her image for the sake of her daughter and says she is careful about censoring her song lyrics.

Nelly Furtado wants to be seen as a more "professional" singer.

The 33-year-old star is known for her raunchy image and risque lyrics in songs like 'Promiscuous Girl', but says the birth of her daughter Nevis eight years ago made her want to appear more sophisticated and encouraged her to censor her songs.

Nelly told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "From (Nevis' birth) forward I've been looking at my career in a more professional way. Before, I was just floating down the river and not really sure what I was doing.

"Writing-wise I keep her in mind - the tone of things, how I present myself."

The Canadian star has even replaced the word 'promiscuous' with 'mysterious' in her infamous hit song when she performs it live.

She explained: "I guess I wanted to show that the song's still a good song without that word in it. It's still melodic."

Nelly also admitted she came close to ending her career after the release of her 'The Best Of' compilation album in 2010 because she felt creatively exhausted, but she eventually decided to get back into the studio to put her newfound personal growth into words.

She confessed: "I go through a phase like that every once in a while. I love music and I love making it, but I don't love the promotional side because it's draining creatively.

"It's like being a hamster on a wheel with no time to get off. But I usually work through those emotions, and what pulls me back is the music.

"They say you are never more pure than when you write your first album, but I feel I've lived a whole lifetime in the 12 years since it was recorded."

Nelly's fifth studio album 'The Spirit Indestructible' is released on September 16.