Will Nelly Furtado Break Down Pop Music Language Barriers With "Manos Al Aire"?

Three years ago Nelly Furtado made a dramatic transformation into a pop-dance artist and conquered the pop charts with "Promiscuous," the biggest single of the summer of 2006. Now the Canadian singer of Portuguese ethnicity will be heading in another new direction by releasing her first Spanish-language album Mi Plan which is due in stores September 29, 2009.

The first single "Manos Al Aire" (translates to "Hands In the Air") goes to radio stations Monday, June 29, 2009. It is firmly in pop-dance mode. In recent years it has not been unusual for Spanish-speaking artists to hit the pop charts in the US, but they have not had success with material recorded completely in Spanish. Shakira's 2005 worldwide smash "La Tortura" peaked outside of the top 20 on the US pop singles charts. Most recently, Pitbull has scored a huge top 5 single with "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" mixing English and Spanish lyrics.

Will Nelly Furtado break down language walls further? This seems the type of single that just may have a chance. Check out the preview below and be listening for the song at pop radio starting this week.

• Listen to "Manos Al Aire" preview

_{Single cover courtesy Universal Latino}