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 Robin Hood Motel.
“My mom ran the housekeeping department,” the singer told the podcast’s host Alex Cooper. “She was like the head honcho there and so she hired me.”
Furtado’s 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 “harder in the teen years when you’re out the night before and you get there at 6 a.m.”
Despite the early starts, Furtado said she enjoyed her time at Robin Hood.
“It was such a good experience because I worked there for probably 10 summers straight,” she said.
Her memories aren't all rosy, though.
“After I graduated high school and I went to Toronto and thought I was going to be famous in two months, but ... that’s 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.
“That was the year I was like, ‘Oh, I wonder if my dreams will come true,’” 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.
“Growing up doing that was good because, when you get into this industry, the hours can be long," she said. "When you’re starting out, it’s a lot of hustling.”
@callherdaddy No one ever forgets their first job 😅 Daddy Gang, what was your first job???
♬ original sound - Call Her Daddy
