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.

"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," she said.

The Canadian star has even replaced the word "promiscuous" with "mysterious" in her infamous hit song when she performs it live. "I guess I wanted to show that the song's still a good song without that word in it. It's still melodic," she explained.

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 decided to get back into the studio to put her newfound personal growth into words instead. "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," she confessed.

Nelly's fifth studio album The Spirit Indestructible is in stores now.