NELLY FURTADO

'Nelly Kim Furtado' (born December 2 1978) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer, and instrumentalist, who also holds Portuguese citizenship.^[1]
Furtado came to fame in 2000 with the release of her debut album ''Whoa, Nelly!'', which featured her breakthrough Grammy Award-winning single “I'm like a Bird.” After becoming a mother and releasing the less commercially successful ''Folklore'' (2003), she returned to prominence in 2006 with the release of ''Loose'' and its hit singles “Promiscuous,” “Maneater,” “Say It Right” and “All Good Things (Come to an End).”
Furtado is known for experimenting with different instruments, sounds, genres, languages, and vocal styles. This diversity has been influenced by her wide-ranging musical taste and her interest in different cultures. Exclusive LAUNCH Artist Chat Nelly Furtado Biography

Contents

Biography

Early years

2000–2002: ''Whoa, Nelly!'' and early success

2003–2005: ''Folklore''

2006–present: ''Loose''

Personal life

Influences

Acting career

Discography

Studio albums

Number-one singles

Awards

References

External links

Biography

Early years

Nelly Furtado was born in Victoria, British Columbia to Portuguese immigrants from the Azores, Maria Manuela and António José Furtado.
Furtado Goes Portuguese
She was named after Soviet gymnast Nellie Kim. Raised in a Roman Catholic home, Furtado first sang at the age of four when she performed a duet with her mother at a church on Portugal Day. Although remaining unclear about her religious beliefs, she still affirms a belief in God, the Ten Commandments, and in avoiding the Seven Sins.^[2] She began playing instruments at the age of nine, learning the trombone, ukulele and, in later years, the guitar and keyboard. At the age of twelve, she began writing songs, and as a teenager, she performed in a Portuguese marching band.
Furtado has acknowledged her family as the source of her strong work ethic; she spent eight summers working as a chambermaid with her mother, who was a housekeeper in Victoria. Nelly Furtado Biography She has stated that coming from a working class background has shaped her identity in a positive way.^[2]
The first musicians Furtado interacted with were underground rappers and DJs.
How Nelly Furtado Got Her Ghetto Pass
During a visit to Toronto the summer after eleventh grade, Furtado met Tallis Newkirk, member of the hip hop group Plains of Fascination. She contributed vocals to their 1996 album, ''Join the Ranks'', on the track "Waitin' 4 the Streets". Nelstar
★ (Nelly Furtado) Biography
After graduating from Mount Douglas Secondary School in 1996, she moved to Toronto. The following year, she formed Nelstar, a trip hop duo with Newkirk. Ultimately, Furtado felt the trip-hop style of the duo was "too segregated" and believed it did not represent her personality or allow her to showcase her vocal ability. She left the group and planned to move back home.
Before moving, however, she performed at the 1997 Honey Jam, an "all-female urban" talent show. Honey Jam Searches for Urban Women
Her performance attracted the attention of The Philosopher Kings singer Gerald Eaton (aka Jarvis Church), who then approached her to write with him. He and fellow Kings member Brian West helped Furtado produce a demo. She left Toronto, but returned again to record more material with Eaton and West. The material recorded during these sessions led to her 1999 record deal with DreamWorks Records. Furtado's first single, "Party's Just Begun (Again)", was released that year on the ''.

2000–2002: ''Whoa, Nelly!'' and early success

Furtado continued the collaboration with Eaton and West, who co-produced her debut album, ''Whoa, Nelly!'', released in October 2000. Following the release of the album, Furtado headlined the ''Burn in the Spotlight'' tour and also appeared on Moby's ''Area:One'' tour.
The album was an international success, supported by three international singles: “I'm like a Bird,” “Turn off the Light” and “#
★ @!! on the Radio.” It received four Grammy nominations in 2002, and her debut single won for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
Furtado's work was also critically acclaimed for her innovative mixture of various genres and sounds. ''Slant'' magazine called the album "a delightful and refreshing antidote to the army of 'pop princesses' and rap-metal bands that had taken over popular music at the turn of the millennium."
Whoa, Nelly!

2003–2005: ''Folklore''

Furtado's second album, ''Folklore'', was released in November 2003. The title was influenced by her parents' immigration to Canada. ''Folclore'' [fOlk'lOrI] means the same in Portuguese as it does in English, but occurs much more frequently, in any reference to traditional culture. The final track on the album, "Childhood Dreams", was dedicated to her daughter. The album includes the single "Força" (meaning "strength" or "carry on" in Portuguese), the official anthem of the 2004 European Football Championship. Furtado performed this song in Lisbon at the championship's final, in which the Portugal national team played.
Nelly Furtado Gets Her Kicks Other singles included "Powerless (Say What You Want)" and the ballad "Try".
The album was not as successful as her debut, partly due to the album's less "poppy" sound,
Folklore
but also due to changes at DreamWorks Records. DreamWorks had just been sold to Universal Music Group. In 2005, DreamWorks Records, along with many of its artists including Furtado, were absorbed into Geffen Records.
Universal Music Snags DreamWorks Records

2006–present: ''Loose''

Furtado's third album was released in June 2006. She named it ''Loose'' after the spontaneous, creative decisions she made while creating the album.
Nelly Furtado Brings the Punk-Hop
Serious female singers harder to find on the charts
In this album, primarily produced by Timbaland, Furtado experiments with sounds from R&B, hip hop, and 80s music. Nelly Furtado :: Loose She categorized the album's sound as ''punk-hop'', described as "modern, poppy, spooky" and as having "a mysterious, after-midnight vibe... extremely visceral". She attributed the youthful sound of the album to the presence of her two-year old daughter. Four lead singles were released in different regions of the world: the Spanish reggaeton-influenced "No Hay Igual" (featuring Calle 13), the hip-hop "Promiscuous" (featuring Timbaland), for which she won a 2006 Billboard Music Award for Pop Single of the Year, the Latin "Te Busqué" (featuring Juanes), and the dark pop single "Maneater". ''Loose'' has become the most successful album of Furtado's career so far. It reached number-one in several countries including the United States and Canada, and it included the hit singles "Promiscuous", "Maneater", "Te Busqué", "Say It Right", and "All Good Things (Come to an End)". The album received generally positive reviews from critics, Loose by Nelly Furtado with some citing the "revitalising" effect of Timbaland on Furtado's music, Nelly Furtado - Loose (Polydor) Loose Review and others calling it "slick, smart and surprising." Nelly Furtado, Loose Some have labeled her a "sell out" for seemingly abandoning her folk and rock roots in favor of hip hop and R&B, CD Review : Nelly Furtado ''Loose'' James Robert while others have criticized her for attempting to "sex up" her music and appearance to sell more records. Nelly Furtado: Mutating Like Avian Flu Tom Breihan Nonetheless, the album has fared well on the mainstream market, especially in Canada, where the album was certified 4x platinum in May 2007.CRIA Gold and Platinum Certifications. Canadian Recording Industry Association (May 2007). Retrieved on July 24, 2007. In 2007, Furtado and Justin Timberlake were featured on Timbaland's single "Give It to Me",^[4] which became her third number-one single in the U.S. and second in the UK. On February 16, 2007, Furtado embarked on the Get Loose Tour. She returned in March 2007 to her hometown of Victoria, British Columbia to perform a concert at the Save-On Foods Memorial Centre. In honor of her visit, local leaders officially proclaimed March 21, 2007, the first day of spring, as Nelly Furtado Day. On April 1, 2007 Furtado was a performer at and host of the 2007 Juno Awards in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She won all five awards for which she was nominated, including "Album of the Year" and "Single of the Year". Furtado appeared on stage at the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium in London on July 1 2007, where she performed "Say It Right", "Maneater", and "I'm like a Bird". In 2007, Furtado, Timbaland and Justin Timberlake were featured on Lil Wayne's upcoming album Tha Carter III.^[5] Furtado recently appeared in the video for Nickelback's Rockstar. In September 2007 MTV:Buzzworthy chose Furtado as the Artist of the Week, and gave an exclusive freestyle performance of "Going Away" with the Somalian-Canadian rapper K'naan.^[6]

Personal life

On September 20 2003 in Toronto, Furtado gave birth to a daughter, Nevis, whose father is DJ Jasper Gahunia. Furtado and Gahunia, who had been good friends for several years, remained together for four years until their breakup in 2005. Furtado told ''Blender'' magazine that they continue to be good friends and jointly share responsibility of raising Nevis.^[7] Nevis is ethnically a quarter Filipino, a quarter Asian Indian, and half Portuguese. Why Is Nelly Furtado's New Album So Loud?
In June 2006, in an interview with ''Genre'' magazine, when asked if she had "ever felt an attraction to women", Furtado replied "Absolutely. Women are beautiful and sexy." ^[8] Some considered this an announcement of bisexuality,^[9] but in August 2006, she confirmed that she was "straight, but very open-minded". ^[10] In November 2006, Furtado revealed that she once turned down US $500,000 to pose nude in ''Playboy''.
Nelly Embraces Her Roots with Spanish album
In July 2007, it was reported that Furtado is engaged to Cuban sound engineer, Demacio "Demo" Castellon, who worked with her on ''Loose''.^[11]

Influences

During her teenage years, Furtado embraced many musical genres, listening heavily to mainstream R&B, hip hop, alternative hip hop, drum and bass, trip hop, world music (including Portuguese fado, Brazilian bossa nova, and Indian music), and a variety of others. Her influences have included Jeff Buckley, Janet Jackson, Oasis, Caetano Veloso, Esthero, Amalia Rodrigues, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Cornershop, TLC, Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Digable Planets, De La Soul, Radiohead, Madonna, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Verve, U2, Enya, and Beck.
Furtado's music has also been influenced by her current residence, Toronto, which she calls "the most multicultural city in the entire world" and a place where she "can be any culture". Regarding Toronto's cultural diversity, she has said that she did not have to wait for the Internet revolution to learn about world music; she began listening to it at the age of five and continues to discover new genres.

Acting career

Furtado began acting in school plays in middle school. She appeared on the episode "Some Buried Bones" of '' as Ava Brandt, a master-thief and victim of domestic abuse. She also guest starred on an episode of the day time soap opera ''One Life to Live'', on which she performed some of her songs in a local club with Saukrates. Furtado participated in the hit Portuguese soap opera ''Floribella''.

Discography

Main articles: Nelly Furtado discography

Studio albums

★ 2000: ''Whoa, Nelly!''

★ 2003: ''Folklore''

★ 2006: ''Loose''

★ TBA : Upcoming Portuguese and Spanish language album

Number-one singles

Year	Single	Peak positions[12][13][14]
		World	U.S.	UK	NETH	CAN	GER	AUS	NZ
2000	"I'm like a Bird"	7	9	5	4	1	41	2	2
2001	"Turn off the Light"	3	5	4	7	7	31	7	1
2006	"Promiscuous" (featuring Timbaland)	4	1	3	9	1	6	2	1
	"Maneater"	4	16	1	10	2	4	3	2
	"Say It Right"	2	1	10	1	1	2	2	1
	"All Good Things (Come to an End)"	5	86	4	1	4	1	12	12
2007	"Give It to Me" (Timbaland featuring Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake)	3	1	1	7	1	3	16	2
	Total number-one singles	—	3	2	2	3	1	—	3

Awards

:''For a full list of awards and nominations, see List of Nelly Furtado awards''.

References

1. http://www.burninthespotlight.com/forum/showthread.php?t=937
2. Fly Girl
3. Fly Girl
4.
Timbaland Nabs 50 Cent, Dr. Dre For LP, Starts Timberlake Gossip Frenzy

5. Shaheem Reid, Jayson Rodriguez and Rahman Dukes. "Lil Wayne Plans His Own Leak", MTV.com : Mixtape Monday, 2007-06-11.
6. http://buzzworthy.mtv.com/2007/08/27/mtv-artist-of-the-week-nelly-furtado/
7.
Nelly Furtado: Free As A Bird

8. Nelly on the Loose!
9. Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever.
10. Furtado red-faced over loose tongue
11. Nelly Furtado Engaged to Sound Engineer Boyfriend=People Magazine
12. Nelly Furtado: Billboard Singles
13. UK Top 40 Hit Database
14. United World Chart

External links

★ NellyFurtado.com Official site

★ NellyFurtadoMusic.co.uk Official UK site

★ Official fan forum

★ Official MySpace

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