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Nelly Kim Furtado (born December 2 1978 ) is a Canadian Singer , Songwriter , Record Producer , and Instrumentalist , who also holds Portuguese citizenship.http://www.burninthespotlight.com/forum/showthread.php?t=937 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.12 BIOGRAPHY Early years Nelly Furtado was born in Victoria , British Columbia to Portuguese immigrants from the Azores , Maria Manuela and António José Furtado. 3 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 .4 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. 5 She has stated that coming from a working class background has shaped her identity in a positive way.6 The first musicians Furtado interacted with were underground Rappers and DJs . 7 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". 8 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.9 Her performance attracted the attention of ''. 2000–2002: ''Whoa, Nelly!'' and early success Furtado continued the collaboration with Eaton and West, who co-produced her debut album, '''' tour.
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." 10 2003–2005: ''Folklore'' Furtado's second album, '' Folklore '', was released in November 2003. The title was influenced by her parents' immigration to Canada. ''Folclore'' {Link without Title} 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. 11 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, 12 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 . 13 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. 14 15 22 which became her third number-one single in the U.S. and second in the UK. On - Canadian rapper K'naan .http://buzzworthy.mtv.com/2007/08/27/mtv-artist-of-the-week-nelly-furtado/ 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. 23 Nevis is ethnically a quarter Filipino , a quarter Asian Indian , and half Portuguese. 24 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." 25 Some considered this an announcement of Bisexuality ,26 but in August 2006, she confirmed that she was "straight, but very open-minded". 27 In November 2006, Furtado revealed that she once turned down US $ 500,000 to pose nude in '' Playboy ''. 28 In July 2007, it was reported that Furtado is engaged to Cuban sound engineer, Demacio "Demo" Castellon, who worked with her on ''Loose''.29 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 See Also: Nelly Furtado discography Studio albums
Number-one singles AWARDS For a full list of awards and nominations, see List Of Nelly Furtado Awards REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
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