NELLY FURTADO:: BIOGRAPHY

Just like she proclaimed it through the song that introduced her to the world, Nelly Furtado truly “Is Like a Bird.”

Born in Victoria, Canada, to Portuguese descendant parents, Nelly was raised within a culturally rich environment, very close to her Latin roots: Portuguese night school, traditional dances workshops, marching bands, and religious festivities were common activities throughout her childhood. All that cultural immersion, and the deep working ethics she learned from her parents at an early age, helped her develop a unique identity and start a prosperous musical career when she moved to Toronto right after finishing high school. She started to write her own songs when she joined the hip-hop duo Nelstar, but her wings really started expanding in preparation for the big flight when musicians Brian West and Gerard Eaton, from the funk pop band The Philosopher Kings, decided to record a demo of Nelly’s songs that ended up on the desks of DreamWorks Records, which quickly realized the potential of the then teenager and released her first album, Whoa, Nelly!, in 2000.

Her multi-cultural sound proved to be intensely popular and the following year Nelly went on an extensive headlining tour around North America, mostly thanks to the tremendous success of singles “I’m Like a Bird” and “Turn Off the Light,” which helped the album to reach platinum status several times and also to get four nominations at the 2002 Grammy Awards. Nelly Furtado ended up taking the Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for “I’m Like a Bird.”

Her second album, Folklore, was released on November 2003, two months after Nelly gave birth to her daughter Nevis. For many, this is the album where she displays her best vocals and her most eclectic sounds. With Folklore, Nelly took her musical expression to the next level, confirming her creative capacity with songs like “Powerless (Say What You Want),” the ballad “Try” or “Força”, which became the official anthem of the 2004 European Football Championship.

She waited 3 years to reinvent herself in 2006 with the release of Loose, an imminently danceable album produced almost in its entirety by beats genius Timbaland, who, under Nelly’s inspiration, created an energizing and irresistible mix of pop, R&B, and super danceable hip-hop that catapulted her career back to the top of the charts around the globe. “Promiscuous” became an instant hit, earning her the number one spot at the Billboard Hot 100 while the album debuted atop the charts upon its release.