Nelly Furtado - Music, Biography and Discography. Download Nelly Furtado Albums. Nelly Furtado Music.

Nelly Furtado

“Touring is a favorite part of what I do. I love connecting with the fans in that immediate way” - Nelly Furtado The hip hop songstress has made an impact in the world of music in a very short span of time. As a Canadian with Portuguese roots, she has managed to combine the grace and sophistication with street smart coolness. Her music influences range from the legendary U2 and Oasis to Mary J Blige and Madonna. Her songwriting has grown from the confessional to in your face sexuality.

Her third album generated major controversy for the raw sexual imagery distinct from her previous work. Yet Nelly remains an enigmatic pop star shying away talking about her personal life. Nelly has racked up almost 20 million in album sales as well as three No.1 US and two UK No.1 singles. Her sultry good looks have also added to the pop star image. Nelly Furtado was born in the city of Victoria in Canada to immigrants from Portugal. She started performing at age 4 singing and dancing in Portuguese. By 12 she was writing songs and interacting with underground DJ’s and rappers.

By 1997 she produced a demo with the help of the band The Philosopher Kings. She was able to sign a record deal with DreamWorks Records in 1999. Her first single appeared for a soundtrack for the movie Broken Down Palace. She moved into the studio to record her first album “Whoa, Nelly!” which was an international success. The album released in 2000.

But it was her video for “I’m Like Bird” that received massive airplay on MTV. It reached No.1 in her home country and cracked the US Top 10 peaking at No. 9. The album sold 5 million copies worldwide making it an unexpected commercial success. Nelly also received very high critical acclaim which was dubbing her as a fresh new talent on the pop scene.

Her next single “Turn of the Lights” which featured acoustic guitar sampling of Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth” It did better than her first single and reached No. 5 on the US charts.After touring in 2002 and 2003 she released her second album “Folklore” in Nov 2003. The album is regarded as commercial disappointment. She was pregnant during the recording sessions and therefore there is a laid back feel to the album. The single “Powerless” was a deeply moving song about racialism and discrimination which she herself felt. The song reached No. 9 on the US charts. However the rest of the album failed to live up to the expectations. Nelly Furtado went through a complete transformation for her third album inciting both controversy and criticism. “Loose” was released in June 2006; the overly sexual imagery and themes through out the album was a stark difference from the sound of the first two sets. She roped in hip/hop music’s mercurial producer Timbaland to produce the bulk of the album He even did the rap on “Promiscuous”. There was a lot of criticism which went as far as to denounce Nelly to have sold out for commercial success. The video for the song had a midriff exposing Nelly dancing in a night club.

The first single “Maneater” which had an electro rock and up tempo sound. The single was successful. However it was the single “Promiscuous” which brought her world wide attention. The hip/hop back beat sound and raunchy lyrics were a No.1 single in the US. The album also debut No. 1 in the US and would go on to sell 10 million copies world wide giving Nelly international superstar status.

She headlined the “Get Loose World Tour” culminating into the release of the Live DVD “Loose: The Concert”. The tour went all across Europe playing in Kiev and Moscow (her first visits). In 2007 she collaborated with Justin Timberlake for the single “Give it To Me” which became her third No.1 single in the US. She released a Spanish album “Mi Plan” in Sept 2009 which got great reviews and was another platinum seller. She also toured in support of the album.

She also collaborated with several artists including renowned DJ Tiesto for the song “Who Wants to be Alone”

She also started recording her much awaiting English language album titled “Lifestyle” which will be released in May 2010. It features production from Timbaland again.

Did you know that...

• ...in November 2006 she turned down $500,000 offer to appear fully clothed for Playboy magazine.
• ...in 2006 she performed a concert in South Africa for Word Aids Day. Partnered with MTV and Nike, it also featured several other high profile artist such as Kanye West and Snoop Dogg.
• ...she sang a duet with Bryan Adams for the Opening Ceremony for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics Games. The song called Bang a Drum