Nelly Furtado (born December 2, 1978) is a Portuguese-Canadian singer-songwriter. Among her most succesful songs are her debut single "I'm Like a Bird", for which she won a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 2002, "Turn Off The Lights", which reached #1 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, and "Força", the official anthem of the 2004 European Football Championship. Nelly Furtado was born in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada one of three children born to Portuguese-Azorean parents. She learned to play trombone and ukulele at the age of nine and keyboard at eleven. She began composing her own songs when she was thirteen. After finishing high school, Furtado moved to Toronto, were she formed the trip hop duo Nelstar* in 1997 with local musician Tallisman, with whom she had already worked the previously summer, contributing vocals to the song "Waitin' 4 The Streets" on Join the Ranks, the 1996 album of his band Plains Of Fascination. "Like", one of the songs Nelstar* recorded, received a VideoFACT grant to cover for the production of a music video, but Furtado felt the musical style of the Nelstar* recordings did not represent her personality and vocal talent, and the clip was never released.[1] Performing one night at Toronto nightclub Lee's Palace, Furtado met The Philosopher Kings singer Gerald Eaton. Eaton became an important collaborator, co-producing Furtado's debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, when she signed with DreamWorks Records. Her style, described by Toronto Sun writer Jane Stevenson as a cross between Macy Gray and Ivana Santilli, incorporates pop, trip-hop, bossa nova, soul, R&B, hip-hop, and folk, and was a result of her urge to move beyond the kinds of music that have always emotionally moved her. She has mentioned Cornershop, Beck and Finley Quaye as influences in her sound. Prior to being signed, Furtado's music has been described as less colourful and associated more with indie bands such as Portishead and Radiohead. However, Furtado tired of this style. On September 20, 2003, Furtado gave birth to her first child, daughter Nevis. The father is her then boyfriend Jasper Gahunia (alias Lil' Jaz, Furtado's live DJ). Furtado's second album, Folklore, was released on November 25, 2003. The album includes the single "Força", which was written as the official anthem of the 2004 European Football Championship held in Portugal, and Furtado also performed it at the championship's final in Estádio da Luz, Lisbon on July 4, 2004.[2] She also was a guest presenter at the 2005 European Music Awards held in Lisbon, Portugal. As of late 2005, she is set to make her acting debut in the movie Nobody's Hero, to be released somewhen in 2006. Also, her third album, Loose, is scheduled for March 2006. The album's first single, "Maneater" is expected to hit airwaves in January and the remix features Lil' Wayne -both produced by Timbaland and Nate "Danjahandz" Hills. The album, mostly produced by Timbaland and his production partner Danjahandz, will include songs such as "Promiscuous Girl", as well as "No Hay Igual" and "All Good Things Come to an End", a collaboration with Coldplay's Chris Martin.
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