Nelly Furtado

About Nelly Furtado

Nelly Kim Furtado (born December 2, 1978) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, actress and instrumentalist, who also holds Portuguese citizenship.

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, vocal styles and languages. This diversity has been influenced by her wide-ranging musical taste and her interest in different cultures.

Nelly Furtado was born in the Canadian city of Victoria, British Columbia to Portuguese immigrants from the Azores, Maria Manuela and António José Furtado. Her parents were born on São Miguel Island and immigrated to Canada in the late 1960s. Furtado has a strong connection with Portugal. At age four she began performing and singing in Portuguese. Nelly Furtado 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. She began playing instruments at the age of nine, learning the trombone, ukulele and, in later years, the guitar and keyboards. 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. She has stated that coming from a working class background has shaped her identity in a positive way.