Nelly Furtado - Biography

Last Editor: bassein30				Nelly Furtado Biography -   Name : Nelly Furtado Birth Date : December 2, 1978 Birth Place : Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Birth Name : Nelly Kim Furtado Height : 5' 1" Profession : Musician Claim to fame : Album: Whoa, Nelly! (2000)

Nelly Furtado Trivia -

Played eight dates on "the village stage" at Lilith Fair. Formed (and an ex-member of) trip-hop group Nelstar. Learned to play trombone and ukulele at age nine, keyboards at age 11 and began composing at age 13. Is Canadian of Portuguese decent. Speaks Portuguese fluently. Sang a Hindi song named Kabhi Kabhie. Voted one of the "Fun and Fearless Females" by Cosmopolitan Magazine (2002.) Won "Best Pop Vocal, Female" Grammy for her song "I'm Like A Bird" (2002). Daughter Nevis (named after the island on which she was conceived) born on September 20, 2003, in Toronto to Nelly and then boyfriend Jasper Gahunia (aka DJ Lil' Jaz). Second album "Folklore" released. [Nov 25th 2003] Parents are Maria Manuela Furtado and Antonio José Furtado. Has a sister, Lisa Anne Furtado, and a brother, Michael Anthony Furtado. Her song "Força", in which she sang both English and Portuguese, was the official theme of the Euro 2004 (European Football Championships) in Portugal. Ranked #58 in Stuff magazine's "102 Sexiest Women In The World" (2002) Perhaps as a nod to her diverse influences, she was invited to open for U2 and perform on Moby's Area: One Tour alongside the techno-rocker. She also scored some awards for her work, including Canadian Juno Awards for best new solo artist and best songwriter in 2001 and a Grammy in 2002 for best female pop performance ("Like A Bird.") Graduated from Mount Douglas Secondary School in Victoria, B.C. Was a heavy smoker during her teenage years. Fan of Kylie Minogue and Dannii Minogue. Her third album "Loose" was released in June 2006 and reached #1 in US, Canadian and German charts. Four lead singles were released in four different regions of the world, and the "European" song "Maneater" became her first #1 in the UK single charts. Her parents named her after Soviet gymnast Nellie Kim. Will host the Juno Awards on April 1st, 2007 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Her father was a stonemason originally from Portugal. He couldn't speak English when he first came to Canada. Her mother was a motel cleaner. Ranked #26 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2007 list. According to an MTV interview, she self-taught herself how to sing by listening to Mariah Carey albums. Engaged to sound engineer Demacio 'Demo' Castellon [July 6, 2007]. Ranked #49 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2008 list.

Nelly Furtado Detailed Biography -

Nelly Fortado is Canada's newest female superstar. Nelly Furtado hails from Victoria, a quaint, quiet town on the western shores of British Columbia. Furtado found her way into the music world kind of on a whim, a first-generation Canadian, the daughter of working-class Portuguese parents. Her mother is a former church choir singer, while her father -- a fan of Portuguese music styles, known as "fado" -- sings as a pastime. Her grandfather played instruments, and even her great-uncle was a renowned Portuguese marching band score composer. All of these family elements inspired Nelly's passion for music and a broad spectrum of musical genres at that. By the age of four, young Nelly was playing the ukulele and singing in Portuguese and English, and was the trombone player of a jazz band, concert band and marching band, from nine to eighteen. Her vocal chords and dance skills were also useful with her involvement in musical plays. She knew early on in her childhood that she wanted to be a performer, and her dreams were realized via several chance opportunities and events throughout her life. Nelly received a tape recorder and microphone when she was eight years old, which served as a key part of her musical influences. With the help of her tape recorder, Nelly would sample the sounds that impressed her, similar to those used by popular '90s acts. She sang into her microphone and recorded original sounds with the "scratch effect" of her keyboard. A self-proclaimed R&B and hip-hop lover, Nelly was later exposed to the British rock sounds of the mid '90s, after a trip to her ancestral Portugal. Teenage Nelly's eyes were now open to groups such as U2, Radiohead, Oasis, while she discovered Portishead thanks to a mix tape that a friend of hers made. The tribal beats and bossa nova sounds evident in her music come from the music she was exposed to later on, such as a Brazilian compilation album that combined African and Portuguese styles. The album is the product of her participation in a Toronto young performer's talent show at the age of 18. The manager of the Philosopher Kings, a popular funk/pop group, who was also present at the show, was impressed by Nelly's talent. The only real recording experience she had up to this point was singing back-up vocals for her friend's Toronto-based hip-hop group. But that was enough to cut a demo tape with the recording team of Gerald Eaton and Brian West (of the Philosopher Kings). After much convincing on the part of Eaton and West, Nelly returned to Toronto to record more tracks. Her critically-acclaimmed debut album not only showcases the mix of musical backgrounds -- African beats, hip-hop, folk, urban style, bossa nova, and the Portuguese "fado" -- it also highlights a new talent that will definitely soar like a bird. While many bands and artists make due with strong songwriting or a talent for pop melodies, Nelly combines the two aspects masterfully, creating a sound that somehow stands out as unique (difficult in the cluttered bog of the pop world). Her voice is like nothing you’ve every heard: not particularly strong, not particularly smooth but distinctively unmistakable.