Nelly Furtado

Portuguese and Canadian singer

Nelly Kim Furtado ComIH (born December 2, 1978) is a Portuguese-Canadian singer-songwriter.

Nelly Furtado
ComIH
Nelly Furtado in 2017.
Nelly Furtado in 2017.
Background information
Birth nameNelly Kim Furtado
Born (1978-12-02) December 2, 1978 (age 45)
OriginVictoria, British Columbia, Canada
GenresPop, R&B, folk, hip hop, world, latin
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter, record producer
InstrumentsSinging, guitar, keyboard, ukulele, trombone and more
Years active1996–present
LabelsDreamWorks Records, Mosley Music Group, Geffen Records
WebsiteNellyFurtado.com

She can also play many musical instruments. She learned to play the trombone and the ukulele at the age of four. In later years, she learned to play the guitar and keyboard. She has released five albums. The first album was released in 2000 and was called Whoa! Nelly. She become famous worldwide because the album was very popular. The first single released was "I'm Like a Bird" which earned her a Grammy Award. Her second album was Folklore released in 2003. It was not as popular as the previous album. Her third album in 2006 was Loose which spawned many hit songs including "Promiscuous", "Maneater", "Say It Right" and "All Good Things (Come to an End)". She then released a Spanish language album in 2009 titled Mi Plan and in 2010 released a greatest hits album. Her next English language album The Spirit Indestructible was released in 2012. Furtado's parents are Portuguese immigrants. She sings in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

Family

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On September 20, 2003, she gave birth to a daughter, Nevis.

Biography

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Her parents named her Nelly Kim in reference to Kazakh gymnastics champion Nellie Kim who won 5 gold medals (3 in 1976 and 2 in 1980) and 1 silver (in 1976) at the Olympic Games.

She learned to play trombone, guitar and ukulele at the age of 9 and the synthesizer at age 11. Passionate about music from an early age, she knows from the age of 4 that she wants to become a singer. Nelly sang with her mother in a choir, especially during Portugal's National Day.

As a teenager, she began to write songs and was part of a Portuguese fanfare. During this time, she listened to R & B, hip-hop, alternative rock, alternative hip-hop, trip hop, fado, bossa nova, Indian music and variety. The artists that Nelly loved (and influenced her) include: Jeff Buckley, Caetano Veloso, Jennifer Lopez, Amalia Rodrigues, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Cornershop, Maryh Blige, Mariah Carey, TLC, Digable Planets, De The Soul, Aaliyah, Radiohead, Oasis, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Verve, U2, Kylie Minogue, Beck.