Why did nelly furtado disappear. Biography Nelly Furtado

Nelly Furtado (born December 2, 1978) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, record producer and actress.

I love it when music is in the spotlight, when the boundaries of genres are broken, when excitement reigns, when people argue, "- this is how Nelly Furtado's autobiography began, which she, then a teenager, sent along with her own demo tapes and amateur photographs to various labels, in the hope that someone would eventually pay attention to her.How could she imagine, declaring her love for musical passions, how many of them would flare up around her and what fighting will start for the right to get her among the label's clients. In the end, the winner in this heated struggle was DreamWorks, whose main priority has always been the artistry of the performer. And Nelly Furtado, no doubt, knew how to impress: vocals like a soul diva, aplomb like a pop princess, and at the same time - deep passion ethnic music.

Nelly Furtado was born on December 2, 1978 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Her parents came to Canada from Portugal. More precisely, even from the Azores, located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Her father was a bricklayer, and her mother worked as a maid in a motel, and every summer during the holidays Nellie worked part-time helping her. Parents always supported their daughter in her musical hobbies, which appeared very early. At the age of four, the girl sang for the first time in public - a duet with her mother, who for many years was a singer in the church choir. Nellie started playing the ukulele at the age of 9 and wrote her first song at 12. Everything is as it should be with future stars. While her girlfriends asked for dolls and outfits for Christmas, Nelly dreamed of getting a synthesizer and a recording tape recorder from Santa Claus. IN school years she was seen in a jazz band, in a concert band and a march group - and everywhere she played the trombone. In addition, she continued to take vocal lessons and dance. The first serious passion of the future star was rhythm and blues and hip-hop. The walls of her room were hung with portraits of rappers from music magazines. Fantastic new impressions were given to the girl by a trip to Portugal, the homeland of her parents. In one of the local clubs, 16-year-old Nellie participated in the local version of the MC contest for the first time - she simply got up on stage, took the microphone and began to hum some kind of rhyming text, writing words on the go. "In Portugal, there is an interesting old musical tradition - cancoes desafios. In fact, this is spontaneous singing," says the singer. "The essence of hip-hop is in the same freestyle."

Long-suffering parents, and passionate music lovers themselves, protested only once - when 17-year-old Nellie decided to go to Toronto. But it was impossible to overstubborn the stubborn girl. In Toronto, she found work at a company that installed burglar alarms, and in parallel created her first trip-hop group - so far only a duo - called Nelstar. The duo not only played music for themselves, but also recorded in the studio (Furtado composed all the songs herself) and even shot a video clip. In the mid-90s, the girl fell ill with English rock (Radiohead, Verve, Oasis) and tried to write own songs to the guitar, which, by the way, is only now being mastered. But in fact, she was a creature of exceptional musical omnivory and could get carried away with literally everything: from TLC to Smashing Pumpkins, from Cornershop to Brazilian national music, and even the orchestra that performed marches, in which her Portuguese relatives played, delighted her. In order to convey my chaotic impressions and let all my influences speak out, I had to look for something new, create my own sound hybrid. An eclectic sound would be an adequate reflection of her linguistic freedom (Nelli sings in three languages ​​- English, Portuguese and Hindi), her multi-instrumentalism (plays the guitar, ukulele and trombone) and multicultural influences of the environment (her childhood friends included Indians, Chinese, Africans, Hispanics and so on). A new page in her life opened in 1997, when 18-year-old Nelly applied to participate in a vocal competition held in Toronto. The jury of the competition is nothing young artist did not encourage, but it made no sense to be upset, because it was here that she met the manager of the promoted Canadian project Philosopher Kings. Two members of this team, Brian West (Brian West) and Gerald Eaton (Gerald Eaton), assessing the prospects of Furtado, engaged in producing it and helped her make her first professional studio recording. And although Nelly herself was quite satisfied with the demo versions of the songs, she already had other plans. Most of all, the girl wanted to travel around Europe with a backpack on her shoulders, and not sit in Toronto and pore over textbooks, studying the art of composition. Nellie herself could not really determine what she really wanted. And only the constant perseverance of West and Eton, who did not lose touch with her and reminded her of her true calling, saved the case. Two musicians eventually pulled the singer into the studio and forced her to spend two weeks on intense studio work, during which it turned out that this trio knows how to perfectly find a common language. The material from the studio sessions was on the tables of representatives of various labels, until DreamWorks signed a contract with Furtado in 1999. Nellie entered show business with a ready-made production team (West and Eaton) who called themselves Track & Field.

In September 2000, Furtado was ready to present her debut album"Whoa Nelly!" ("Whoa, Nellie!"). The record combined and melted down the most diverse experience of the young artist, her passion for "black" music, popular and ethnic genres. The music that her parents loved and with which she grew up also played a role: ABBA, Lionel Richie, Madonna, Paula Abdul. Reflected her hobbies early youth- hip-hop and R&B: Kris Kross, De La Soul, Ice-T, New Edition, Bel Biv Devoe, Salt-N-Pepa, Jodeci. In the success of the album, as always, half the work was done by the well-chosen single "Like a Bird". The actively promoted song and the accompanying video turned Furtado into a very popular person. The song was recorded in at least the Top 30 of a dozen American charts, occupying a place in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100. Soon the single began to storm the British chart, and the album itself rose to the English Top 10. Long play "Whoa Nelly!", which received a gold certificate in Portugal and more European countries, made some noise in Canada, where it finished on the second line of the chart. Furtado harvested her harvest of awards at the Juno Awards. In the meantime, the second single "Turn off the Light", which consolidated the success of the album, was waiting for even louder commercial resonance. It is worth noting at least the first line of the club chart and the sixth number in the Billboard Hot 100. Among the fans of the young singer were Elton John and Missy Elliott, and U2 invited her to warm up the audience before their American concerts. After the artist's participation in the "Area: One" tour, Moby, the organizer of this tour, called her "the most beautiful and talented woman in the world." When Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio came to Toronto on an official visit, the singer took the stage with the hit "Like a Bird" and was one of the few young artists who were entrusted with the honor of welcoming the head of a foreign state.

The first and second album Nelly Furtado separated three years. During this time, the artist managed to hold her own headlining tour of the United States, be nominated three times for Grammy and become the winner of 2001 in the nomination "Best Female Pop Vocal" for the track "Like a Bird". Nelly was already preparing to become a mother when she started recording the next album (she had a daughter a month before the official release date). The upcoming motherhood gave her new job"Folklore" special softness and warmth. At the same time, having lost the naivety and youthful cheerfulness that characterized her first disc, Furtado prepared a darker and more reflective work. Guest appearances on the album include Caetano Veloso, Bela Fleck, Justin Meldal-Johnsen and the Kronos Quartet. When the artist was just thinking about the future album, she wanted to make a modern folk record. As she worked, she fell more and more in love with the banjo, ukulele, cymbals - all these instruments can be heard on the album. The ultimate goal was now different - to focus on the composition, on the melodies, and not jump from one genre to another five times per song. The same production tandem of Brian West and Gerald Eaton took up this task. So far, the success of "Folklore" is more modest than that of its predecessor - the 38th line on the Billboard 200 chart compared to the 24th position of "Whoa, Nelly!". Started moving up in the rankings and new single"Powerless (Say What You Want)", which has only peaked at number 30 on the mainstream chart so far. But the trouble is the beginning. her niem hiring crazyrebbit

Nelly Furtado appeared on the music scene and released several critically acclaimed hits such as 2001's “I'm Like a Bird” and “Turn Out the Lights” from her 2000 album, Wow Nelly! When she teamed up with the extraordinary music producer Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley in 2006, they created a musical goldmine with the release of her album Loose. The Portuguese-Canadian singer threw the world into a trance as she seamlessly infused her folk-pop worship with Timbaland's futuristic R&B beats. It was official: Furtado had taken the world by storm.

The Grammy winner was on her way to becoming a prominent figure in the entertainment industry...or so we thought. In the blink of an eye, she seemingly disappeared from every magazine cover and slammed the brakes on her Get Loose tour. So what happened?

Furtado endured a series of personal battles that sent her life into a downward spiral. Here real reason on which you no longer hear from her.

She had a nervous breakdown

Nelly Furtado was 20 years old when “I’m like a bird” covered the whole Earth. The track won her a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and the song stayed on the Billboard Hot 100 for an impressive 24 weeks. Being so young, Furtado had to grow up quickly to take on many of the responsibilities that came with her career, and things got even more complicated when she gave birth to her daughter, Nevis, separated from her daddy, and decided to embark on her 2007 tour as single mothers.

The pressure of being in the spotlight eventually caught up with Furtado. "I had breakdown on the stage. I was on the Loose tour and my daughter was with me - I was a mom and a singer on tour. I was exhausted. One night I went on stage and suddenly realized how tense I was. I actually cried my way through the first two songs,” she told The Daily Mail.

She decided it was time to take a break from touring and returned home to focus on her family. She later told The Daily Mail: “I spent hours alone in my house just looking at the floor. I felt like a fraud, believing that people like me for my image and not for my music.”

She yearns to be a hermit

Living in the digital age means that there are many social media platforms that many celebrities use to stay in touch with their picnic. Furtado prefers a more conservative approach to replaces, but she Neo poli came a century behind with the help of a notary much mole her ex-husband brothers.

“They are the ones who tweeted me and get me to listen to new stuff. You must stay Animals granny-everything has Facebook page these days,” she told Ren.

Furtado now has Account Instagram, but if she's stayed up to her, she's probably clearing her online footprint and fading completely into obscurity for longer periods of time. In a separate interview with The Daily Mail, she admitted: “There are times when I feel like being a hermit living in a cottage. I often crave that kind of solitude.”

Divorce paid off

Nelly Furtado began dating sound engineer Demacio Castellón after they worked together on her 2006 album, Loose. She called him her "secret boyfriend" in a 2007 interview with Blender (via People) and justified their low key relationship by saying, "I just don't talk about it." No one is famous and all.”

As secretive as her wedding, her divorce from Castellón was even more secret. While speaking with the ladies from the Loose Women broadcast, Furtado shocked her fans when she revealed, “I’m single now… someone here needs to update my Wikipedia—it doesn’t help my dating life!”

Although she was optimistic about her solo status, Furtado admitted that the breakup of her marriage came with hard times. Before going on her separate paths in the summer of 2016, the singer said she went through an "emotionally difficult time" and found solace in songwriting. “I sang to myself when I rode these long trips, and thought to herself, ‘I’m so lucky that I can write songs because I can calm down with them,’ she said.

She just wants to bake cupcakes

After her debilitating breakdown, Nelly Furtado stepped back from the public eye and focused all her attention on raising her daughter's co-parenting with her ex-boyfriend Jasper "Lil' Jaz" Gahunia.

She said it's ITV's harlots: "It's great that your career is taking off and having these blessings, but if you don't have that time to give and give, you crash," she said. “I need to stay mentally, emotionally and physically healthy for my daughter.”

Furtado said touring "became very tiring" and she "just longed to be home." When asked to remember this turbulent period in her past, the singer said she sometimes yearned to reclaim her pre-fame lifestyle. “Sometimes you just want to stay at home and bring back some cupcakes for your daughter.”

So, during the break, she practically went from "Maneater" to "muffin eater". (Sorry, we had to go there.)

She worked different jobs

After the release in 2012 of her album in the spirit of Serum, Furtado took Pieter tongue to find herself again and to explore her work.

“I started taking pottery and drama classes at the Men's University,” she told Refinery29. But that's not all. She also seals for a while “works in my daughter's library of type books”. It was this stroke part-time job and hobby that actually helped her life come full circle. “All these things help me remember who I was,” she said.

After regaining his identity, Furtado returned to the studio to create his 2017 album The Ride. “This album is all realizations,” she said. “I didn't want to be around the Bulls anymore**t; I want to demand the truth from the people around me and from myself. It's about about dreams that do not always coincide with reality and come out from the other side.”

Craving for a normal life and cleaning toilets

Being on the road and in front of a spotlight sounds like a dream come true for most artists. However, Furtado became restless due to the hustle and bustle that came along with one of the best acts in the music industry. She achieved the success that most people aspire to, but in the end, all she longed for was a normal life.

During a conversation with GQ, Furtado revealed that when she left music world She began to mind her own business. These common household duties were surprisingly fulfilled for her. “I wanted to clean my own bathroom again and do my own laundry again. I really missed a normal life,” she said.

To most, cleaning the toilets sounds like anything but relaxing, and Furtado is well aware of how it should look from the outside looking in. “It really helped me, honestly,” she said. “It sounds stupid, but it saved me,” she said.

Did she burn bridges?

When Nelly Furtado teamed up with producer Timbaland, the world wasn't ready for her distinctive vocals to pair with his signature electronic beats. The resulting album, Loose, sold 219,000 copies during its debut week, thanks to hits like “Promiscuous” and “Say it Right”.”

They continued to collaborate on various tracks after Loose's debut, including his 2007 song "Give it To Me", which also featured Justin Timberlake. Furtado sings in the choir: “If you see us at the club, we'll be very nice / if you see us on the floor, you'll be watching all night.” Sounds pretty harmless, right?

Well, this song hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 2007, but despite the track's success, Furtado doesn't hide the fact that she regrets the project. “I had good instincts when it came to my music. Maybe I wish Justin, Timbaland and I didn't release this song dis “Give it To Me,” she told Metro. “It was the first dis-pop song, a genre usually reserved for rap. We put a lot of negative energy into the world.”

Maybe beating up the producer who came up with her biggest hits was a bad idea. Following her remarks, Furtado struggled to recreate the success she experienced with Timbaland's golden touch. (More on this in a minute.)

She was busy in the warehouse

Once Furtado realized she couldn't live in the spotlight anymore, she made the choice to put kibosh on her musical career. Even though she wasn't in the booth recording new songs, she didn't stray too far from her passion.

Furtado started stocking up on shelves at a friend's music store, GQ told GQ, and the mundane work really helped her focus and recharge. It wasn't long before the quest to create her own music hit again, and Furtado dropped out of her record store gig to team up with producer John Congleton for her album, The Ride.

Although she sometimes peeks out of the sand to remind her fans that she is still part of the music community, GQ said that Furtado would rather "do sound installations at Art Basel" than "trot on stage and dance in front of thousands of people."

Her albums struggled

In a free era, Nelly Furtado proved that she was a universal force to be reckoned with. The whole album was a hodgepodge of eclectic sounds that somehow coherently created musical masterpiece. From “Feared,” which detailed the singer's fear of what others thought of her, to “No Hay Igual,” where she showed off her multilingual prowess, Loose was a huge success.

Furtado followed this up with the release of her Spanish album, Mi Plan, in 2009, but that project only sold 13,000 copies in its first week, according to Reuters. In 2012, she released The Spirit Indestructible which only sold 6,000 copies in the United States in its first week and only rose to No. 79 on the charts. After a five-year hiatus, she re-emerged in 2017 with her folk-inspired album The Ride, but it put out only 1,814 copies sold during its first week, according to chart data. Compared to Loose, it was clear that her subsequent albums did not connect with audiences.

Despite her terrible sales, the singer was not overly concerned about the declining popularity of her music. “I've had different scenes and dabbled in many markets so I see the world of music as very global and I'm always looking for new opportunities and opportunities so one schedule or something else isn't necessarily [meaning something]”, she told the Huffington Post.

Real Snow White

Some people lock themselves inside a room when traffic gets tough, while others fly off to an exotic location to help them stay centered. For Nelly Furtado, her disappearance from the public eye was deliberate, and while she was away, she retreated to a very remote location.

Speaking to The Daily Mail, the singer, who describes herself as "a bit of a hippie," said she often takes herself "into the woods" to get away from it all. She also compared herself to the real Snow White - minus those cute seven dwarfs, of course. “I need to run,” she said. “I grew up around trees and by the ocean. I think I retained a little of that spirit.”

She said she enjoys being outside and listening to birdsong, which is not surprising given her most popular song, “I'm Like a Bird,” about her association with a winged animal.

Fame took her by surprise

With fame coming to her so quickly, it's no wonder Furtado panicked and crashed at the height of his career. “I was in no way prepared for the test that fame would bring. Thank God I was 20 when he arrived. If I was a celebrity at 16, I would have behaved so badly. Or, I would be so depressed and trying so hard not to misbehave that I would be a complete wreck by 25,” she told the Daily Mail.

Being judged for her looks and being marketed as a sex symbol also took a toll on the singer. “Not only do you need to be a musician, but you feel like you also need to look like a model,” she told the Daily Mail. “I think I had a good, solid upbringing, but I still thought, 'Oh my God, I look fat in this dress.'”

Stepping back from the limelight has given her time to learn to love and accept herself, and Furtado now claims she has "evolved" as a person during her absence from the public eye.

Nelly Furtado is a famous Canadian pop music artist, beautiful, successful woman. Received world fame after the release of the author's album "I'm like a bird."

Childhood in a large, friendly, multinational family

Nelly was born in one of the Canadian cities. She was brought up in a poor Portuguese family. Mother long time worked as a maid in a local hotel. Dad was a laborer at a construction site. Also in the family grew up daughter Louise Anna, and son Michael Anthony.

Nelly Furtado in childhood

Childhood future singer took place in the quarters of Colombia (a city in Canada), which gathered migrants from different countries. Curious Furtado s early years was interested in culture, customs of Africa, Asia, India. The girl learned English, Indian, Portuguese. At the age of 4, she performed at a concert where she sang the national anthem of Canada. On weekends, she attended the Catholic Church with her family.

Developed not by the weather, Nelly amazed teachers and peers. At school, she studied for solid fives. outside educational process fond of playing the trombone, guitar, piano. One of her hobbies was writing poems, which later became the lyrics of her songs.

After graduation, Nellie moved to Toronto. There she met Tallis Newrick, a musician with whom she recorded a duet song. Soon, the aspiring performer created her own project called Nelstar.

Rapid success

Significant for Furtado was the competition for young talents, held in her hometown of Toronto. The singer failed to snatch victory. However, she met famous producers J. East and B. West. They were the official faces of the world famous label "Dream Works Records". In the recording studio, the producers once again listened to the young performer, and offered her to sign a contract.

Nelly Furtado on stage

Furtado's debut album - "Whoa! Nelly went double platinum in America, and also held the record for 2000 on the Billboard 200 list. In this work, the singer mixed different musical genres. Triumph Nelly supported the world tour "Burn in the Spotlight". The next album of the singer was released after 3 years, called "Folklore". It included lyrical tracks, with notes of ethno. He did not cause much enthusiasm among fans of the singer's work and critics.

Nelly Furtado with her producer Timberland

In 2006, Nelly, under the guidance of the unsurpassed rapper Timbaland, Nelly recorded a disc - “Loose”. Video clips were shot for 2 tracks: "Say it right" and "Do it", they took first place in the European music charts.

Nelly Furtado in the clip Waiting For The Night

The release of the 4th album coincided with the anniversary of the singer. Nelly recorded a completely Spanish-language disc called "Mi Plan". In a few months, more than 1 million records were sold. This work was distinguished by unusual covers in a duet with Tiesto, Pitbull.

Nelly Furtado in the video "Manos Al Aire"

Then famous records were recorded: “Mi Plan Remixes”, “The Best of Nelly Furtado”, “The Spirit Indestractible”, “The Ride”. In 2010, the singer performed at the opening Olympic Games in Vancouver with "Bang The Drum".

Personal life of a Canadian beauty

The petite and fragile singer has always been in the center of male attention. The first ones lasted about 4 years. serious relationship Furtado with musician Jasper Gehania. A month before the release of her second album, the young couple had a daughter, Nevis. There were frequent disputes and scandals in the creative family, which led to separation.

Nelly Furtado with her second husband Demacio Castellón

After 3 years, Nelly introduced her new chosen one to the fans and the public - sound engineer Demacio Castellón. After living 8 years in an official marriage, the couple broke up for unknown reasons. Nelly and Demacio had no joint children.

Singer Nelly Furtado now

A difficult parting has become serious test for Furtado. Outwardly, the singer has changed a lot. Nelly hides her extra weight behind loose outfits. Now the most important thing in life popular performer is raising daughter Nevis. IN free time the singer loves to bake.

About life famous musicians read

I love it when music is in the spotlight, when the boundaries of genres are broken, when excitement reigns, when people argue, "- this is how Nelly Furtado's autobiography began, which she, then a teenager, sent along with her own demo tapes and amateur photographs to various labels, in the hope that someone will eventually pay attention to it.

How could she imagine, declaring her love for musical passions, how many of them would flare up around her and what kind of hostilities would begin for the right to get her among the label's clients. In the end, the winner in this heated struggle was DreamWorks, whose main priority has always been the artistry of the performer. And Nelly Furtado, no doubt, knew how to impress: vocals, like a soul diva, aplomb, like a pop princess, and at the same time - a deep passion for ethnic music.

Nelly Furtado was born on December 2, 1978 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Her parents came to Canada from Portugal. More precisely, even from the Azores, located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Her father was a bricklayer, and her mother worked as a maid in a motel, and every summer during the holidays Nellie worked part-time helping her. Parents always supported their daughter in her musical hobbies, which appeared very early. At the age of four, the girl sang for the first time in public - a duet with her mother, who for many years was a singer in the church choir. Nellie started playing the ukulele at the age of 9 and wrote her first song at 12. Everything is as it should be with future stars. While her girlfriends asked for dolls and outfits for Christmas, Nelly dreamed of getting a synthesizer and a recording tape recorder from Santa Claus. During her school years, she was seen in a jazz band, in a concert band and a march group - and everywhere she played the trombone. In addition, she continued to take vocal lessons and dance. The first serious passion of the future star was rhythm and blues and hip-hop. The walls of her room were covered with portraits of rappers from music magazines.

Fantastic new impressions were given to the girl by a trip to Portugal, the homeland of her parents. In one of the local clubs, 16-year-old Nellie participated in the local version of the MC contest for the first time - she simply got up on stage, took the microphone and began to hum some kind of rhyming text, writing words on the go. "In Portugal, there is an interesting old musical tradition - cancoes desafios. In fact, this is spontaneous singing," says the singer. "The essence of hip-hop is in the same freestyle."

Long-suffering parents, and passionate music lovers themselves, protested only once - when 17-year-old Nellie decided to go to Toronto. But it was impossible to overstubborn the stubborn girl. In Toronto, she found work at a company that installed burglar alarms, and in parallel created her first trip-hop group - so far only a duo - called Nelstar. The duo not only played music for themselves, but also recorded in the studio (Furtado composed all the songs herself) and even shot a video clip.

In the mid-90s, the girl fell ill with English rock (Radiohead, Verve, Oasis) and tried to write her own songs with the guitar, which, by the way, she has only now begun to master. But in fact, she was a creature of exceptional musical omnivory and could get carried away with literally everything: from TLC to Smashing Pumpkins, from Cornershop to Brazilian national music, and even the orchestra that performed marches, in which her Portuguese relatives played, delighted her. In order to convey my chaotic impressions and let all my influences speak out, I had to look for something new, create my own sound hybrid. An eclectic sound would be an adequate reflection of her linguistic freedom (Nelli sings in three languages ​​- English, Portuguese and Hindi), her multi-instrumentalism (plays the guitar, ukulele and trombone) and multicultural influences of the environment (her childhood friends included Indians, Chinese, Africans, Hispanics, etc.).

A new page in her life opened in 1997, when 18-year-old Nelly applied to participate in a singing competition held in Toronto. The jury of the competition did not encourage the young artist in any way, but it made no sense to be upset, because it was here that she met the manager of the promoted Canadian project Philosopher Kings. Two members of this team, Brian West (Brian West) and Gerald Eaton (Gerald Eaton), assessing the prospects of Furtado, engaged in producing it and helped her make her first professional studio recording. And although Nelly herself was quite satisfied with the demo versions of the songs, she already had other plans. Most of all, the girl wanted to travel around Europe with a backpack on her shoulders, and not sit in Toronto and pore over textbooks, studying the art of composition. Nellie herself could not really determine what she really wanted. And only the constant perseverance of West and Eton, who did not lose touch with her and reminded her of her true calling, saved the case.

Two musicians eventually pulled the singer into the studio and forced her to spend two weeks on intense studio work, during which it turned out that this trio knows how to perfectly find a common language. The material from the studio sessions was on the tables of representatives of various labels, until DreamWorks signed a contract with Furtado in 1999. Nellie entered show business with a ready-made production team (West and Eaton) who called themselves Track & Field. In September 2000, Furtado was ready to present her debut album "Whoa Nelly!" ("Whoa, Nellie!"). The record combined and melted down the most diverse experience of the young artist, her passion for "black" music, popular and ethnic genres. The music that her parents loved and with which she grew up also played a role: ABBA, Lionel Richie, Madonna, Paula Abdul. Her early youth hobbies reflected hip-hop and R&B: Kris Kross, De La Soul, Ice-T, New Edition, Bel Biv Devoe, Salt-N-Pepa, Jodeci.

In the success of the album, as always, half the work was done by the well-chosen single "Like a Bird". The actively promoted song and the accompanying video turned Furtado into a very popular person. The song was recorded in at least the Top 30 of a dozen American charts, occupying a place in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100. Soon the single began to storm the British chart, and the album itself rose to the English Top 10. Long play "Whoa Nelly!", which received a gold certificate in Portugal and a number of other European countries, made a splash in Canada, where it finished on the second line of the chart. Furtado harvested her harvest of awards at the Juno Awards. In the meantime, the second single "Turn off the Light", which consolidated the success of the album, was waiting for even louder commercial resonance. It is worth noting at least the first line of the club chart and the sixth number in the Billboard Hot 100.

Among the fans of the young singer were Elton John and Missy Elliott, and U2 invited her to warm up the audience before their American concerts. After the artist's participation in the "Area: One" tour, Moby, the organizer of this tour, called her "the most beautiful and talented woman in the world." When Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio came to Toronto on an official visit, the singer took the stage with the hit "Like a Bird" and was one of the few young artists who were entrusted with the honor of welcoming the head of a foreign state.

The first and second album Nelly Furtado separated three years. During this time, the artist managed to conduct her own headlining tour of the United States, be nominated three times for Grammy and become the winner of 2001 in the nomination "Best Female Pop Vocal" for the track "Like a Bird".

Nelly was already preparing to become a mother when she started recording the next album (her daughter was born a month before the official release date). The impending motherhood gave her new work "Folklore" a special softness and warmth. At the same time, having lost the naivety and youthful cheerfulness that characterized her first disc, Furtado prepared a darker and more reflective work. Guest appearances on the album include Caetano Veloso, Bela Fleck, Justin Meldal-Johnsen and the Kronos Quartet. When the artist was just thinking about the future album, she wanted to make a modern folk record. As she worked, she fell more and more in love with the banjo, ukulele, cymbals - all these instruments can be heard on the album. The ultimate goal was now different - to focus on the composition, on the melodies, and not jump from one genre to another five times per song. The same production tandem of Brian West and Gerald Eaton took up this task.

So far, "Folklore" has been more modestly successful than its predecessor, at #38 on the Billboard 200 compared to "Whoa, Nelly!" at #24. The new single "Powerless (Say What You Want)" began to move up in the ratings, which so far only started from the 30th position of the mainstream chart. But the trouble is the beginning.

Name: Nelly Furtado

Age: 40 years

Height: 159

Family status: divorced

Nelly Furtado: biography

Nelly Kim Furtado - canadian star pop music of Portuguese origin, which received world recognition. The talent of a miniature girl was not hindered by either the origin from a simple family or the lack of connections in show business.

The singer's albums have repeatedly started from the first positions of the national charts, and the singles have brought her prestigious music awards.

Childhood and youth

A girl was born in the town of Victoria, Canadian state of British Columbia on December 2, 1978. They named the newborn in honor of the Soviet gymnast Nelly Kim. Her parents by nationality are Portuguese, immigrants from the Azores. Father Antonio José Furtado worked at a construction site, and mother Maria Manuela was cleaning at a local hotel. Two more children were brought up in the family - daughter Lisa Anna and son Michael Anthony.

Nelly spent her childhood in the quarters of her native town, which included emigrants from Europe, Africa, Asia and India, which explains the girl's passion for the national music of many peoples of the world. Her native languages ​​are Portuguese, Spanish, Hindi and English. The girl received her first stage experience at the age of 4, when she sang a folk song on national holiday. Parents adhered to the Catholic faith, so all the children sang in the church choir.

Music

While still at school, Nelly began to learn to play musical instruments - trombone, ukulele, six-string guitar and piano. An active girl could be seen as part of a local jazz band, in a brass band. Gradually, Nelly begins to write music and poetry, at the age of 12, the first songs appear from the pen of a young singer. Rap and hip-hop become favorite genres, which Furtado successfully masters.

At the age of majority, Nelly moves to live in Toronto. At first creative way, having settled down in a small company as a secretary, the young artist creates her own group "Nelstar" in the capital. Nelly writes musical compositions in the style of trip-hop. Furtado meets musician Tallis Newcreek and releases several songs for a joint duet.

Luck came to the young singer unexpectedly. At the competition for young performers, which was held in Toronto, Nelly did not win a prize, but met talented producers Gerald Ethan and Brian West. Young people worked at Dream Works Records. Representatives of the influential label once again listened to the singer at the studio and decided to sign a contract with Nelly to create the first solo album. Managers were not mistaken in their calculations.

Nelly Furtado - I "m Like A Bird

The single of Furtado's debut disc "I"m Like a Bird" received international recognition, including the Grammy Award for Best female vocals and the Juno Award in the category " Best Song of the year". Record "Whoa! Nelly went double platinum in the US and was on the Billboard 200 for over a year. The Canadian singer in the first album boldly mixed styles and genres, while maintaining the naturalness and vigor of the stage presentation.

When creating musical compositions, Nelly used elements of rock, folk, hip-hop, electronica and rhythm and blues. In the wake of this success, Furtado made her first world tour called "Burn in the Spotlight".

Nelly Furtado - "One Trick Pony"

After the tremendous success, Nelly set to work on the second disc. This time the singer decided to delve into the musical intonations of the peoples of the world, calling the disc "Folklore". Each track of the album received a special sound, the disc became much more lyrical and deeper.

Among fans of pop compositions, he did not gain due popularity, which did not stop him from including the song "Forca" in the musical accompaniment of the European Football Championship, which took place in 2004.

The album was created during the singer's pregnancy, so it is not surprising that the song "Childood Dreams" appeared among the hits, which Nelly dedicated to the birth of her daughter. The video, filmed for the ballad "Try", delighted fans and the public with the emotional performance.

The creation of the third disc took place under the direction of hip-hop star Timbaland. The album "Loose" appeared in 2006 and immediately hit the top list of the "Billboard 100". Work on songs and videos for the third album took place in the countries Latin America and USA.

Nelly Furtado, Justin Timberlake, Timbaland - Give It to Me

In 2007, "Loose" was recognized as the best-selling album of the year, the phenomenal popularity of which was explained by competent promotion, a preliminary world tour, as well as a large number of singles. The songs "Promiscuous", "Maneater" and "All Good Things" gained fame. Clips for the hits "Say It Right" and "Do it" were broadcast by the world's leading music channels.

Among the popular compositions of this time are Nelly Furtado's duet with musician James Morrison "Broken Strings". The hit was the song "Give It to Me", recorded together with Timbaland and. In 8 countries of the world, the single started from the leading positions of the charts, including the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and in 2008 became a Grammy nominee in the nomination "Best Collaborative Pop Vocal Performance".

Nelly Furtado - Say It Right

A year after the thirtieth anniversary, Nelli again pleased her fans with a new collection "Mi Plan", composed entirely of tracks on Spanish. Another work of the singer sold millions of copies in the United States, and also became the best record of the year in South America. The hit album "Manos Al Aire" was remixed in collaboration with the singer, performing under the stage name Pitbull. The series of remixes included arrangements of new songs, which were created in collaboration with the musicians K'os, N.E.R.D. The rethought compositions made up the collection "The Best".

The fifth disc "The Spirit Indestructible" in Nelly's homeland did not achieve the expected results of popularity, although sales were still in the millions. A real success awaited the singer in Eastern Europe: for several weeks in a row, the single Waiting for the night, included in the collection, led the TOP of the best European compositions in Russia and received a prestigious music award in Poland.

Nelly Furtado - Big Hoops (Bigger The Better)

Brought success to the singer and another hit of the album - "Big Hoops" ("Bigger the better"). Nelly presented it at the Billboard Music Awards. The rating of the song was proved by its gold certification received in Canada.

At the opening of the Olympics in Vancouver, Nelly Furtado acted as a guest star. In a duet with the Canadian singer, she performed the song "Bang the Drum", which was later included in the collection of musical compositions "The Sounds of Vancouver 2010".

In addition to her career as a singer, Nelly Furtado tried her hand as a movie actress. The girl received her first experience in 2007, appearing in an episode of the series C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation New York. The film about the criminologists of the American metropolis for 9 seasons kept viewers in suspense at the TV screens, and Furtado considered appearing in the plot of one of the film's episodes as a flattering offer for herself.

Feeling the taste for work on film set, the artist a year later starred in a full-length film, a noir-style thriller "Max Payne".

Mark Wahlberg and Nelly Furtado in Max Payne

Another film that appeared in Furtado's filmography in 2010 was called "Hockey Musical". In the Canadian musical comedy, Nelly got into the main cast, transforming into a passionate fan of the hockey team. The audience was able to appreciate the comedic talent of the singer.

Nelly Furtado has a short stature (159 cm) and a fragile physique (the artist's weight did not exceed 49 kg). The singer followed the diet and was actively involved in sports. Her blue eyes against the background of long dark curls looked charming, even in those moments when the girl appeared in public without makeup.

Over time, the singer's appearance has changed, which can be seen from numerous photos on Internet resources and in in social networks, including in "Instagram".

After giving birth, the artist gained a little weight, which did not critically affect her image. For the album "Loose" Furtado grew bangs, which stylists styled in a special way. On the eve of her 30th birthday, Nellie dyed her hair blonde for a while, and then returned to the dark color of her hair, but at the same time, her length was significantly shortened.

At the beginning of 2017, the Canadian singer no longer hid her plump figure. It was clear that Furtado felt comfortable in the new weight, although opinions were divided among fans. Some listeners even suggested that Nellie was pregnant again. Many advised the artist to urgently go on a diet. But there were those who supported the singer.

The artist especially surprised fans with her appearance, appearing at a performance at the Pride Island club in New York. Nelly took the stage in a tight white jumpsuit that did not hide the black bustier and bare back and was decorated with big shiny stars. Numerous photos of the pop diva of the media cited as an example of an unsuccessfully selected stage costume.

Nelly Furtado got better

At the beginning of March 2017, the “updated” Nelly Furtado appeared in a program where she told fans the secrets of her personal life and creative plans. The singer was awarded the Unstoppable Achievement Award Recipient for her support of the international children's educational foundation.

Personal life

Nelly Furtado was married twice. With her first husband, instrumentalist Jasper Gahania, the artist lived for 4 years, having managed to give birth to a charming daughter, Nevis. The girl was named after the Caribbean island where the couple rested during their honeymoon.

Soon after the birth of the child, the union broke up, and for three years Nelly had to raise the baby alone.

In 2008, Furtado became the wife of Cuban-born sound engineer Demacio Castellón. The marriage lasted more than 8 years, after which a divorce followed. Common children in the family of Nelly and Demacio did not appear.

Nelly Furtado now

On March 31, 2017, the next record of the Canadian singer "The Ride" was released. For the album, the performer chose an indie style and exclusively solo vocals. The hits "Islands of Me", "Pipe Dreams", "Cold hart truth" premiered back in 2016. The disc was created at the Nelstar Music recording studio.

Nelly Furtado - Baloise Session

Now Nelly Furtado devotes a lot of time to charity, she is a member of various organizations, including a foundation that opposes racism. The singer also gives concerts not only in her homeland or in Latin America, but also in Europe. At the end of July 2018, a video version of one of Furtado's performances was included in the program of the IX Vienna Festival musical films which took place in Yekaterinburg.

Discography

• 1998 - "Nelstar's Songs"
• 2000 - "Whoa, Nelly!"
• 2003 - "Folklore"
• 2006 - Loose
• 2009 - "Mi Plan"
• 2010 - "Mi Plan Remixes"
• 2010 - "The Best Of Nelly Furtado"
• 2012 - "The Spirit Indestructible"
• 2017 - "The Ride"