Introduction

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

Life Story

She first became famous 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”, “All Good Things (Come to an End)”, and “Do It.”

Furtado is known for experimenting with different instruments, sounds, genres, languages, and vocal styles. This diversity has been influenced by her wide-ranging musical taste and her interest in different cultures.

On September 20, 2003 in Toronto, Furtado gave birth to a daughter, Nevis, whose father is DJ Jasper Gahunia. Furtado and Gahunia, who had been good friends for several years, remained together for four years until their breakup in 2005. Furtado told Blender magazine that they continue to be good friends and jointly share responsibility of raising Nevis. Nevis is ethnically a quarter Filipino, a quarter Asian Indian, and half Portuguese.

In June 2006, in an interview with Genre magazine, when asked if she had “ever felt an attraction to women”, Furtado replied “Absolutely. Women are beautiful and sexy.” Some considered this an announcement of bisexuality, but in August 2006, she confirmed that she was “straight, but very open-minded”. In November 2006, Furtado revealed that she once turned down US$500,000 to pose nude in Playboy.

In July 2007, it was reported that Furtado is engaged to Cuban sound engineer, Demacio “Demo” Castellon, who worked with her on Loose. On September 9, 2007, Furtado performed at the MTV Video Music Awards awards with Timbaland and Justin Timberlake, where she sang Do It mixed with The Way I Are, LoveStoned and Give It to Me.