Only a year ago Ms Furtado was an unknown trying to win over a cynical music industry... things are a little different today.
A YEAR is a long time in the world of pop music. You can go from zero to hero and back again. But Nelly Furtado's not complaining about her rapid rise to stardom.
The singer-songwriter has rocketed up the charts, here winning no fewer than four prestigious Grammy Awards. Not bad for somebody who a year ago was unknown trying to win over a room of cynical music journalists at her London debut.
Furtado's international success is down to hard work and her own individual musical style. Some have insisted on comparing the quirky 23-year-old from Toronto, Canada, "the new Madonna" and "a female Beck," since her debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, has sold more than three million copies worldwide.
She has also been busy picking up accolades from more established pop stars. At last year's VH1 Divas concert in New York, soul legend Aretha Franklin congratulated Furtado on her lyrics, while at the MTV awards in Frankfurt, Germany, Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst confessed he was a big fan.
Confidence
She may be inexperienced, but Furtado brims with confidence. When asked if she expected her debut single, I'm Like A Bird, to hit the UK top five she says: "Sure. It had been a big hit in Canada and I knew it would do well in the UK."
It was followed by another top five hit - the trip-hoppy Turn Out The Light - and her latest single, On The Radio (Remember The Days), is currently in the charts.
Furtado admits her background has spurred her on. "When I was a little girl, I was the only Portuguese child in elementary school. I felt different but it really drove me."
But the notion of getting labelled an outsider had quite a different effect on her other siblings. "My older sister was a rebel and I'd worry if she was out at night. I was a like an only child," she says.
"I would help my mother at the motel where she worked but I also loved being on my own. I could spend hours just sitting in the park and listening to music."
Furtado's parents introduced their inquisitive daughter to Latin sounds while her friends opened her mind to Asian and dance music.
"When I was older I had friends from different backgrounds and we got to learn about each other's culture. I'd watch the East Indian TV channel and started to sing Hindi. Then I discovered Brazilian music which was sung in Portuguese, so I got into those tones and rhythms."
Famous fan
And before she achieved fame in her own right, Furtado confesses she was a big fan of some well-known names herself.
Her brother introduced her to Oasis. She even went as far as to send a fan letter to Liam Gallagher because she thought it was he, not his brother Noel, who wrote the songs. At the end of the day it didn't matter - she never received a reply from either Gallagher brother.
Determined, Furtado moved to Toronto to pursue her musical ambitions. She formed a trip-hop band called Nelstar and began making contacts on the city's music scene.
It wasn't long before she started to get noticed.
Furtado is constantly compared to Friends star Courteney Cox Arquette. With her petite frame and chiselled cheekbones it is easy to see why. But Furtado is having none of these superficial comparisons.
"She's very pretty but you don't want to look like anyone else in this business," is her diplomatic response.
Young, free and single
Behind these stunning looks is a driving ambition which is more than a match for the Britneys and Christinas of the pop world. Furtado has every intention of making sure she achieves her career aims before focusing on her personal life.
"I don't see myself having a family or husband until I am at least 30," she says. "Of course, you never know when you are going to fall in love, but I'm single and enjoying it.
"I suppose I'd love to do some serious writing and have my own record label. But I realise I'm pop through and through. You can't run away from who you really are, can you?"
Nelly Furtado's new single On The Radio is No 18 in the UK charts.
Phil Gould
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