Nelly Furtado is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She was born in 1978 in Victoria, British Columbia. Her parents were immigrants from Portugal. Neither of them had ties to the music business. When Nelly was a girl, she helped her mother work as a house cleaner.
Furtado enjoyed music since childhood. When she was just 4 years old, the future celebrity sang in a church choir with her mother. At nine, the singer started learning how to play a Hawaiian guitar and trombone. These skills helped the young girl become a member of a high school jazz band. Additionally, she took vocal and dance lessons.
Nelly was a big fan of R&B and hip-hop. When she grew up, the singer decided to move to Toronto to pursue a music career. Her parents didn’t like the idea, but nothing could stop the artist. After moving to Toronto, the singer formed her first group Nelstar. She recorded all the songs on her own in a studio.
In the 1990s, the young woman became a fan of rock and learned how to play the guitar. She sang in three languages and tried to learn how to play unusual musical instruments. In 1997, Nelly participated in a contest, during which she met two producers, Brian West and Gerald Eaton. They worked with Canadian celebrities. The producers helped the young artist start recording her songs professionally.
