There are more musicians who died unknown than those we have come to know. For many others, they spend many years as up-and-coming singers before finally reaching the top. The story is different for Nelly Furtado who, with her debut album only in 2000, not only achieved worldwide financial success, but went home with a Grammy Award. Less than two decades later, the Canadian singer and songwriter has six studio albums, one live album and three EPs to her name.
Nelly Furtado – Biography,
The singer was born as Nelly Kim Furtado on December 2, 1978 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, to Maria Manuela Furtado and António José Furtado. His parents were from the Azores and of Portuguese nationality. They emigrated to Canada in the 1960s.
She was raised alongside her brother MichaelAnthony and her sister, Lisa Anne. She started singing since she was 4 years old. At the time, she performed a duet with her mother in church. However, it was at the age of 12 that she started writing songs and recording from the age of 16.
Growing up, Furtado fell in love with hiphop, thanks to the influence of the likes of Ice T, LL Cool J, and Mary J. Blige. It was for this reason that in 1995, when she met Tallis Newkirk, a member of the hip-hop group Plains of Fascination, she found it easy to contribute to the track. Waitin’ 4 the Streets in the Join the Ranks album.
The following year after she was done with her from Mount Douglas High School, she started a trip-hop group. However, the group did not last very long, as she soon left to return home, where she enrolled in Camosun College for creative writing, something she has always enjoyed.
In 1999, she was on the talent show Honey Jam and thanks to her excellent performance, she was noticed by Gerald Eaton of The Philosopher Kings who, together with his colleague, helped her to record a demo. Eaton and West would then work with her and produce her debut album, Whoa, Nelly! published in October 2000.
Her next album, Folklore came in 2003 then Ample in 2006. In 2009 she released Mi Plan, then The Indestructible Spirit in 2012, and The Journey in 2017.
Professional Achievements
Having been in the music scene for over two decades, Nelly Furtado has accomplished quite a bit. With her debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, she received 5 Grammy nominations and won Best Female Pop Vocal Performance with I Am Like A Bird
His career continued to be highly successful with millions of albums sold worldwide and numerous awards to his credit, including a Billboard Music Award, 3 Billboard Latin Awards, 3 Viña del Mar Festival and 10 Juno Awards.
In total, she has 6 studio albums, 1 live album, 2 compilation albums, a video album and 3 EPs.
Net value
Since 2006 when the Promiscuity singer released her album Loose, which recorded sales of over 12 million copies. Nelly Furtado has yet to live up to that feat.
That said, her career has been so successful so far and it is thanks to her that she has a net worth of $35 million.
Beyond earning money, she is also known for her philanthropy. In 2007, she performed in a private concert with former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. From the performance, she earned a million dollars which she later donated to charity.
Relationships and business
There is no denying the fact that the singer is a very beautiful woman. Interestingly, she’s not known for dating too many men.
Her first known relationship was with Jasper Gahunia, whom she dated from 2001 to 2005. This relationship gave birth to a daughter, Nevis Gahunia, who was born on September 20, 2003.
The next man in the singer’s life was Demacio Castellon whom she started dating in 2006. At the time, the two were working on the singer’s Loose album. In 2007, they got engaged and finally tied the knot in 2008.
The union lasted until 2016 when it was announced that Nelly Furtado had separated from her husband. After more than 8 years of marriage, the two children had no children together.