Nelly Furtado was raised in a Roman Catholic home, and first sang at the age of four when she sang a duet with her mother at church. She began playing instruments at the age of nine, amassing knowledge about the trombone, ukulele, guitar, and keyboard. She began writing songs when she was 12, and as a teenager joined a Portuguese marching band.
The first musicians Furtado interacted with were underground rappers and DJs. During a visit to Toronto after her junior year in high school, Furtado met Tallis Newkirk, member of the hip hop group Plains of Fascination: she contributed vocals to their 1996 album. After graduating from Mount Douglas Secondary School in 1996, she moved to Toronto and performed in Nelstar, a trip hop duo with Newkirk. She left the group soon after because she felt that the style of duo was too segragated. Before moving back home, she performed at the 1997 Honey Jam, and all female urban talent show. Her performance attracted the attention of singer Gerald Eaton of The Philosopher Kings, who asked her to write with him. They later produced a demo, ultimately securing her a record deal with DreamWorks Records. Her first single was released in 1999. Her debut album, Whoa, Nelly! was an international success when it was released, recieving four Grammy nominations in 2002. Her debut single won for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
In 2003 Nelly gave birth to a daughter, Nevis, with DJ Jasper Gahunia. The two had been good friends for several years, remaining until 2005. Furtado has stated that they remain close, sharing responsibility of raising their daughter. As of July 2007, Furtado has been reportedly engaged to Cuban sound engineer Demacio "Demo" Castellon, who worked with her on her most recent album, Loose.
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