Nelly Kim Furtado was born on December 2, 1978, in British Columbia, Canada. The daughter of Portuguese immigrants, Nelly expressed in an interest in performing at the age of 4, when she sang a duet with her mother at their local church. In subsequent years, Nelly Furtado began perfecting her singing skills while also learning how to play a variety of instruments (including the trombone, guitar and ukulele). Once she hit her teens, Nelly Furtado started to write her own songs and perform with a Portuguese marching band. It wasn't until she graduated from high school that she began to devote serious thought to starting her own band, which she finally did in 1997 along with hip-hop performer Tallis Newkirk.

Nelly's newfound band, called Nelstar, turned out to be a short-lived endeavor as she decided to focus on her solo work and develop her own musical voice. She spent the next few years working on demos and establishing herself in and around the Toronto area. In 1999, Nelly Furtado's tenacity and hard work paid off after she was signed to a record deal with DreamWorks. Her first release with the company was the song "Party's Just Begun (Again)," which was included as part of the soundtrack for the 1999 Claire Danes/Kate Beckinsale thriller Brokedown Palace.

Nelly Furtado spent the better part of 2000 working on her debut album, and in October of that year, Whoa, Nelly! was released to favorable reviews and mild financial success. Nelly Furtado's fortunes took a turn for the better after "I'm Like a Bird" was released as a single; the song became a worldwide phenomenon that quickly catapulted Nelly to the forefront of the music scene. Anchored by the strength of follow-up singles "Turn off the Light" and "…On the Radio," Whoa, Nelly! became a bona fide sensation, selling over five million copies around the globe. Nelly Furtado also found herself nominated for four Grammys, with "I'm Like a Bird" taking the award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

2003 brought two major events to Nelly Furtado's life: the birth of a daughter, Nevis (the father is DJ Jasper Gahunia) and the release of her second album, Folklore. While Folklore failed to mimic the success of Whoa, Nelly!, it moved plenty of copies nonetheless. This was due in great part to the designation of one single, "Forca," as the official anthem of the 2004 European Football Championship.

Folklore may have failed to achieve the same success as Whoa, Nelly!, but Nelly Furtado's 2006 album, Loose, far surpassed it. The album reached No. 1 in several countries, produced a number of hit singles ("Promiscuous" and "Maneater" most prominent among them) and led to additional collaborations with its producer, Timbaland.

Nelly Furtado spent much of 2007 touring, occasionally taking time out to perform alongside such notable names as Timbaland, Justin Timberlake and Lil Wayne.