Canadian singer Nelly Furtado is coming to Kyiv. Yes, that Nelly Furtado who sings “Maneater,” “Say It Right” with Timbaland and “All Good Things.” Singer and songwriter Nelly Furtado heavily credits her ethnic background and childhood for spawning her creativity as an aspiring female musician. Born and raised in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, Furtado’s working-class parents, who are of Portuguese descent, instilled a work ethic during her upbringing. She turned to music for enjoyment, learning to play the guitar and the ukulele, and listened to mainstream R&B music by Mariah Carey, TLC, Jodeci, Salt-N-Pepa, and Bell Biv DeVoe. Later, she delved into her older brother’s collection of Radiohead, Pulp, Oasis, Portishead, the Verve, and U2, pushing Furtado to fully embrace different musical genres, specifically Brazilian music and material by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Amalia Rodrigues. Hip-hop was also a big catalyst in shaping Furtado’s musical appreciation. After high school, she headed to Toronto where she worked at an alarm company by day and experienced the music scene by night. She joined a hip-hop duo, Nelstar, and this opportunity led Furtado back to her hip-hop influences of De La Soul and Digable Planets. Furtado has always heard these many genres through the prism of Portuguese folk and religious music. “I look at music with a very open mind and really wide lens,” she says. “When you don’t have any boundaries, you’re limitless, you can do anything because you have no bias. There’s a difference between having no bias and having no taste. You can navigate your way through all sorts of genres, which is what I like to do.” Furtado’s career, as well as her music, demonstrates this.

Furtado showed up on the scene in the fall of 2000 at the age of 20, with the release of her acclaimed debut, Whoa, Nelly! Radio tracks such as “I’m Like A Bird” and “Turn Off The Light,” both Top 10 hits on the Billboard singles charts, introduced listeners to a young Canadian who brought a self-styled vibrancy to the diverse music she whipped together: hip-hop, Portuguese fado, pop, soul, classical, Brazilian, dance, folk, Latin and anything else that seemed expressive and alive to her.

The songs she wrote and sang were about feelings both old and new, local and international and the music was as inventively rhythmic as it was melodic. Furtado has also won numerous awards. The Canadian Juno Awards named Furtado its Best New Solo Artist and Best Songwriter in 2001, and at the 2002 Grammy Awards, “I’m Like A Bird” won Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

In 2001 she sang on a remix of Missy Misdemeanor Elliot’s “Get Ur Freak On,” while in 2002 she recorded “Fotografia,” a duet with celebrated, Grammy-winning Colombian singer-guitarist Juanes (who’s coming to Kyiv on Sept. 10), which hit No.1 on the Latin charts.

Her next album, “Folklore,” appeared in 2003, nearly two months after Furtado gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Nevis. The record was a general disappointment, failing to capitalize on the success of her previous work. She didn’t return to the limelight until summer 2006, with her third record, “Loose.” Produced almost entirely by Timbaland, the album earned significant attention and put Furtado’s career back on the fast track. Lead track “Promiscuous” became an instant hit, earning her a number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. “Loose” also topped the Billboard Top 200 album chart during its first week of release later in June 2006, becoming Furtado’s first-ever number one album. In 2007, Furtado and Justin Timberlake were featured on Timbaland’s single “Give It to Me,” which became her third number-one single in the US and second in the UK. Nelly Furtado’s fourth album will be released next year. The album will include some tracks that weren’t included in her album “Loose,” such as the song “Stars.” Furtado will be collaborating with Timbaland, Kylie Minogue, Keith Urban, and Justin Timberlake, with whom she already recorded the track “Crowd Control.”

Maria Leontieva can be reached at leontieva@kpmedia.ua or 496-4563

International Expo Center (15 Brovarskiy Prospect, 501-2520). July 15, 7 p.m.

Tickets are Hr 150 to Hr 250