THE BASICS

WHO IS SHE?: As DreamWorks Records' latest singer/songwriter, this gorgeous 21-year-old Victoria, British Columbia import just invaded the States with her first major label release titled Whoa Nelly!.

WHAT HAS SHE DONE?: After dabbling in singing with a hip-hop group and later an experimental trip-hop duo, Nelly began working on new material with producers Gerald Eaton and Brian West of multiplatinum act the Philosopher Kings. The resulting demo led to a deal with DreamWorks. Nelly then hopped aboard the Lilith Fair tour, where she shared a stage with giants such as Sarah McLachlan, Chrissie Hynde and Beth Orton.

WHY DO WE CARE?: Aside from the fact that she's a stunning, natural beauty, Nelly plays guitar, ukulele and trombone and sings in three different languages. Her album (on which she penned or co-wrote every song) culls influences from all over, including her Portuguese background, a fondness for old school hip-hop and the music of artists such as Billy Joel, Beck, Radiohead and Janet Jackson.

Playboy.com: Has life changed drastically since signing a major label record deal?

Nelly Furtado: No. You'd think I'd be stressed out, but it's more like the anticipation a kid feels when Christmas is coming.

PB: Does the busy schedule leave you time to do normal girl stuff like go shopping and date?

NF: Not really, but I can't complain. It's an active, fun lifestyle, and I'm meeting people all the time. As far as shopping goes, I just bought a cell phone that I haven't used in a couple of weeks because I lost the charger and I'm too lazy to go to the store and get another one.

PB: Do you have a lot of groupies trying to date you?

NF: There was one group of guys who traveled to three different shows, but I don't think they were interested in dating, they just liked hanging with me and the band.

PB: Yeah, right. Sounds like you're building a harem.

NF: All the fans so far have been super-cute, and they're not that much younger than me. So, yeah, it's turning out how I wanted with all these cute little hip-hop skater boys as fans. I guess I'm all right with that.

PB: Aside from the cell phone, have you made any major purchases?

NF: Not really. If the album does well, I'll probably buy some stuff for my parents. I'd get my dad a new truck because his is looking kind of shabby.

PB: You sound like such a good girl, but we understand you used to hang with a rough crew up in Canada.

NF: The Portuguese Mafia. Those girls were rough and tough.

PB: Did you ever kick anyone's ass?

NF: Yeah, unfortunately. Nothing serious, just silly little girl scraps. We were mostly all talk: "Yeah, I heard you said something bad about me -- you're dead, man!" And nothing happens and you end up getting suspended before you can even do anything. "Nelly Furtado, please come to the principal's office." I was kind of a nerd at the same time. I played in the school band, but I managed to somehow be cool at the same time -- it kept me balanced.

PB: Did you feel sheltered where you grew up?

NF: Victoria's a small city, which is great when you're a kid, but then you become a teenager and you get bored and it reminds you of those suburban movies where the kids are hanging out at McDonald's getting free refills and bumming cigarettes off people. But great things came out of that, too. You'd be hanging at the mall with the hip-hop kids and they'd be freestyling or doing graffiti -- it's actually great creatively.

PB: Have you been getting a lot of comparisons to Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera?

NF: Yeah, but it's kinda funny. This serious news anchorwoman was doing an interview with me, and she was like, "So what separates you from Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and 'N Sync?" And I was like, "Um, no choreography onstage. Have you heard my album or seen my show? Because it's so different." The only thing similar is that you look at my album cover and I look very young -- like 18. So I'm not blaming people for making those comparisons, and I'm fine with it.

I guess people in this industry these days are kinda jaded, and whenever they see a new artist like me they think, She's pretty, she's young -- the CD cover looks like Christina Aguilera so she must sound like that. Or they think I'm just a product of the label. I don't mind that because then they hear the record or they go to the show and they're usually blown away. I'm actually hoping I get compared to them because then we can trick the little kiddies into buying my CD.

PB: Regardless of what critics think, we really like the album cover art.

NF: Honestly, I didn't have to put that picture of me on the cover that way, but I wanted to because I'm 21 now -- what am I going to do, have a cover like that when I'm 30?

PB: Then you don't have a problem using sex appeal to sell an album?

NF: I don't know if I'm doing it overtly, but I do know that it makes for a better image on paper. I don't like being artsy for artsy's sake. It's my first record and people have to know what I look like. So what am I going to do, put a picture of a drum on the cover? It's not like it doesn't have any artistic relevance behind it. My record is fashioned with reference to some of the old Brazilian records that inspired my album musically. That's why you see the flowery writing and the tall grass. So if by coincidence it's sexy then, oh well, I guess I'm sexy.

PB: We noticed that you don't have the ubiquitous navel ring yet.

NF: I'm au naturel -- a hippie girl. All my friends have them.

PB: Any hidden tattoos?

NF: No, I can't devote myself to one musical genre, and I also can't devote myself to one symbol.

PB: If you had to pick one, what would you get?

NF: The Playboy Bunny! No, just kidding. I'd probably get a symbol that refers to my heritage.

Photo Credit: Eric Johnson