Nelly Furtado was born in Victoria, British Columbia to Portuguese immigrants from the Azores, Maria Manuela and António José Furtado. She was named after Soviet gymnast Nellie Kim. She was rised in a Roman Catholic home, and she first sang at the age of four when she performed a duet with her mother at a church on Portugal Day. Nelly began playing instruments at the age of nine, learning the trombone, ukulele and, in later years, the guitar and keyboard. At the age of twelve, she began writing songs, and as a teenager, she performed in a Portuguese marching band. Nelly has acknowledged her family as the source of her strong work ethic; she spent eight summers working as a chambermaid with her mother, who was a housekeeper in Victoria. She has stated that coming from a working class background has shaped her identity in a positive way.After graduating from Mount Douglas Secondary School in 1996, she moved to Toronto. The following year, she formed Nelstar, a trip hop duo with Newkirk. Ultimately, Nelly felt the trip-hop style of the duo was "too segregated" and believed it did not represent her personality or allow her to showcase her vocal ability. She left the group and planned to move back home. After moving back to Toronto, she performed at the 1997 Honey Jam, an "all-female urban" talent show. Her performance attracted the attention of The Philosopher Kings singer Gerald Eaton (aka Jarvis Church), who then approached her to write with him. He and fellow Kings member Brian West helped Nelly produce a demo. She left Toronto, but returned again to record more material with Eaton and West. The material recorded during these sessions led to her 1999 record deal with DreamWorks Records. Nelly's first single, "Party's Just Begun (Again)", was released that year on the Brokedown Palace: Music from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.
