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Twenty-three-year-old singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado -- born in Victoria but now based in Toronto -- follows in the footsteps of Diana Krall, Sarah McLachlan, Shania Twain, Alanis Morissette and Celine Dion and heads into the 2002 Grammy race with an impressive four nominations.
She'll compete for best new artist, song of the year and best female pop vocal performance for her global-pop hit I'm Like A Bird, and best pop vocal album for her CD, Whoa, Nelly! The ceremony airs on CBS and CTV starting at 8 p.m.
"I still don't expect things -- as if I would ever have expected to get nominated for best song," says Furtado, who was recently in Toronto rehearsing for her current tour, which pulls into Massey Hall on April 18 and 19.
"That's like, 'Woo- hoo!' That's incredible. That's my first single nominated and it's nominated for best song. So I'm really stoked about that."
The four Grammy nods cap what has been an incredible year-and-a-half for Furtado since Whoa, Nelly! was released.
Among her accomplishments:
* Performing in Salt Lake City as part of the Winter Olympics concert series
* Opening for U2 on a couple of their Elevation tour dates
* Singing with Elton John at his post-Oscar bash
* Winning four Juno Awards
* Appearing as musical guest on Saturday Night Live
* Singing on stage with Aretha Franklin
* Collaborating on a song with Missy Elliott
* And touring on Moby's Area:One festival.
"It's like a whole other thing," said Furtado of her Grammys recognition. "It's like a new chapter ... so I'm just getting used to it. I'm just feeling it out right now. The reflection doesn't dawn on me until four to six months later. Like the No.1 thing would be opening at Slane Castle for U2. No. 2 would be the Missy duet and No. 3 is the Area:One Tour. So this Grammy thing, I'm sure, will stand out at some point."
Furtado's certainly come a long way from the days when she worked as a motel chambermaid.
As the now oft-told story goes, she was discovered by her future producer Gerald Eaton (Philosopher Kings) five years ago while singing on stage at Lee's Palace with the trip-hop outfit Nelstar.
But instead of hooking up with Eaton immediately, she opted to go backpacking in Europe and then return to the West Coast to study creative writing at college and learn to play the guitar.
"I had a great conversation with my mom and dad (on Grammy nomination day)," says Furtado. "They were both on the line. I felt so proud. I could feel how proud they were of me and how excited they were, and I think it's beyond their wildest dreams, too.
"The funny thing is, I think they always knew I would get here somehow, but I don't think they did, for real. It was so cool. I was really proud of the three of us. I was proud of my family that day."
Now Furtado is thrilled to share the Grammy nomination wealth with her Whoa, Nelly! producers. Eaton and Brian West, both former members of Philosopher Kings who now work under the name Track And Field, picked up a nomination for best producers (non-classical).
"The fact that Track And Field are up for production -- they're up against people like Dr. Dre and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis -- it proves that people are noticing the musicality on the record and the depth of the record, and that means a lot," Furtado says.
Another feather in Furtado's cap was when she recently graced the cover of Entertainment Weekly with fellow Grammy nominees Alicia Keys and India.Arie. Still to come is next month's SPIN, which names her among the Top 40 Most Vital Artists.
Furtado admits Grammy competition is tight this year, with Keys and Arie getting six and seven nominations, respectively, but insists the trio of twentysomethings are rooting for each other.
"Deep down, I think there's a competitive side, but on the surface at least and just in general, spirit-wise, we're all supporting each other because we feel we come from the same background, the three of us," Furtado says. "We feel like we're all artists and we're all musicians and we're all women and we have something positive to say."
The EW article proclaimed that "this month's Grammy bash is all about the babes. That is the young trio of rising stars -- Alicia Keys, India.Arie and Nelly Furtado -- who are bringing sass and womanly soul back to pop."
For her part, Furtado says, "I just hate when anything becomes a trend. Then I feel like it's trivialized. So I prefer to look at it like three women with something positive to say. We're just doing our thing."
Furtado, who enjoyed months of massive hype in the U.S. before Whoa, Nelly! was even released, feels her career has built slowly down south.
"It's been a year and a half since my album came out, so it took awhile," she says. "It took 10 months to get I'm Like A Bird in the Top Five. It took even a while to get people on board. It took 'til Turn Off The Light became a Top Five hit in the U.S. That's when things started solidifying for me and people started believing more in my album rather than just my songs, and that's an important step."
Still, she admits she'll be one nervous Nelly come Grammy night.
"Yeah, I'm nervous when I think about it," says Furtado. "I know I'm going to be nervous that day. It's going to be like one of those fairytale days again, kind of like the Junos. It'll be all really fun. It's going to be fun."
And even if Furtado leaves the Grammys empty-handed, she's up for two more Junos this year, best album and best artist.
Furtado will also perform on the Juno ceremony televised live on April 14 from Mile One Stadium in St. John's, Nfld. (CTV, 8 p.m. )
And, unlike last year, when she got turned away from her own label's after-Juno party at Rain restaurant in Toronto, there should be no problems on the ultra-friendly East Coast.
"Oh, that was a small, small thing," Furtado says now of the incident that made headlines last year. "I was on a high anyway. That didn't really matter. I was like, 'Okay! On to the next (party)!' "