Who needs Celine Dion and Shania Twain when Canada has Nelly Furtado? Furtado played Massey Hall in Toronto on Thursday and showed the lucky fans exactly why she has sold over 4 million albums worldwide.

Wearing sparkly blue jeans, a black tank top, and pick accessories, the Portuguese Princess burst onto the stage faster than she did to accept her Grammy award in February. Opening with ?Baby Girl? and ?I Will Make You Cry,? Furtado immediately proved that the night would be filled with a mass amount of energy. The lively dancing around the stage continued on with ?Party.?

Furtado, playing the guitar, brilliantly mixed ?Hey Man? with the chorus and her verse in the tribute song ?What?s Going On.?

It wasn?t until she sang ?I?m Like A Bird? that the audience really knew they were seeing something special. For the first time, everyone in the sold-out audience was on their feet, dancing away in the aisles, while bubbles spurted out of a machine. The blue and green lights fading in and out created a melodic mood, and the fans never returned to their seats. She then treated fans to a powerful rendition of ?Legend.?

Another highlight was when Furtado sang her favourite song of all time, Mary J. Blige?s ?Real Love,? and mastered it. Right before that, she sang over hip-hop hits of the past including LL Cool J?s ?Mama Said Knock You Out,? and Kris Kross? ?Jump.?

By this point, fans had rushed to the edge of the stage, creating more of a party atmosphere, not usually accustomed to the aging Massey Hall. Perhaps this concert would have been more fitted for a club like The Phoenix, where she performed at over a year ago.

Furtado was backed by a DJ, 2 guitarists, 2 people on keyboards, a drummer, one backup singer, and two male dancers. For ?Turn Off The Lights,? Furtado still possessed the energy of 10-people. Half way through the song, Furtado asked the fans ?Are you feeling it tonight?? signaling for the Timbaland Remix. Prevail of Swollen Members and Moka Only came out to sing in the absence of Ms Jade, who had opened for Furtado in the U.S.

For the encore, a breakdance team accompanied Furtado to wrap up the 90-minute set with ?Shit on the Radio.? The fans, mixed of the young and the old, males and females, left more than satisfied, and ready for her second album, expected to be released in 2003.

K-os delivered a fantastic acoustic set to open the show. With a guitarist, who was equally impressive, and a drummer, K-os showed fans why India Arie hand picked him to open for her in Europe, by both rapping and singing. It was a shame Swollen Members couldn?t live up to their hype. The duo, with fellow rapper Moka Only, continuously head-banged to rap songs, and not even in sync with each other or the beats. There was nothing to their 15-minute set other than a bass that could make your nostrils flinch. Maybe it was because of the beer they had onstage.

Set list:
Baby Girl
I Will Make U Cry
Party
Get Ur Freak On
Well, Well
Hey, Man/What?s Going On
I?m Like A Bird
Legend
Onde Estas
Feel You
Trynna Find A Way
Hip-hop mix/Real Love
Turn Off The Lights/Timbaland Remix
Shit on the Radio






Related Stories: