A NEW BABY AND A NEW PRODUCER MADE NELLY CHANGE HER TUNE

AFTER a musical reinvention that saw her change from a twittering songstress on wafty debut hit I'm Like A Bird into thumping clubs queen with last year's chart-topper Maneater, the all-new Nelly Furtado is ready to hit the UK with her Get Loose tour.

With Timbaland at the studio controls, Nelly's radical transformation can be clearly followed from her first album, the five million-selling Whoa Nelly, to her third release, Loose, which has already shifted three million copies since its release last spring.

Working with the über- producer in Miami on tracks such as No 1 single Promiscuous gave Nelly an opportunity to flex her R'n'B and hip-hop stylings, and break out of the all-too winsome female singer-songwriter mould, producing something altogether more feisty that she has christened "punk-hop."

Drafting in NERD genius Pharrell Williams upped the ante, and when Coldplay's Chris Martin - a huge fan of Timbaland - dropped into the studio they came up with the track All Good Things, which became the third single to be culled culled from the record, last November.

The track, inevitably, reverted to ballad territory, but it became the focus for hot debate among both Furtado and Coldplay fans when initial plans to release a version featuring the Coldplay crooner on backing vocals had to be pulled after a dispute with Martin's record label.

In a recent interview, Nelly attributed the change in musical styles and the reclamation of her sexy body to the birth of her daughter, Nevis, in 2003, saying: "I'm more in touch with my emotions and my body... this phase in my life is all about how I feel."

The multi-talented, Toronto-based, 28-year-old, who is of Portuguese descent, sings in English, Portuguese and Hindi - as she demonstrated at a New Year's Eve party in Mumbai, singing two traditional Hindi songs. And thanks to being part of her high school band growing up in the province of Victoria, the multi-instrumentalist also plays ukulele and trombone, as well as keyboards and guitar, and reportedly has a fascination for drum machines.

The Loose long player is light years away musically from her last album, 2003's Folklore, which created less of a stir than either of her other two releases. Speaking ahead of the release of her second album, she explained that being pregnant during the recording of her "modern folk record" Folklore had contributed to its mellow vibe.

At the time, she said she would not be tied down to a particular style, either musically or visually.

"You always want what you're doing to be authentic - I mean, I try not to be too over-the-top about things like clothes and videos because people can smell that coming a mile away. As long as the work is good, people will stick with you even if you have a new image or sound," she said.

She has certainly proved this to be true, ramping up the raunch for her revitalised image.

• Nelly Furtado, February 17, Clyde Auditorium, tickets £23.50, doors 6.30pm.