Nelly Furtado

Nelly: (on being married) I love it. I just feel kind of free and relaxed and more in tune with trying not to be so stressed out. I'm happy ... I'm excited about the future.

Nelly: Being a mother, I don't have time to go to clubs. So I put fake club scenes in my videos to make it look like I get out more.

Nelly: (on her bottom) It's nice to have something to hang on to. It's just coming out of the woodwork, though, so it's still shy - it doesn't want too much spotlight.

Nelly: I'm very in love with Gael Garcia Bernal, but I think he's with Natalie Portman. It's not fair!

Nelly: (on the pressures of staying in shape and keeping fit.) Yeah, actually. It's kinda good though, because it keeps you on your toes. With Maneater I worked hard. I danced a lot that week because I wanted to be able to do all the moves and stuff. It was my first time trying real actual set choreography and, God, my feet were in a sink of ice the night before the video because I'd been in high heels all week and they were really in pain. My feet have never felt that way in my life. But it was kind of like a rite of passage because the next day I had to dance in front of 50 of the best dancers in L.A.. But that was exciting for me – the challenge. I keep challenging myself, pushing my own buttons, you know?

Nelly: I'm sick of pristine pop records – I wanted something more immediate and raw. Even my label tried to get me to change the final mix because they thought it was too edgy and they thought people weren't used to that from me.

Nelly: I'm from a small town in Victoria, Canada, and as a teenager I used to obsess about R&B and hip-hop stars. All their posters were on my walls. Being in Miami with Timbaland, I felt like I was on the pulse of hip-hop culture because he's always really in tune with everything that's going on. He always knows what the next wave's going to be. He's a trailblazer in music – whatever he comes out with ...

Nelly (on recording in Miami): You'd see Paris Hilton, Ricky Martin, rappers, it was incredible, it really was. It was exhilarating – every day was something new. One moment there'd be Puff Daddy filming his reality show in the parking lot and the next day some guy would be bringing in a briefcase of cash for a Timbaland beat. I feed off energy like that. I felt like all my hip-hop dreams were coming true.

Nelly (on motherhood): It's just amazing, I'm so happy. Having the balance of a work life and a family life has been so good for me. And it's made me appreciate my job so much more. I go, "Oh wow, I'm lucky to have a career and to be able to provide for someone else for the first time in my life." When you have a child, you're forced to get on the ground with them and their toys and feel life in a different way. I think that's why my album has a youthful energy, because I was around her infectious two-year-old energy while I was recording. I'm privileged that I'm an artist. My schedule's not nine-to-five and I can travel with her most of the time and not feel like I'm missing out so much by being a working mother. It's nice too because being an artist is one of the things you can do from home. I love writing songs. In the future I'd love to just be at home, packing lunches and writing songs for other artists.

Nelly (on why her album 'Loose' is a change of musical direction for her): You know, I think motherhood [to daughter Nevis, two]. Childbirth and feeling like a new woman – like more of a woman. I've kind of blossomed, I'm in the prime of my late 20s, and I'm expressing that a little more in my music. I think with each album an artist has to reveal another side of themselves. I think it adheres people to you because it shows that you're vulnerable and that you're willing to take new risks. I think it's endearing. You have to evolve. And my musical history is so rich – my musical knowledge is so vast – that I feel like I have a lifetime of surprises up my sleeve. With each album I hope to unveil a new surprise.

Nelly (on visiting Australia): I went to the zoo – that was fun! Us foreigners have to see at least one koala or kangaroo or we feel like we haven't been to Australia. I loved watching the rugby because of the short shorts. We went for a sail through Sydney Harbour and I also did the Rove show, which was fun.

Nelly: I like my body so much more now since having my baby. It's just kind of empowering when you become a mother. You just get overwhelmed with this new confidence and you feel really in control of your life. It's been beautiful.
-On becoming a mother

Nelly: (about playing "nerdy" instruments) I always picked the weird things. I think life's like that - once you admit you're a big nerd it all becomes easier.