Nelly Furtado confirms for Canadian Idol's live finale

NEWS RELEASE

CTV INC.

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International superstar Nelly Furtado returns to Canadian Idol to perform live on season finale, Sunday, Sept. 17 on CTV

Furtado joins Melissa O'Neil in the 90-minute end-of-season celebration

Toronto, ON (September 7, 2006) – She's heating up the charts around the world after kicking off the Canadian Idol Top 10 phase earlier this season.

Now, she returns to perform live on the Canadian Idol stage for the first time.

CTV announced today that international superstar Nelly Furtado has been secured to perform on the supersized, 90-minute season finale of Canadian Idol, airing live on Sunday, September 17 at 7 p.m. ET.

Furtado will perform the Canadian television debut of her latest hit Maneater, which reached No. 1 in the U.K.

Since her first appearance on Canadian Idol in July, Furtado's double-platinum album Loose returned to the No. 1 spot on Nielsen's SoundScan charts.

After performing an acoustic version of her hit single Promiscuous on Canadian Idol, the track remained the No. 1 single in Canada for seven weeks running while occupying the No. 1 spot in the U.S. for eight weeks.

In addition to gracing the covers of numerous international magazines over the past few months, the Universal Music recording artist won three Teen Choice Awards and was nominated in three categories at the 2006 MTV Music Video Awards.

Furtado is in the midst of a whirlwind promotional tour that will take her to Japan, Australia, London, New York City, Mexico and back home to Toronto.

"Nelly Furtado is an artist who represents the truly eclectic nature of Canadian music," said Susanne Boyce, CTV president of programming and chair of the CTV Media Group. "Her diverse musical background is a direct reflection of her Canadian heritage. She's a great choice to help us celebrate the end of another stellar season."

"Fans instantly responded to Nelly's exclusive acoustic version of Promiscuous which she taped for Canadian Idol," said Executive Producer John Brunton. "We can't wait to see what she has in store for us next in what's shaping up to be one of the most exciting season finales we've ever had."

As previously announced, Furtado will join the reigning Canadian Idol champ Melissa O'Neil, who will also perform live before passing on the Idol crown.

Additional details surrounding Canadian Idol's season finale will be announced soon.

Furtado and O’Neil join a long line-up of special guests who have performed live on Canadian Idol this season, including Tony Bennett, Rex Goudie, Martina McBride, Chantal Kreviazuk, Roger Hodgson, Dennis DeYoung and Cyndi Lauper.

Nelly Furtado returned with a sexy bang this summer when her long-awaited third album Loose debuted at No. 1 in both Canada and the United States.

Released on June 20, Loose has sold more than 250,000 copies in Canada.

This album marks the first time Nelly Furtado has debuted in the No. 1 spot on Nielsen's SoundScan chart.

Recorded for the most part at Miami's Hit Factory with hip-hop producer extraordinaire Timbaland (Missy Elliott, Justin Timberlake), Loose features 12 new tracks that sees Nelly co-writing for the first time.

Co-writers on Loose include producer Timbaland, Nate Hills, Juanes & Lester Mendez, Rick Nowels and Coldplay’s Chris Martin.

Canadian Idol was created by Simon Fuller and is produced in association with CTV by Insight Productions.

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