Nelly Furtado cuts Loose

When the Canadian Furtado rolled into blistering Phoenix, she brought her unique vocals with her for a strong set that included mostly new hits. As a matter of fact, when she brought out a remixed version of her first American smash, "I'm Like A Bird," no one seemed to get it. Her singalong session barely netted a response, possibly because fans didn't know what they were listening to -- the remastered tune was nearly unrecognizable.

It almost doesn't matter, because Furtado's voice is such a joy to experience. Her unique sound lends itself to R&B, dance and pop equally well, and she bounced from upbeat tunes to ballads with ease.

A soft acoustic version of Gnarles Barkley's "Crazy" was a personal fave.

The only distractions from her voice were her backup dancers. Nelly didn't do a whole lot of steppin' herself, and what she did was mostly token. But her four backup dancers -- two men and two women -- were an unnecessary stage presence considering the tempo of the show. Nelly's tunes are certainly danceable, without a doubt, but the show lacks the huge production value that would necessitate a dance team -- and a group of four without a leader is hardly a team. It seemed a half-hearted attempt at keeping the crowd's attention.

Next time, either go all out with a large production number, or keep the focus squarely on the artist's musicianship.

And that is what Nelly Furtado has to offer. Her sound is all hers, and that is what the people want. That, and her gorgeousness.

Nelly Furtado's 2007 American tour wrapped up in Las Vegas on June 23. See more photos of Nelly here in our Celeb Photo Zone.