When Nelly Furtado arrived on the music scene back in 2000 with her debut Whoa, Nelly! the Canadian songbird with a Latin tinged muse was a breath of fresh air. She shook her bon bon as well as any of her Latin contemporaries (Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez), but she was also a talented musician in her own right. Massive singles such as "I'm Like A Bird" and "Turn Off the Light" seemed to solidify the start of something huge. Her 2003 follow-up Folklore however was barely a blip on the radar screen due to the lack of any sort of flavor or panache. It was a self-conscious mess that wallowed in its own banality.

Nelly's new album though, Loose, finds Furtado trying to be exactly what her album title suggests. Gone (for the most part) is the Nelly of old that plays guitar to Latin style rhythms, and in its place is a new Nelly; one that aches deep down to be a dance floor diva and to get your booty shakin'. To help her with this transformation, Furtado brought in Timbaland (only the biggest name in Hip-Hop production in the world) to work some of his beat magic skillz. Timbaland is pretty much responsible for molding Missy Elliott and Justin Timberlake into the massive superstars that they are, so Furtado is certainly in good hands.

The first half of Loose is absolutely infectious. With its pulsating beats, "Maneater" and first single "Promiscuous" are two of the best Pop songs you'll hear all year long. Tracks like "Glow" and "No Hay Igual" are similar to something in the same vein as M.I.A.'s electronic beat heavy Arular album of last year. After that though, Loose is kind of a bumpy ride. Cheesy slow jams galore on the second half almost bring Loose to a grinding halt and if it weren't for "All Good Things (Come To An End)" which was co-written by Chris Martin of Coldplay, it would have. Loose may end up alienating old fans of Furtado's that were quick to embrace this talented singer-songwriter when she was just a fledgling, but make no mistake folks, this Hip-Hop Dance style suits Furtado quite well. Now that she's dipped her toe in the water, maybe her next album will see a full baptism into the world of Hip-Hop and Dance.