New York, June 7, 2007 – Nelly Furtado, the Canadian-born Portuguese pop sensation, played a concert at the Theater at Madison Square Garden Thursday night. Furtado's staging had a decidedly mid-1980's look to it. Gone were crunchy granola stylings of her video for "I'm Like a Bird" and gone were the bump n'grind trappings of her work with Timbaland. Nelly updated her look with a skin-tight red dress, an ensemble of dancers, stage musicians, and a large terraced white stage with a central staircase that would even make Gloria Estefan proud.

The day before on Late Night with Conan O'Brien there was an awkward moment following a performance of "All Good Things" when the 6'4" host went to plant a kiss on Furtado's cheek. Attempting to move into position to be kissed, the diminutive Furtado, who is just over 5' tall, misjudged her movement and ending up momentarily blocking O'Brien's kiss. There was no discernible awkwardness at Thursday's concert save for the slightly irritated press corps having been herded behind "bicycle rack"-style barricades on either side of Furtado's stage catwalk that jutted into the audience.

Nelly Furtado will be on tour through the end of July in support of her new album "Loose". - Damien Neva