When Nelly Furtado checks in at hotels during her tours, she sees things others might miss.
Furtado's view is shaped by the fact that, as a girl, she spent years helping her mother tidy up rooms at the Robin Hood Motel in British Columbia.
"I totally notice the chambermaid. I check out the carts and even what kind of wheels are on them," she told The Philadelphia Inquirer. "It's not like 'Maid in Manhattan' where Ralph Fiennes walks in and doesn't notice J.Lo."
The 25-year-old singer is on tour to promote her second CD, "Folklore." The Grammy Award winner has outgrown the trepidation of performing live that she battled while touring with her 2000 debut, "Whoa, Nelly!"
"I have a love-hate relationship with performing," she said. "I dreaded the big, huge gigs, especially the European festivals with their massive stages."
But maturity has created confidence. "The new show is very energetic," she said. "It has a new maturity, but it's still electric. I'm much more confident on stage."