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NEW YORK -- Pop's hottest mom just loosened up even more.
Nelly Furtado is standing at the edge of Radio City Music Hall's legendary stage rehearsing the two songs she'll perform tonight at the Fashion Rocks concert (9 p.m. ET/PT Friday, CBS).
Dressed down in a roomy white shirt and capri jeans, she first croons with Timbaland her hit Promiscuous. Next, she struts up four steps, stands on a platform and grinds her pelvis while belting out Maneater. The singer, whose new album, Loose, hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts and has gone gold, proceeds to dance around in open-toed black heels that would trip up a lesser mortal.
Furtado, 27, subjugated the stiletto after presenting and performing in silver spikes at MTV's Europe Music Awards in November.
"I had really high shoes on," she says. "I had to wear them all night. It broke me in. I only dance in high heels now. Even at rehearsal, I'll have my high heels, and all the dancers have their runners on. It hurts after a while, but I'm used to it. High heels give you a little bit of height and help with certain steps and angles."
She attributes her newfound confidence on stage to acting classes -- and to her daughter, Nevis, who turns 3 in a few weeks. After "becoming a mother and experiencing childbirth, you just carry yourself differently."
Her current look is "sexy and womanly and kind of classy and funky at the same time."
She has taken some hits in the press for her offbeat and brightly hued ensembles, but Furtado remains oblivious to any fashion police citations.
"I like colorful clothing," she says. "You have to be yourself. You're not going to be perfectly styled and put together every day."
For Fashion Rocks, she's sticking to a simple theme: "'60s, with black and white, with the dancers in turtlenecks and tights."
She describes her black and white outfit as "really fitted and sexy."
Performers include Elton John, Christina Aguilera, Beyonce and Daddy Yankee; proceeds from ticket sales go to the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
Furtado, who sang at John's post-Oscar party in 2001, was approached about six months ago to perform. "It's a good event -- very glamorous and elegant," she says.
She's most excited about seeing Faith Hill and Tim McGraw sing because "they have really good chemistry."
As for her own personal chemistry, Furtado says she's "casually dating, but that's it. There's no ring on my finger."
Nevis accompanied her mother to the Teen Choice Awards in August but won't be at Fashion Rocks.
Furtado sees something of her own showmanship in her daughter, whose father is deejay Jasper "Lil' Jaz" Gahunia.
"She already knows the words to Maneater and the chorus," Furtado says. "She likes the beat and energy of the song."
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