When Nelly Furtado first emerged on the scene, with 2000's surprise smash Whoa Nelly, she appeared as some sort of coffeehouse rebel: a folkie at heart who'd grown bored with one-guitar open mic nights. The mix was brassy but personal, combining elements of neo-soul -- and even some indie hip-hop swagger and rhythm -- into songs that were, essentially, defiant readings from a journal.

The Nelly that emerged on 2006's Loose was a different animal -- we'll call it a bird -- entirely. As though attempting to prove that motherhood hadn't made her soft, Furtado came out harder than she'd been before it. Suddenly, we had Fergie-esque mega-pop. Rap's organic grooves had been traded for its big club beats. Resilience had been amped up to straight coquettishness. The lady wasn't cool -- she was sexy.

This had to be a terrible idea, but somehow it wasn't. Whatever you thought of this branch of pop, it was hard to find someone doing it better, and Nelly's hooks were so sticky they could bring disbelievers around. And make no mistake: new live CD Loose: The Concert, which focuses mainly on Nelly 2.0 (but does include a stellar, tripped out rendition of "I'm Like A Bird"), is a flat-out blast of pop. Nelly may still speak to her fans' angst, but the rabid crowd sounds far more invested in their dancing feet.

The smartest move the set makes is giving those feet plenty of time to move. This isn't a mere album copy put on a stage. Tracks are routinely stretched into delirious plus-sized jams. Give them a bridge and Nelly's crack backing crew will milk it. "Do It" is modern pop-hop by way of Stevie Wonder, an utterly addictive blend of sultry vocal hooks and funked out keyboards. "Say It Right" is spacey and modern, an anthem masquerading as a seductress (or is it the other way around?). And this version of "Promiscuous" is simply great bang for the buck. Clocking in at nearly seven minutes, it mines that song's rich seams of driving rhythm and give-and-take melody. Unlike so many of her colleagues, Furtado seems to realize that even glossy pop should be given some space to stretch. What's the point of building such tasty beats if you don't ride them a little?

By Jake Blaine