Furtado: 'Songwriting is dying out'

Nelly Furtado has insisted that new artists should write their own music if they want to be taken seriously.

The 'Night Is Young' singer believes that too many up-and-coming singers rely on being discovered through YouTube and not on their songwriting talent.

Giving advice to aspiring singers, she told Associated Press: "Write your own songs - even if you don't end up using it, it shows you what you want to say and you get in touch with what you want to say and who you are as an artist.

"I think nowadays everybody feels like they can become a star just because they're on YouTube, but that's not the only part of the equation."

She added: "There's a lot of hard work that goes with it and if you don't have the chops to back it up, it's gonna to be more challenging later on."

The star also said that artists shouldn't compromise their style, admitting that she had to "fight" her label to wear clothes she felt comfortable in.

On filming the music video for her debut single 'I'm Like A Bird', she recalled: "I fought to wear those shell-toe Adidas runners and [to wear] my hair back and those hoop [earrings] and the big jeans - I had to fight for all those things.

"You have to brand your image and wear what you want to wear and feel how you want to feel because people are seeing you for the first time."

Furtado's Best Of LP is out now.