NELLY FURTADO URGES YOUNG STARS TO WRITE

Nelly Furtado is urging aspiring pop stars to write their own music because too many youngsters are convinced they can simply sing their way to the top of the charts.

The Maneater hitmaker is adamant it takes more than a good voice and a pretty face to make a star, but she fears too many wannabes are abandoning songwriting because it feels like "hard work".

And she is appealing to young stars not to squander their talents.

She tells the 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. 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."