In 2002, Nelly and Kelly Rowland released their smash hit Dilemma.
The song was an instant success and became a classic duet that people still love to this day.
In 2009, Nelly and Kelly collaborated on a sequel to the song called Gone.
But the newer track was not met with the same kind of worldwide recognition that the first one had.
Nelly And Kelly Rowland’s Epic Reunion
And it wasn’t until 22 years after Dilemma came out that the two artists finally got back on stage together again.
PEOPLE reported that the iconic duo were brought back together at the 2024 Baby2Baby Gala event in L.A.
Baby2Baby is a nonprofit that helps children in poverty all over the U.S. by supplying them with things like clothes, diapers, and other helpful items.
Nelly was invited to perform, and at one point in his show, he welcomed Kelly onto the stage.
According to the Brooklyn Paper, Kelly is a Baby2Baby board member and has been helping the charity organization for a while now.
Nelly went into full-flattery mode, calling Kelly an angel and saying that since he had a Baby2Baby representative, he thought that he’d take advantage of a performance opportunity.
He said: “I think it’s only right since I had this request from everybody that, you know, we work some magic.”
He then thanked Kelly for joining him on stage and making ‘this’ happen one more time.
Celebrities Present For Nelly And Kelly’s Legendary Performance
Nelly queued to the DJ that he wanted the music to come on, and sure enough, the opening tracks of Dilemma started and the audience began screaming with excitement.
Celebrities like Chrissy Teigen and Jenna Dewan were among many of the people there to quickly take out their phones and record the legendary reunion for their social media.
Other famous stars in attendance at the event included Katy Perry, Jessica Alba, Heidi Klum, Ciara, Jennifer Garner, Anna Kendrick, Paris Hilton, and Nicole Richie.
Someone who received special recognition at the Gala was Charlize Theron.
She was awarded the Giving Tree Award for the work that she’d done to prevent HIV and gender-based violence as well as fighting for LGBTQ+ rights.
The attendees were treated to the special performance by Nelly and Kelly and their reunion made global headlines.
The Success Of Nelly and Kelly’s Hit Song ‘Dilemma’
Their song Dilemma came from Nelly’s sophomore album Nellyville, and it spent ten non-consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 over the summer of 2002.
It even overtook his previous smash hit single from the same album, Hot In Herre.
The popular track was nominated for Record of the Year at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards, and it ended up winning the award for Best Rap/Sung Performance.
The song contains a sample from Love, Need and Want You, a song that Patti LaBelle released in 1983.
The veteran singer even featured in the Dilemma music video.
What’s Nelly Up To These Days?
A lot has changed for Nelly and Kelly since they dropped the successful single all those years ago.
Nelly recently became a dad for the 5th time.
It was only a year after Dilemma came out that he started dating Ashanti.
They broke up after being together for ten years, but the world was excited to see them spinning the block in 2023.
In July 2024, Ashanti gave birth to their son, Kareem Kenkaide Haynes.
According to an interview Ashanti had with Entertainment Tonight, Nelly has been doing a great job of parenting so far.
She claimed that he had no trouble getting their baby to stop crying and fall asleep, just by singing a song to soothe him while cradling him in his arms.
ET interviewer Deidre Behar couldn’t resist asking Ashanti if her partner sang one of his own songs to get their little boy to calm down and drift off, but it turns out that he was using a sweet old lullaby that Ashanti had never heard of.
Nelly reportedly almost missed the birth of their son because he came earlier than they’d expected.
But the rapper knew that he had to be there, so he got the next available flight and luckily, he made it in time for the birth.
Why Was Nelly Arrested?
Though he’s had a lot of good news along the way, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing for Nelly.
He’s recently found himself facing a number of legal issues.
Just weeks after Kareem was born, Nelly was arrested at a casino in his hometown of St. Louis.
A report by PEOPLE claimed that he was arrested because of an outstanding warrant from 2023.
He was also allegedly in possession of an illegal substance.
NBC News revealed in November 2024 that Nelly wouldn’t be charged for the things he was arrested for months earlier.
A spokesperson for the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office released a statement which said: “We don’t believe the facts in this case warrant the issuing of charges.“
Around the time of the arrest, Nelly’s lawyer said that the officer searched his client even though he didn’t have probable cause to do so.
He also said if Nelly had been any other citizen, he would’ve just been told to handle the warrant issue and then allowed to go on his way.
Why Nelly Was Hit With $50 Million Dollar Lawsuit
Nelly’s legal headaches didn’t end there, though.
Rolling Stone published an article about how Nelly was hit with a $50 million dollar lawsuit in September 2024.
The lawsuit was supposedly filed by the members of his old group from Missouri, St. Lunatics.
They grew up in St. Louis together, and many of them even went to the same high school as Nelly, which, according to him, is how the group first got together.
Each of them worked with Nelly on his popular debut album, Country Grammar.
And though they received credit on some tracks, they reportedly didn’t get the proper credit they deserved on other tracks of the album, which meant that they wouldn’t have received royalties for them either.
The lawsuit was a pretty big scandal when it first came out, but just a few weeks later, Billboard reported that 3 of the 4 ex-bandmates claimed that they weren’t involved.
They came out and said that they never wanted to be part of the lawsuit, and that they’d never authorized the lawyer responsible for the case to include them as plaintiffs.
Without those three crew members, the lawsuit would be just between Nelly and the remaining member, Ali Jones.
The Evolution Of Kelly Rowland
Kelly has also come a long way since 2002.
In a recent interview with Afrotech, she looked at how much she’d grown and how much she’d learned as an entrepreneur and businessperson.
At the age of 20, she was already a millionaire, but knowing how to use her fortune was not something that came easily to her.
She admitted to spending carelessly on designer brands, making poor investments, and watching her money circle down the drain at times.
Kelly said: “If I had known at 19 what I know now, it would be so much different, just to say the least.”
The singer attracted a lot of media attention when she and her friend Beyonce attended Kamala Harris’ campaign rally in Houston, per Harper’s Bazaar.
Why Kelly Rowland Received Backlash
But instead of focusing on the political messages the women were there to talk about, news outlets highlighted what they were wearing.
Beyonce wore a black blazer dress with ‘an exaggerated hourglass silhouette.’
Kelly, on the other hand, wore an oversized suit.
These outfits led to yet another online debate, which was all about how celebrities are sometimes treated differently based on what they look like.
The Root reported that people online started arguing about Kelly’s outfit and what it represented.
Some Twitter users claimed that Kelly was made to look more masculine for the event.
They thought that this happened because of her darker skin tone.
Beyonce, on the other hand, was allowed to look more feminine.
Conspiracy Theories About Kelly Rowland And Beyonce
This led to a bunch of conspiracy theories.
One person suggested that Kelly had been used as a prop throughout Beyonce‘s whole solo career.
They said that she should be tired of looking like a fool.
However, an article by Ebony pointed out that over the years, Kelly has worn lots of oversized suits to high-fashion events and red carpets.
The article suggested that the issue around Kelly’s suit wasn’t really about colorism.
It was more about how society is always pitting two women against each other, instead of supporting and lifting women up.
