Nelly and Kelly Rowland are in the exclusive Billion Views Club.
“Dilemma,” the multiplatinum rapper’s No.1 collaboration with the Destiny’s Child singer has amassed more than 1 billion views on YouTube. The Grammy Award-winning duet topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 10 weeks in 2002.
The music video, helmed by Benny Boom, featured R&B icon Patti LaBelle playing Rowland’s mother. Produced by the Nimrods, the song was based on a sample of LaBelle’s 1984 classic “Love, Need and Want You,” written by Kenneth Gamble and Bunny Sigler.
“It is both humbling and what every artist hopes for, to see your work from 20 years ago still getting such love from fans old and new,” said Nelly (whose birth name is Cornell Haynes Jr.)
He added that it’s...
“super dope that a song made before YouTube existed is getting so much support now,” and declared, “Shout out to Nelly fans and to my girl Kelly Rowland who helped make this song a hit when we made it and still a hit today!”
“Dilemma” replaced Nelly’s own “Hot in Herre” at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
It’s more difficult for music videos that were released before YouTube existed (before 2005) — to reach a billion views. Michael Jackson, a-ha, Guns N’ Roses, Nirvana, Whitney Houston, Queen and Linkin Park are among the few.
Proving to have staying power, Nelly is currently on the pop charts with the song “Lil Bit,” a collaboration with his pals Florida Georgia Line. The St. Louis native us working on a country-inspired album called “Heartland” expected out this summer.