Dilemma (Nelly song)
"Dilemma" is a song by American rapper Nelly featuring American singer Kelly Rowland. It was released on June 25, 2002, as the second single from the former's second studio album, Nellyville (2002). The song also appeared on Rowland's debut solo studio album, Simply Deep (2002). A pop and R&B ballad, the song consists of a high-pitched intonation and call and response, and contains a sample of Patti LaBelle's 1983 song "Love, Need and Want You". The lyrics describe a man infatuated with a woman committed in an existing relationship. "Dilemma" was written by Nelly, Antoine "Bam" Macon and Ryan Bowser, alongside the "Love, Need and Want You" writers, Kenneth Gamble and Bunny Sigler.
"Dilemma"
- "Kings Highway"
- "Put Your Hands Up"
June 25, 2002
4:49
- Nelly
- Antoine "Bam" Macon
- Ryan Bowser
- Kenneth Gamble
- Bunny Sigler
- Macon
- Bowser
"Dilemma" received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who praised the duet's emotional balance. It peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 for 10 non-consecutive weeks, after it replaced Nelly's previous single "Hot in Herre" on the chart. The song also topped the charts in the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, and Germany. "Dilemma" won an award for Best Rap/Sung Performance and was nominated for Record of the Year at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards. An accompanying music video was directed by Benny Boom and released in September 2002. It was filmed on Colonial Street with appearances by Larry Hughes and Patti LaBelle, and depicts Nelly attracted towards his new neighbor Rowland despite the latter being in a relationship.
Background and release[edit]
American producer Ryan Bowser created an instrumental which sampled and contained elements from Patti LaBelle's 1983 song "Love, Need and Want You", written by Kenneth Gamble and Bunny Sigler. Upon hearing the beat given to him by St. Louis producer Antoine "Bam" Macon, Nelly began writing lyrics for the track. He decided to include "Dilemma" as a last-minute addition on his second studio album Nellyville (2002), which was completed prior to Bam giving him the track. Once Nelly returned to the studio to record "Dilemma", he changed his vision to include a female vocalist. Nelly instantly thought of Destiny's Child member Kelly Rowland, whom he met during the Total Request Live (TRL) tour in 2001, and was encouraged by his sister to include her on the song. He called Rowland on the phone, who agreed to record the track. After a few days of recording, during which she re-recorded her part many times to achieve it "just right", "Dilemma" was completed.[1][2]
Once Nellyville was released in June 2002,[3] radio disc jockeys in the United States started playing "Dilemma".[4] In July 2002, the track reached number eight of the Billboard Hot 100, after it charted at number 27 the previous week.[5] This prompted Nelly to release the song as the album's second single although it was not the original plan.[4] The decision affected the timetable for each Destiny's Child member since they were on hiatus and were expected to release a solo studio album. As part of their strategy, each of them were to be staggered, with member Beyoncé releasing one in October 2002, and Rowland's album expected in early 2003. Their management rescheduled the dates: Rowland released her debut solo album Simply Deep on October 28, 2002, which caused Beyoncé to delay her eventual album Dangerously in Love to June 2003.[3][5]
Composition[edit]
Musically, "Dilemma" is a pop[6] and R&B[7][8][9] ballad.[10][11][12] The "high-pitched intonation" used in the introduction prior to Rowland's vocals about "loving and needing Nelly" was initially rumored to be created on the Roland M-DC1 in 1995 as "Aaaah! (169)", which is used in over 135 songs. Bowser denied using the sample, insisting that he created the sound while experimenting with different vocal techniques. During the song's progression, the sound mellows as the production is "fleshed-out".[13] Nelly raps during each verse while Rowland performs a "twinkling nursery-rhyme chorus".[14][15] "Dilemma" is centered on Rowland's hook, "No matter what I do / All I think about is you / Even when I'm with my boo / Boy, you know I'm crazy over you",[2] as Nelly responds with the line, "Check it, check it, check it, uh".[16] The lyrics describe the love a man has for a woman committed in an existing relationship,[17][18] the latter who is conflicted about abandoning.[19] James Hannaham of The Village Voice additionally wrote that it is "an infidelity ballad" which combines mack daddy content with TRL.[11]
Critical reception[edit]
AllMusic reviewer Jason Birchmeier noted that "Dilemma" is one of "three well-calculated, standout" tracks in the album.[20] Vice writer Ryan Bassil opined that the song is "the best R&B duet of the modern age" in comparison to Jay-Z's 2002 song "'03 Bonnie & Clyde", stating that it had soul, passion, and feeling.[7] In her review for Simply Deep, Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian wrote that it "practically peeled off its clothes on the spot",[21] and Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club commented that it "navigates the fine line separating sweet from saccharine".[6] Spin staff member Andrew Unterberger called "Dilemma" a "puppy-love duet",[22] while Blender staff described the song as a "capable ballad".[10] However, Soren Baker of the Chicago Tribune stated that the "pseudo-ballad" lacked spunk and was "hardly worth the bother".[12] Writing for The Washington Post, Arion Berger critiqued that the "neo-R&B" song was a "requisite lull" in his review of Nellyville.[8]
"Dilemma" won a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Performance at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards on February 23, 2003.[23]
Commercial performance[edit]
"Dilemma" debuted on several Billboard charts on the week of July 6, 2002, at numbers 66 and 63 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay charts respectively.[24] The next week, it debuted at number 51 on the Radio Songs chart, as well as at number 53 on the Hot 100 during the same week.[25] After four weeks, on the issue dated August 17, 2002, "Dilemma" peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, where it stayed there for 10 weeks and remained on the chart for 29 weeks.[26][27] With this song, Nelly replaced himself from the top of the chart, as his previous single "Hot In Herre" dropped to number two while "Dilemma" ascended from number two to number one.[28] This surprised Nelly's record label, as they did not expect the song to instantly become popular and did not film a music video during its release.[29] "Dilemma" topped the Mainstream Top 40 chart on the week of September 21, 2002.[30] The song was ranked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 decade-end list from 2000 to 2009,[31] and placed at the number 75 position on the listicle of all-time songs to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.[32]
On the UK Singles Chart dated October 26, 2002, "Dilemma" topped the chart, where it remained at the position for two weeks, before charting for 24 total weeks.[33] The song sold 208,000 copies in the first week and 129,000 copies the following week, which prevented Justin Timberlake's 2002 debut solo single "Like I Love You" from the number one position. It was the fourth-best selling single in the United Kingdom in 2002, and was the 23rd highest-selling single in the country from 2000 to 2009.[34] As of October 2016, "Dilemma" is the most successful song in both Nelly and Rowland's discographies.[35] As of February 2021, the song has sold over 7 million copies worldwide.[36]
Cover version and in popular culture[edit]
Japanese singer-songwriter Riri performed a cover of "Dilemma", which was included on her third extended play Summertime (2019).[56] It featured Japanese rapper JP the Wavy, and was produced by DJ Chari and DJ Tatsuki, with the beat created by Zot on the Wave & Lil' Yukich.[57] The song debuted at number one on the Japanese iTunes hip-hop chart.[58] Both artists were familiar with the original song in their youth and decided to create a reinterpretation of it.[57]
On the episode of Lip Sync Battle dated January 14, 2016, American actress Olivia Munn performed a lip sync of "Dilemma" while competing against actor Kevin Hart. Munn initially imitated Nelly's appearance by wearing a hat, bandana, and band-aid, but removed the accessories in order to portray Rowland.[59] During season 21 of The Voice in the episode aired on October 12, 2021, two contestants on coach Ariana Grande's team competed in a cover performance of the song during the Battles round, which was positively received by the four coaches.[60]
Credits adapted from the back cover of "Dilemma".[66]