Nelly featuring Justin Timberlake 'Work It'

Chart Peak: 7
YouTube

Back when I started this album in November 2015, you might recall that Justin Timberlake and Nelly were right next to each other as tracks 2 and 3 on Disc One, with tracks that were the Top 2 singles for a week in 2002. Here at the exact midpoint of Disc Two, they're even closer together on the same record and in a moderately entertaining coincidence, this entered at 7 in a week when Timberlake had a solo hit at 8. It was a week when we were looking to see whether Eminem would manage the rare-at-the-time feat of two simultaneous Top 10 singles: he didn't but Timberlake managed to sneak in almost unnoticed.

Funny that the subjects of "moderately entertaining" and "almost unnoticed" have cropped up because they pretty much define this track, which at best does exactly what you'd expect. It wasn't their first time together as Nelly also guested on late N-Sync hit 'Girlfriend' and he carved out a big niche for himself as a rapper either unconcerned with being credible or unaware that he wasn't, and thus willing to front pop/dance oriented tracks his peers might consider a sellout. That's probably why his career has never entirely recovered from the emergence of Flo Rida, but that's another story.

Here in 2003 both were doubtless only too happy to add to their hits with this rather by-numbers collaboration, although in the event this didn't do much in the US (it was outcharted there by the unappealingly-titled follow-up 'Pimp Juice'). They probably even enjoyed going to the Playboy Mansion to film the video, and as far as I'm concerned they're welcome to that. Some people were apparently impressed by a remix which plays the vocals over the riff from 'Back In Black' by AC/DC though this was inevitably denied commercial release. And I'm not sure it's even in time but I can't say I blame Jason Nevins for being reluctant to listen to the original track often.

Nelly also appears on: Now 47, 49 [with City Spud], 52, 59, 60 [with Tim McGraw], 61, 77, 85, 95 [with Cash Cash & Digital Farm Animals]
Justin Timberlake also appears on: Now 55, 56, 57, 65, 66, 67, 85, 94
Available on: Nellyville

Nelly featuring Kelly Rowland 'Dilemma'

Chart Peak: 1 [2 weeks]
YouTube

This collaboration between Nelly, the hot rapper from St Louis and the hot chanteuse Kelly Rowland from Destiny's Child is already recognised as one of the best black pop records of recent years... 'Dilemma' has also been the most successful commercial single in Britain in the last 6 months with sales of 750,000 units.

Yes, it really does say "black pop records". Is that actually a thing people say? If anyone ever asks you who was the first member of Destiny's Child to top the chart outside the group, remember this record which supposedly became a surprise US airplay hit before they'd even decided to release it as a single though one wonders where broadcasters got the radio edit from. It is evidently true though that the single had made it to the top of the Billboard chart before the video was ready which might be why they rushed it and made that infamous blooper with the text message in Microsoft Excel. Perhaps most dramatically of all, the success of this persuaded Destiny's Child manager Matthew Knowles to prioritise Rowland's solo career of that of his daughter Beyoncé during a group hiatus.

As a record in its own right, Dilemma is a bit of a strange beast, a very obvious attempt at a crossover RnB hit that seems to lack the courage of its own convictions as Nelly keeps dropping in shout-outs to the various coasts in a song that's supposed to be about him having it off with a woman who's already attached. It kind of spoils the mood a bit for me but presumably for some people it made it acceptable for the them to listen to a ballad and helped the song to sell very well but 2002 standards, as well as keeping the much-anticipated Justin Timberlake track off the top.

Nelly also appears on: Now 47, 49 [with City Spud], 52, 59, 60 [with Tim McGraw], 61, 77, 85
Kelly Rowland also appears on: Now 69, 73 [with David Guetta]
Available on: Now That's What I Call Feel Good