"Dilemma" is a song by the American rapper Nelly, duet with R&B singer Kelly Rowland. The single was released in 2002 from the album Nellyville. In the 50th Anniversary of the Hot 100 issue of Billboardmagazine, the song was ranked at number 64 on the all-time Hot 100 songs while at the end of 2009 was named the 11th most successful song from 2000 to 2009, on the BillboardHot 100 Songs of the Decade. The song won a Grammy Award for Best Collaboration at the 45th Grammy Awards.

St. Louis producer Bam handed Nelly a skeleton track which samples and contains elements from Patti LaBelle's "Love, Need and Want You" from her 1983 album I'm In Love Again. Upon hearing the beat, he began writing lyrics and then wrote a song out from it. Nelly decided to make the song a last-minute addition to his second album Nellyville, which had already been completed prior to Bam giving him the track.

Once Nelly returned to the studio to record the track, his vision changed, wanting to add a female vocal onto it. He instantly thought of girl group Destiny's Child member Kelly Rowland, whom he had met during the TRLtour in 2001. Nelly called Rowland by phone and agreed. After a few days of recording, during which Rowland rerecorded her part many times to achieve it "just right", "Dilemma" was completed.

Once Nellyvillewas released in the United States on June 25, 2002, radio programmers started playing "Dilemma". By July 2002, the track had reached the top ten of the Hot 100 based on airplay alone. This prompted Nelly to release it as the album's second single, although it was not the original plan. The single was released on July 30, 2002.

The decision affected the early plans for Destiny's Child members, whose members were held on hiatus to pursue solo album releases. As part of their strategy, each member's albums were to be staggered with member Beyoncé Knowles releasing in October 2002 and Rowland's album expected in early 2003. Their management rescheduled the dates: Rowland eventually released her debut solo album, Simply Deep, on October 28, 2002, ahead of the other two members of the group. "Dilemma" was released as the first single off the album, which served as a propeller for her solo career. "Dilemma" is Rowland's first international solo single away from the group: she had previously appeared on R&B singer Avant's single "Separated", which was released in the United States in July 2000.

"Dilemma" was generally well received by critics. Allmusic reviewer Jason Birchmeier noted it as one of the "three well-calculated, standout" tracks in the album. In her review for Simply Deep, Caroline Sullivan of The Guardianwrote: "Thanks to the ubiquitous Dilemma, a song that practically peeled off its clothes on the spot, Destiny's Child's Kelly Rowland is no longer a mere backing vocalist for Beyoncé Knowles."

"Dilemma" was nominated for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and Record of the Year at the Grammy Awards of 2003, winning the former.

The song was the 22nd best-selling single of the 2000 decade in UK.

The song appears on the game Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol.

The music video for "Dilemma" was filmed on Colonial Street, part of Universal Studios backlot. The same location is used during filming of Desperate Housewives. Nelly can actually be seen sitting on the stairs of the Johnson Home (which is Susan's house in the series), while Rowland arrives to, and sits at the stairs of, the Morrison Home. Delta House and Allison House (accordingly, on the show as Ida Greenberg's and the Solis family's houses) can be seen in the background during night shots of Rowland and Nelly dancing together. New York Knicks' guard Larry Hughes makes a cameo in the video as Rowland's boyfriend. Nelly's track "Nellyville" from the same album is played as the intro to the video during the first seconds.

Patti LaBelle also plays a part in the music video, as Rowland's mother.

The official remix is produced by Jermaine Dupri and features Kelly Rowland & Ali of the St. Lunatics. It is included in Nelly's remix album, "Da Derrty Versions: The Reinvention".

On December 16th, 2009 Nelly recorded a new track titled ‘Gone’ with Kelly Rowland which he dubbed "Dilemma Part 2" the sequel to the smash hit. The track is produced by Jim Jonsin and written by Rico Love and is intended to be put of Nelly's latest album.

It is the most successful song of Nelly's career, giving him his first number-one single in many countries, such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, The Netherlands, Switzerland.

The single became a hit in the late summer/early fall of 2002 in the US. Before "Hot In Herre" had even peaked on the charts, radio stations already began playing "Dilemma" in July 2002. It quickly climbed up the US charts and replaced "Hot in Herre" at number one after seven weeks on the Hot 100, giving Nelly his second consecutive number one from Nellyville. The song had already reached number one on the Hot 100 before a video was ever shot as Nelly's record label did not expect the song to explode so fast and expected they could take their time with the video.

These are the major formats for "Dilemma" :

US Vinyl, 12", Promo

UK Promo CD

UK Maxi-CD

UK Vinyl, 12"

Europe Single

Europe Maxi-CD

Europe Maxi-CD #2

The song has been a merengue version of the song in Spanish done by Papi Sanchez, under the title "Dilema". This version was released in March 2005 as second single form his album Enamorame. It was a minor hit in comparison with the original version.