Thursday, Aug. 19 — Nelly

Grandstand Entertainment Thursday, August 19 Nelly

Nelly has been active in the music industry since the early 1990s, but found mainstream success as a solo artist

in 2000. (Courtesy photos)

Nelly taking the stage in Lynden

Rapper making way to Whatcom County

technically got started in 1993, but Nelly’s solo career took off in 2000 with his debut album “Country Grammar” dropping and debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and peaked at No. 1. The album was certified 9x platinum in 2004 and he was a special guest at the Super Bowl XXXV halftime show.

Nelly’s career has spanned two decades and hasn’t quite slowed down as he’ll be hitting the grandstand stage at the Northwest Washington Fair for a performance on Thursday, Aug. 19, a performance originally scheduled for 2020.

He followed up his

debut album, his best selling album to date, with “Nellyville” in 2002 which has sold more than 7.6 million records worldwide. The album would have two No. 1 hits with “Hot in Herre” and “Dilemma” which featured Kelly Rowland. Both singles received Grammy nominations and would go on to win the award.

Nelly found continued success in 2004 per-

Aside from music, Nelly has appeared in both movies and television. (Courtesy photos) forming on the Super Bowl stage again with Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake, P. Diddy, Kid Rock and Jessica Simpson. Later that year, he released two albums, “Sweat” and “Suit”, with the former debuting at No. 2 and “Suit” at No. 1. It was “Suit” where fans got a first taste of what would come later in Nelly’s career in crossover hits with the song “Over and Over Again” which featured country artist Tim McGraw. Of recent memory, his 2010 album “5.0” featured the single “Just a Dream” which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is his highest charting song since “Grillz” in 2005. A remix to country music duo Florida Georgia Line’s song “Cruise” featuring Nelly was released in 2013, marking another country-rap collaboration for the rapper. Nelly released another album, “M.O.” in 2013 and took further dives into country sounds linking up with Florida Georgia Line once again in 2020 with the song “Lil Bit”. He also made appearances on remixes of country singer Kane Brown’s song “Cool Again” and Brett Kissel’s “She Drives Me Crazy”. “Lil Bit” is set to be featured on an upcoming country-influenced EP titled “The Heartland”.

In addition to his long lasting music career, Nelly has also made splashes in film and television with his film debut coming in 2001 in the independent film “Snipes”. His biggest film role to date was in the 2005 remake of “The Longest Yard” which starred Adam Sandler. The movie’s soundtrack also featured Nelly’s songs “Errtime” and “Fly Away”.

His television credits include appearances on “CSI: NY”, “90210” and a recurring role on the parody show “Real Husbands of Hollywood”. He was also a contestant on “Dancing With The Stars” in 2020.

Tickets for Nelly at the Northwest Washington Fair in Lynden are available now. VIP and preferred seating for the show is sold out, but reserved seating is still available for $35. Gate admission to the fair is not included with grandstand tickets, but is required for entry. VIP tickets do include gate admission. - Hailey Palmer