Celebs weigh in on best songs of 2025 at Nelly Ball

(16 Dec 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
St. Louis - 14 December 2025
1. Nelly, Ashanti and their families pose for pictures on the carpet.
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Ashanti, Grammy Award-winning artist:
(Upsound: Now last year I asked you and Nelly what was the song of the year and you and Nelly told me you have been in club baby wipes and listening to a lot of baby songs. So I have to ask you are we still in club baby wipes?)
"We are not in club baby wipes but we're definitely in club stay up all night..KK was partying with, what were we watching, Mickey Mouse in the Clubhouse till like five in the morning. "
(Upsound: So that's the song of the year this year?)
"The song of the year is we're walking and running down the halls and staying up late."
(Upsound: I love that, good to see you.")
3. Nelly's family talking to reporters on the carpet.
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Nelly, Grammy Award-winning artist:
"I get no choice in it.. I get no say in the music. But he's great, he's Bluey, he's a little bit of everything."
++BLACK FRAMES++
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Nelly, Grammy Award-winning artist:
"There's an Earth Wind and Fire song that comes on and for some reason he gets to bouncing. But it's good, he's good, he definitely has a musical ear."
6. Nelly and Ashanti posing together
7.SOUNDBITE (English) Blanco Brown, artist, songwriter, and producer:
(Upsound: What was the song of the year for you, favorite song of the year, the song that you couldn't turn off)
"I can't tell you for real for real, I've been working on my own stuff lately. Three new songs and a whole new project so I've just been diving into that, trying to make sure I make the best things and using my purpose wisely."
8. Shot of Nelly and Jermaine Dupri taking a photo.
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Jermaine Dupri, Grammy Award-winning artist, songwriter, and producer:
(Upsound: I asked you this last year about song of the year and last year you said Muni Long, what is the song of the year for you this year?"
"Song of the year for this year I think is Kehlani- Folded."
10. Ashanti talking to a reporter
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Madison Rian, Model:
"My favorite song of the year...I love timeless music personally. Dang, that's hard."
(Upsound: When you get in the car right now when are you like 'Put this on'?)
"Big X The Plug, I love Big X."
12. Nelly walks up to Jermaine Dupri during an interview
STORYLINE:
St. Louis’s Four Seasons Hotel glittered in monochrome splendor on Sunday as hometown star Nelly hosted the annual Black and White Ball, drawing celebrities from Ashanti and Busta Rhymes to Metro Boomin and Jackie Joyner-Kersee. Here artists made their way down the white carpet and shared their favorite songs of the year with The Associated Press.

"Song of the year for this year I think is Kehlani, Folded," Jermaine Dupri, Grammy Award-winning artist, songwriter, and producer, said.

The ball, which benefits Make-A-Wish Missouri Kansas and Harris-Stowe State University scholarships, featured a live wish grant for 4-year-old Elijah Gilligan—headed to Disney World with his family—and a surprise four-year, full-ride scholarship for student Te’Ron Moore, complete with a laptop, iPad and dorm essentials from Walmart. In gratitude for his longstanding support, Make-A-Wish presented Nelly with its Wish Icon Award, while Olympic legend Joyner-Kersee received the evening’s “Black and White Ball Legend Award.”

Nelly also used the stage to unveil an upcoming St. Lunatics album executive produced by Metro Boomin, set for release in 2026.


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