Nelly with 3OH!3, Sick Puppies, Cali Swag District, Big Reeno, and Dextrious

When, where: Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Spokane Arena, 720 W. Mallon Ave.

Tickets: $35 and $45, through TicketsWest, www.ticketswest.rdln.com

What do you do if you've gone from selling 8 million-plus records on your debut to a measly 250,000 five albums later?\

Well, if you're Nelly and you're losing your popularity the answer is clear: Round up as many big-name producers and guest artists as you can and make an unabashedly hip-pop album, with nearly as much singing as rapping, irresistible dance beats and a relentless swarm of catchy choruses.

When the St. Louis rap-singer released "Country Grammar" back in 2000, it was a commercial phenomenon, scoring three Grammy nominations, topping Billboard charts and receiving numerous accolades and awards.

One of the best-selling artists of any genre in the 2000s, Nelly continued to top charts throughout the decade, selling more than 30 million albums and tying Elton John for the most consecutive weeks at No. 1. In 2004 he dropped two album, "Sweat" and "Suit" and became the first artist in history to debut at No. 1 and No. 2 on the Billboard top 200.

But all that momentum slowed with his fifth album, 2008's "Brass Knuckles," which was a commercial failure by comparison, falling short of producing a No. 1 hit single.

Nelly returned triumphant last year with his latest studio set, "5.0."

Marking the 10th anniversary of "Country Grammar," "5.0" finds Nelly achieving his usual commercial success.

The album's leadoff platinum single, "Just a Dream,"  was No. 1 on iTunes' Top Hip-hop/Rap Songs chart, No. 2 on Billboard's Ringtones chart, No. 3 on Billboards Hot 100 and Digital Songs chart and clocked more than 15 million views on VEVO.

"5.0" -- actually Nelly's sixth album, the title is a reference to his beloved Ford Mustang -- features red-hot producers Jim Jonsin and Dr. Luke, and so many guest artists the album could almost be mistaken for a compilation, including T.I., T-Pain, Akon, Birdman, Keri Hilson, Kelly Rowland, DJ Khaled, Chris Brown, Bangladesh, Rico Love, Polow Da Don, and P. Diddy. 

Of the two songs with the word "gone" in the title, -- there's "Gone" and then there's "Long Gone" -- "Gone" reunites Nelly with Rowland and is the artist's self-described sequel to his "2002" hit duet with Rowland, "Dilemma." 

"5.0" makes another marketing maneuver by being released in multiple versions depending on where it's purchased. The "Deluxe" version at Wal-Mart contains three bonus tracks with guests Ali, Talib Kweli, Avery Storm and Dirty Money. And the Amazon version is different from the iTunes version.

But if Nelly does someday lose his knack for crafting a pop-hit, he has plenty to fall back on.

Beyond music, Nelly released a fitness DVD called "Celebrity Sweat" in September 2010, and his hugely successful Apple Bottoms clothing line for women has expanded to include fragrance, handbags and accessories, footwear, intimates, swimsuits, plus sizes, scrubs, sunglasses, optical, jewelry, girls wear, and infant apparel. In addition to recently acquiring the rights to the Troop clothing line, Nelly is the CEO of his own label, Derrty Ent., co-owner of the Charlotte Bobcats NBA expansion team, and founder of two non-profit organizations, 4Sho4Kids and Jes Us 4 Jackie.

A version of this story appeared in today's Spokesman-Review Newspaper.