Judge clears R. Kelly for five-city tour
Multimillion-selling R&B; musician R. Kelly will be allowed to leave Illinois for his most extensive out-of-state trip since being indicted last year on 21 counts of child pornography.
A judge in Cook County, who must OK any of Kelly’s trips outside the state, on Monday approved the singer’s proposed itinerary for a five-city, headlining concert tour that starts Aug. 15 in Oakland and includes an Aug. 16 date at the Forum in Inglewood. The other stops are Washington, D.C., New York City and Atlanta.
Kelly also has been given permission to appear Saturday at the Aladdin hotel in Las Vegas, his business manager Derrell McDavid said Tuesday.
Kelly has been free on bond after being indicted in June 2002 on child pornography charges, stemming from a video purportedly showing him having sex with an underage girl.
At first it appeared the scandal would scuttle his career.
But Kelly’s latest solo album, “Chocolate Factory,” debuted at No. 1 in February, selling 532,000 copies in its first week. It has now sold 2 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan, and is No. 27 this week on Billboard’s pop album chart.
His single “Ignition” remains in the Top 30 after six months on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.
Kelly is scheduled to return to court Sept. 26 for a status conference, McDavid said.
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