R. Kelly may be ostracized and repudiated throughout most of America, including in his own hometown of Chicago, but the 51-year-old “Step in the Name of Love” singer is betting he can regenerate his music career overseas.
Kelly, whose career has been circling the commode ever since the airing of Lifetime’s thunderclap of a docu-series “Surviving R. Kelly” one month ago, has announced tour dates about as far as geographically possible from the United States: Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka.
No tour dates or details have been provided to the masses yet. However, the promoter is a Melbourne, Australia-based entertainment company called Flamingo Dreamz. In the past, Dreamz has promoted tours by the likes of Ja Rule (who was engulfed in the disastrous 2017 Fyre Festival scandal), singer Ciara, rapper Twista and DJ Erick Morillo. Kelly also has two tour dates scheduled in Germany in April.
Despite the blizzard of gross sexual impropriety accusations that have been leveled against R. Kelly in “Surviving R. Kelly,” the “Bump N Grind” crooner has never been convicted of a crime and he has always adamantly maintained his innocence.
Kelly was, however, indicted on child pornography in 2000 after a video leaked online that allegedly showed the singer having sex with – and urinated on – an ” underage teenage girl. But when the girl refused to testify, he was acquitted in 2008.
The docuseries “Surviving R. Kelly” made so much noise that it forced his record label, RCA/Sony, to drop him from their roster in January. Many celebrities have either spoken out against Kelly recently, snatched down their collaborative songs with him from streaming services, or have refused to work with him in the future. Moreover, the Philadelphia City Council just passed a resolution, symbolically barring Kelly from the City of Brotherly Love.
If that was not enough, the majority of Kelly’s concerts in the U.S. the past couple of years, have been canceled due to public backlash and lack of fan interest.
