The release of Kelly’s third album Here I Am was delayed to November that year in the UK (compared to July elsewhere) to coincide with her judging duties on The X Factor, making Down For Whatever the record’s trailer single.
MORE: View Kelly Rowland's Official UK Chart history in full 7. It’s one of the few songs in Kelly’s singles catalogue that could easily be mistaken for a Destiny’s Child song – something that probably helped it become one of her highest-charting hits. Kelly had some heavyweight R&B talent behind it, co-written and produced by Sean Garrett and Polow da Don (Beyoncé, Usher, Nicki Minaj). The lead single from Kelly’s second album Ms. While it wasn’t pushed in the UK and thus failed to chart, that didn’t stop it gaining a following - it’s Kelly’s third most-streamed song with 10.5 million plays. Released just a month after What A Feeling, Motivation – a seriously sultry R&B number - was aimed more at the US market, where it became her highest-charting single in nine years and was nominated for a Grammy. This collaboration with Italian DJ Alex Gaudino is essentially a re-tread of the vibrant house-pop she’d been releasing ad-hoc since 2009, but given it’s a sound that suits her so well, it’s no bad thing. Kelly shouldn't have to rot away in jail just because the government doesn't want their witnesses to spend a short time in quarantine," but even if Leinenweber conceded, Kelly was ordered to be held without bond over his New York charges, so he wouldn't be released anyway.Back in 2011, Kelly's music was swerving between US-friendly R&B and dance, having recently been appointed the queen of club 18-30 Euro-pop.
US District Judge Harry Leinenweber agreed, concluding (via the Chicago Tribune) that "physically, it seems to be virtually impossible to proceed to trial in October." Kelly's lawyer, Steve Greenberg, argued that "Mr. They also argued (via the Chicago Sun-Times) that the trial "would draw 34 or 36 people to a courtroom, not counting spectators" and that the risks were too high. Prosecutors petitioned the court to postpone his hearing, noting the difficulty of keeping everyone safe as they planned to call 50 witnesses, 12-13 of which would have to travel in from a different state, including 8-9 of whom would be coming in from states on Chicago's coronavirus quarantine list. When they do this, inmates don't get their commissary, they don't get their shower, stuff like that and since they're fairly sporadic anyway, they get upset," he said, concluding, "So they're penalizing everyone in the facility because people are protesting in support of Kelly."Ĭome August, jury trials had resumed in Chicago, but if Kelly was hopeful he'd keep his court date, he was wrong. Kelly protest outside of the jail, they lock down the entire facility. Explaining the root of the altercation, he added, "My understanding is, every time there is a pro-R. "That's the only place they can protect him," Greenberg later told Page Six. Instead, MCC decided to put Kelly in solitary confinement. "We should not incarcerate people indefinitely because we cannot provide them with due process!" The government cannot ensure his safety, and they cannot give him his day in court," he argued. Kelly called," he tweeted, adding, "Regardless, it is time to release Mr. "We have not been provided any information from the jail, nor has Mr. Kelly's lawyer, Steve Greenberg, wasted no time using the attack as a reason to ask for his client's release. He was charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse against four women (including three minors) and was released on $100,000 bail. Kelly followed, and, as Billboard notes, Kelly was arrested in February 2019. Insufficient evidence resulted in his walking free, and it wasn't until a 2017 Buzzfeed feature alleged Kelly of running a sex "cult" that more women began to come forward. In 1996, he was sued by Tiffany Hawkins, who dated Kelly when she was 15 and alleged "personal injuries and emotional distress." In the early 2000s, the singer was sued by three more women, and in 2002, he was slapped with 21 counts of making child pornography, followed by 12 more charges and an arrest in Florida. Kelly has been battling sexual misconduct allegations since the '90s, but it wasn't until 2019 that the "I Believe I Can Fly Singer" was placed behind bars to await a trial that, as of November 2020, has yet to happen.Īs the BBC reports, Kelly's questionable behavior began in 1994 when, at the age of 27, he married a 15-year-old Aaliyah.