R. Kelly announces 'Untitled' album release details

R. Kelly

Credit: Jive

The release date has been moved around a bit, but it seems R. Kelly has settled on Dec. 1 for his "Untitled" album to appear.

The set was recorded in Chicago and Atlanta, with producers Infinity, Lil Ronnie and Chris Henderson.

One slight albatross around the waist for its holiday arrival, however, is the less-that-number-one start of the set's first single, "Number One." The track made some impact on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, humping its way into the top 10, but it climaxed at No. 68 on The Hot 100.

Frankly, you're kind of asking for an uphill battle if you are R. Kelly and you name your track "Number One": 1) it looks bad if you don't actually make it to the top of the chart, a, erm, position you're familiar with and 2) many people may still associate you with a certain incident that involved peeing.

Still, he sings, "Having sex with you is like making hits... I'm in your mix like a number one record." Bless your heart, R. Kelly.

Jive hopes they'll have better luck with the second single "Religious," which is less heavy on the heavy-handed euphamisms and easier to listen to you.

You can hear "Religious" here, and to "Number One" featuring Keri Hilson here.

Meanwhile, Kelly just kicked off his Ladies Make Some Noise Tour, in which he references his friend Michael Jackson and does a mean Sam Cooke cover. Dates below.

    October 20                        Cincinnati, OH
    October 22-23                     Atlanta, GA
    October 24                        Charleston, SC
    October 25                        Augusta, GA
    October 27                        Birmingham, AL
    October 29                        Dallas, TX
    October 30                        Houston, TX
    October 31                        New Orleans, LA
    November 1                        Memphis, TN
    November 5                        Los Angeles, CA
    November 6                        Las Vegas, NV
    November 7                        Oakland, CA
    November 8                        Sacramento, CA
    November 12                       Columbus, OH
    November 13-18                    Detroit, MI
    November 15                       Milwaukee, WI
    November 17                       Chicago, IL
    November 20                       Louisville, KY
    November 21                       Charlotte, NC
    November 22                       Greensboro, NC
    November 24                       Washington, D.C.
    November 27                       Jacksonville, FL
    November 28                       Miami, FL
    November 29                       Tampa, FL
    December 4                        Norfolk, VA
    December 5                        Richmond, VA
    December 6                        Cleveland, OH
    December 8                        St. Louis, MO

Katie Hasty
Managing Editor

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After five years as a columnist and editor at Billboard, Katie Hasty joined HitFix in 2009 for music and film reporting out of New York. The Midwest native has worked as a writer, music promoter and in A&R since 1999 and performs with her band Numbers And Letters.