R. Kelly’s ‘Chocolate Factory’ debuts at top of charts

February 27, 2003

NEW YORK (AP) — R. Kelly’s new album has debuted at the top of the charts despite child pornography charges against him.
Kelly’s disc “Chocolate Factory” sold about 532,000 copies for the week ending Sunday, according to industry figures released on Wednesday.
It’s the R&B singer’s first disc since his arrest last year for allegedly videotaping himself having sex with an underage girl. Kelly has denied the charges, and they haven’t hindered his popularity so far; the first single from the album, “Ignition,” is at No. 12 on the Billboard charts.
“Chocolate Factory” is Kelly’s third album to debut at No. 1, according to his label, Jive Records.
Kelly knocked rapper 50 Cent out of the top spot. Although 50 Cent’s album “Get Rich or Die Tryin'” is no longer No. 1, it still managed to sell 520,000 copies in just its second full week of release; it’s sold 2.2 million copies within three weeks.

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