Guilty Pleasures: R. Kelly (really -- it's OK to like him!)

Sure there are plenty of reasons to loathe The King of R&B, besides just not liking his music and his sometimes questionable hair styles. Robert Sylvester Kelly, 41, is not only infamous for his explicitly sexual songs like "Bump N' Grind," and "Ignition (Remix)," but also for his real life perversions including marrying then-15-year-old singer Aaliayh (he was 27 and she lied on the marriage license saying she was 18). Most horrifically, he's currently facing 14 counts for soliciting a minor for child pornography, videotaping the acts and producing child porn. His trail begins May 9 and as of now, both R.Kelly and the alleged victim deny they are the people in the tape.

You must think I'm terrible for continuing...but I like the guy. And before you get your panties in a bunch, he has sold over 50 million albums, so other people like him, too! Word on the Internet is he's coming out with a new album this summer! So if you can bear with me and set aside your disgust for a moment (hey, people cut Woody Allen some slack), I'd love to share with you 10 reasons that make it OK to like R.Kelly.

1) Besides his explicit songs, Kelly has made many inspirational hits like his Grammy Award nominated duet with Celine Dion, "I'm Your Angel," and my personal favorite, "Step in the Name of Love." Michael Jordan asked him to write "I Believe I Can Fly," for the Space Jam soundtrack, and it became his biggest hit to date. When he performed it at the 1997 Grammy's he received a standing ovation!

2) The dude somehow conned the music industry into letting him make 22 episodes of hilarious rap soap opera "Trapped in the Closet," where he sings the dialogue the characters-male and female-and there is no real song or chorus involved whatsoever. He says more installments are on the way. If this alone doesn't make him some kind of genius I don't know what does.

3) His infectious hooks were the selling points on hits that would have otherwise been blah singles by The Notorious B.I.G., Nas, Diddy and Jay-Z.

4) He produced an album called Body Kiss by a little band called The Isley Brothers-it became their first album to ever debut at #1 on Billboard. Can you say, magic touch?

5) He has produced major hits for other artists including Aaliyah's triple platinum debut album. Okay, so maybe he was hooking up with her at the time, but had it not been for this dude the world may never have been introduced to one of my hands-down favorite artists ever. So, I owe him one. He also did the remix for Janet Jackson's "Any Time, Any Place" (tell me you didn't love that song!) and wrote/co-produced Michael Jackson's "You Are Not Alone."

6) The dude has no shame, making comments like, "I'm the Ali of today. I'm the Marvin Gaye of today. I'm the Bob Marley of today. I'm the Martin Luther King, or all the other greats that have come before us. And a lot of people are starting to realize that now." Gotta love anyone with an ego that big.

7) I've watched the hours slip away watching Kell's new YouTube channel and now you can too.

8) He just managed to make Mariah Carey's unstoppable new single "Touch My Body" even better with a remix.

9) He has released twelve albums and sold 15 million singles and more than 50 million albums worldwide. That's almost 40 million more than wholesome (and, um, boring) singer Josh Groban.

10) Despite legal troubles, his new album will be released this summer…and I'll be first in line to buy it.