“Throw the list out”: Internet reacts as Billboard list ranking R. Kelly the #9 'Best R&B Singer of All-Time' goes viral

Former American R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer R. Kelly ranked ninth on Billboard’s 75 Best R&B Artists of All Time list in June 2025. It was the website’s “special salute” to Black Music Month. Kelly’s 1996 hit Space Jam movie soundtrack, I Believe I Can Fly, was listed as the must-listen song.

Now, four months later, the ranking has gone viral on the social media platform X after the account @ReddCinema shared it on October 22, 2025.

“R. Kelly has been named the #9 'Best R&B Singer of All-Time' by Billboard staff,” the post was captioned alongside an image of the artist.

Social media users are now reacting to the trending post. One user named @deaf_bitcoin wrote in the comments:

“No Usher. Throw the list out!”

It is noteworthy that Usher was ranked #12 on the same list.

Regardless, here are some other reactions from X.

“There aren’t eight people, living or dead, who are better than R. Kelly in R&B,” a netizen wrote.

“We reject that billboard. Who is above R-Kelly?” another netizen asked.

“He is top 2 and he ain't 2... Just because he ain't the greatest person, you don't have to blatantly lie,” a fan wrote.

Others continued to chime in.

“I need to know if this is based on vocal abilities, written songs or the whole catalog???? His pen was mighty, so a 9 won’t do when it comes to writing/creating music. He’s definitely top 5!” another fan wrote.

“Stevie Wonder and Babyface are likely the only two people alive that has the catalog to compete with R. Kelly in R&B,” a person wrote.

“I really hate that R. Kelly turned out to be a weirdo. He was all my mama used to play growing up. The man can make great music,” wrote another.

As mentioned in the Billboard article, R. Kelly had a successful R&B career for over three decades. However, in 2022, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison for s*x trafficking, racketeering, and other abuse-related felonies, which in turn “tainted the singer’s legacy.”

“But from a purely musical perspective, there’s no denying that Kelly is one of the best contemporary R&B artists to ever pick up a microphone,” the description reads.

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A timeline of R. Kelly’s legal troubles

Over the decades, R. Kelly was accused of having inappropriate relationships with teenage girls, including marrying now-late singer Aaliyah in a secret ceremony in Chicago in 1994, when she was 15.

Later, in 1996, another singer named Tiffany Hawkins sued the King of R&B for “personal injuries and emotional distress” during their 3-year-long relationship, which lasted between her ages 15 to 18. The $10 million lawsuit was later settled for $250,000 in 1998, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

The BBC reported that R. Kelly was sued by a former intern at Epic Records named Tracy Sampson for initiating an alleged “indecent s*xual relationship” when she was 17 and treating her as his “personal s*x object.” The case was later settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.

In 2002, two more women sued the artist. Patrice Jones of Chicago accused him of impregnating her when she was a minor and forcing her to undergo an abortion. Likewise, Mortina Woods claimed Kelly made their s*x tape without consent/ knowledge and later circulated and sold it. Both lawsuits were later settled in exchange for NDAs.

That same year, the R&B singer was charged with 21 counts of making child s*xual abuse videos involving a single female victim, born in September 1984. However, R. Kelly later posted $750,000 bail and denied the charges during an MTV interview and later in court.

In 2008, the Chicago-based case went to trial. However, the jury declared him not guilty on all counts. Between 2002 and 2004, he faced 12 other counts of creating and circulating child abuse images in Florida.

While he was arrested, the case was later dismissed due to a lack of sufficient evidence. A 2017 Buzzfeed report accused R. Kelly of running a s*x cult with three ex-employees and parents of others accusing him of the same.

In 2018, several alleged victims, including Jerhonda Pace and Kitti Jones, accused Kelly of s*xual misconduct and later spoke with the press, which led to a BBC Three documentary. Around the same time, as part of the #MuteRKelly campaign, his lawyer, publicist, personal assistant, and several other employees left the artist. The campaign, which went viral, also called for his record label, RCA, to fire him.

A year later, another documentary titled "Surviving R. Kelly" was released by Lifetime, which led to his firing from his record company and the cancellation of his concerts.

Later, the 12 Play crooner was charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal s*xual abuse in Chicago, but pleaded innocent in a TV interview. Subsequently, 11 more charges of assault and abuse against a minor aged between 13 and 16 were also made against Kelly.

In mid-2019, he was indicted by federal prosecutors in Illinois and Brooklyn on s*x trafficking charges. Months later, he faced prostitution charges in Minnesota and was soon put behind bars, with repeated requests for bail being denied by the judges.

R. Kelly’s trial began in August 2021 in New York, where he was convicted on all nine counts after a month-long deliberation. In June of next year, the Grammy winner was sentenced to three decades in prison after being found guilty on eight counts of s*x trafficking and one count of racketeering.

Another federal trial in Chicago commenced in August 2022 on charges of child p*rnography and obstruction of justice. A month later, he was convicted of child s*xual abuse on 6 out of 13 counts, but acquitted of an obstruction of justice charge.

In February 2023, a Chicago court sentenced Kelly to 20 years in prison. However, the judge ruled that it would be combined with the 30 years of prison time he was already serving.

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Robert Sylvester Kelly had been a pioneering figure in R&B, pop-soul, and hip-hop music for decades. He rose to fame in the 1990s through his debut studio album, 12 Play, and went on to release hit tracks throughout his career, including Bump n’ Grind, I Believe I Can Fly, Ignition (Remix), and Trapped in the Closet, among others.

He also teamed up with music icons such as Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, Aaliyah, and Whitney Houston.