A week before his arraignment, R. Kelly has already entered a plea — an

emotional plea for the support of his fans.

His latest song, "Heaven, I Need a Hug," finds the R&B singer —

currently facing 21 counts of child pornography-related charges (see [article id="1455047"]"R. Kelly Free On Bail As Detailed Charges

Emerge"[/article]) — reaching out to his hometown of Chicago, where the

song debuted Tuesday night on WGCI-FM.

"Heaven, I Need a Hug" is the only legit track from the Loveland

sessions to be released, as the rest have since been scrapped because of

bootlegging (see [article id="1454446"]"Kelly Vows To Clamp Down

As New Bootleg Hits Streets"[/article]).

The song was written in response to the current scandal, according to WGCI

Program Director Elroy Smith, who said he met with Kelly and waited until he

got permission from Kelly's label before airing the track.

In the mid-tempo ballad, Kelly accuses his detractors of rushing to

judgement, criticizes women for dependence on men, asks the media to give

him a break, and begs for a little human tenderness ("Heaven, I need a hug/ Is there anybody out there willing to embrace a thug?" goes the chorus).

Kelly sings, "I gave 13 years of my life to this industry/ Hit song or not,

I've given all of me/ You smile in my face and tell me you love me/ But then

before you know the truth you're so quick to judge me."

Kelly goes on to blame his current troubles on his celebrity, a belief he

also put forth in his May interview with MTV News (see

href="http://www.mtv.com/bands/r/r_kelly/news_feature_051302/index.jhtml">"R

. Kelly: In His Own Words"). He sings, "Seems like the more money I make/ The more drama y'all

try to create/ The more I move into the positive/ The more y'all don't want to let me live/ When will you realize that I don't owe you nothin?"

So far the song has been getting a good reaction in Chicago. WGCI reports

that within 90 minutes of adding the song to the playlist Tuesday evening,

"Heaven, I Need a Hug" became one of the station's most requested songs.

Rival Chicago station WBBM-FM has banned Kelly's music because of the

charges against him. WGCI, which has been supportive of Kelly's career since

his days in Public Announcement and was the focal point of a community

protest (see [article id="1453299"]"Kelly Settles Civil Suit,

Defends Himself On Radio"[/article]), takes the position that the station won't

condemn the singer unless the courts do, Smith said. However, WGCI has

stopped playing some of Kelly's more innuendo-laden songs, such as "Feelin'

on Yo Booty."

For full coverage of the R. Kelly sex tape scandal,

see

href="http://www.mtv.com/news/topics/r/rkelly_archive/index.jhtml">The R.

Kelly Reports.