Despite the black cloud hanging over him for more than six years as a result of child-pornography charges, R. Kelly has continued to tour and record, releasing full albums and weird, sexually charged songs like "Sex Planet" and the infamous "Trapped in the Closet" series.

Now, in light of the not-guilty verdict handed down on Friday, the question is: What does he do next? And perhaps more important, how will his fans greet him?

The trial contained a number of disturbing allegations and testimony that, at best, portrayed Kelly in a none-too-flattering light. But Kelly has used over-the-top sexual innuendo as his calling card for more than 15 years, and since the charges were first leveled, Kelly has sold 12 million records sold and earned six platinum albums. So will exoneration affect a career that has barely slowed down in the past six-plus years?

"Gauging by the concert I saw him perform here in Los Angeles earlier this year and the reaction of the crowd, he seems to me to still have this very strong fanbase," said Gail Mitchell, senior correspondent for R&B and hip-hop at Billboard magazine. "There were supposed to be pickets, but there were none, and there were women of all shapes, colors, sizes and ages, and they were ranting and raving."

Like any artist coming off a potentially career-threatening scandal, it really comes down to what kind of music Kelly returns with, Mitchell said.

She said his latest single, "Hair Braider," fell off the R&B charts quickly, probably because his label didn't want to promote it during the trial. But if he came back with one of his signature raunchy club hits (think "Ignition") or a soaring, spiritually engaging ballad (like "I Believe I Can Fly"), it'll more than likely be back to business as usual.

"It will be interesting to see what he comes back with, because I'm sure he's had time to do some introspection," Mitchell said. "And out of adversity, artists sometimes come through with something they didn't know they had in them before, like Marvin Gaye with 'What's Going On.' "

A Kelly lawyer recently told MTV News that the singer's next album will be a gospel outing. While a different Kelly album, 12 Play: Fourth Quarter, was expected to come out this summer, the status of its release was uncertain at press time; Mitchell suspected he might wait a bit to return. Either way, she said, he'll probably "just keep doing what he's doing."

Chicago Tribune music critic Greg Kot, who has been watching Kelly for the singer's entire career, said he had an experience similar to Mitchell's when he saw an energized Kelly play to a rabid audience at the intimate Chicago Theater in 2006.

"These charges have been hovering around so long, you would have thought the initial effect would have been disastrous because child porn is about as heinous a crime as you can be accused of," said Kot. "When the charges initially surfaced, you thought, 'This guy is toast.' But he's weathered the storm, and after a few radio programmers didn't play his music at first, and the album with Jay-Z (The Best of Both Worlds) tanked, it seemed like he was toxic. But he put his head down and kept going and kept making music."

Surprisingly, Kelly didn't shrink back and disappear, like Michael Jackson did during his child-molestation trial. Instead, he continued recording his outlandish sex tunes and, as Kot witnessed at the Chicago Theater, giving his audience what they wanted, which they "lapped up like they were in on a joke together."

Whether you like his music or not, Kot said, Kelly has set a standard that he has upheld and has continued to make music people want to hear. "For whatever reason, his audience has been able to separate whatever his music represents and keep the charges on a different level," he said. "You can only see it as a triumph of artistry over personality ... where the music is enough for his fans to let them set aside what's going on with him personally."

Which is why Kelly should have no problem picking up where he left off — as long as he continues to make records that maintain the standard he's set, Kot said.

What remains to be seen is just how Kelly will respond, musically. Kot pointed to past songs, such as "Heaven, I Need a Hug," as examples of how Kelly has dealt with his persecution complex and suggested that the singer might come out swinging. "I wouldn't be surprised if he addresses it [in a song]," Kot said. "All previous history indicates that this stuff did affect him, and he wrote songs about it."

Alan Light, former editor of Spin and Vibe magazines, doesn't think Kelly will "go around trumpeting himself as an innocent man" when he does finally release new music. "It is hard to anticipate what someone who does something like 'Trapped in the Closet' will do, but I could see him making a glancing reference to it," said Light. "I don't think the verdict will change anyone's mind one way or another, but it will definitely solidify the support he already had. I wouldn't advise him to write about it, because it's not a smart thing to do, but for someone who has had hits with songs that seem like they were written in 17 seconds, I could imagine him doing it, even if it's hard to see what he could gain from it."

Other than posing for a shot with MTV's Sway, we haven't seen or heard much of Kelly since the verdict. But when we do, there are a couple of ways he could go in order to move on with his career, according to veteran Hollywood publicist and crisis manager Howard Bragman, author of the upcoming book "Where's My Fifteen Minutes?"

"He could issue a statement saying that this is a vindication and that he's said all along he was not guilty. Or do the big, cathartic sit-down interview with Larry [King], Diane [Sawyer] or Matt [Lauer]," Bragman said. "It depends on how he wants to address it, or if there's a chance of a civil suit."

If Bragman were advising him, he'd recommend doing any media that supports his career, and, if asked about the case, reiterate that he said he was not guilty all along and just move on to the next subject. "He would do very well to shut up and not address it and make sure his behavior going forward is beyond reproach," Bragman said.

Find a review of the major players in the R. Kelly trial here. For full coverage of the R. Kelly case, see the R. Kelly Reports and check out this complete timeline of the events leading up to and including the trial.