Kelly's next album, "Words and Music", appeared in 1998, which peaked at No. 17, and included three singles that did not reach the Top 40. Andrew Ford interviewed Kelly for ABC radio's "The Music Show" in May. Ford found the album "very exciting, very visceral ... you can almost smell the sex". Kelly admitted that he preferred R & B music which deals with sex, love, and joy without becoming "either banal or smug". He finds such songs more difficult to write but believes he has started to do so. 1998 also saw Kelly undertaking a three-week tour of Canada and the US to promote "Words and Music".