Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds is one of the most celebrated creative forces in music history. As a recording artist, songwriter, and producer, he has earned 12 Grammy® Awards and created 42 number-one R&B hits.
His smooth, sexy, and soulful voice has ‘moved’ audiences for over five decades, during which he released three consecutive multi-platinum albums: Tender Lover (1989), featuring the #1 “Tender Lover”; For the Cool in You (1993), which included “Never Keeping Secrets” and “When Can I See You”; and The Day (1996) featuring “Every Time I Close My Eyes.”
Return of the Tender Lover (released December 2015) introduced a free-spirited Babyface putting his stamp on a contemporary sound he describes as “unapologetic R&B.”
This album followed the significant and commercial response to his and Toni Braxton’s 2014 Grammy®–winning album Love, Marriage & Divorce.
Most recently, Edmonds produced Earth, Wind and Fire’s single “You Want My Love” featuring Lucky Daye. The single has so far reached #3 on the Billboard R&B charts.
Edmonds collaborated with Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis on their debut album as artists, being the featured artist on the lead single “He Don’t Know Nothin’ Bout It.” The single has accomplished top 5 success on Billboard and MediaBase R&B Charts.
While the world was in quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic, Edmonds, along with producer Teddy Riley, set a record for Instagram, attracting over four million viewers during a live episode of Swizz Beatz & Timbaland’s Verzuz Beat Producer Battle series. The event on April 23, 2020 attracted fans from around the world, music artists, film & television celebrities, and pop culture icons.
Babyface was featured on guitar & vocals in a performance with Boyz II Men during the season finale of Saturday Night Live on May 9, 2020. The group performed “A Song for Mama” (penned and produced in 1997 by Edmonds) with each member at a different location during the stay-at-home order, a first for SNL.
As co-founder with L.A. Reid of LaFace Records in 1989, Babyface nurtured the careers of such megastars as TLC, OutKast, Usher, and Toni Braxton. His extensive songwriting and production credits from the 1990’s to present have resulted in landmark achievements.
Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds became a music industry icon by producing and writing hits for Whitney Houston, Eric Clapton, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Boyz II Men, Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, and P!nk. That hit list boasts such smashes as Madonna’s “Take a Bow,” Clapton’s “Change the World,” and Boyz II Men’s “I’ll Make Love to You.”
As one of the most sought after producers in music, he has collaborated with Bruno Mars, Kat Graham, Johnny Mathis, Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Ledisi, Colbie Caillat, Jennifer Hudson, Ariana Grande, After 7, and Toni Braxton, as well as wrote and produced music for the Adam Sandler film Sandy Wexler and was the theme composer and producer for the BET miniseries “New Edition Story.”
The prolific music man counts more than 200 top 10 R&B and over 50 top 10 pop hits (including 16 No. 1’s). His music catalogue of singles and albums has tallied over a billion streams and sales worldwide, forever changing the history of popular music.
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Babyface’s Industry awards and honors include the Soul Train Music Awards, BMI Awards, NAACP Image Awards, American Music Awards and BET Walk of Fame Award. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2013 and was inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame in 2017.
Besides his music accolades, Babyface is also a passionate philanthropist, active in supporting Carousel of Hope which benefits the Children’s Diabetes Foundation, Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, Larry Ruvo’s “Keep Memory Alive,” and Stand Up for Cancer.
He has also lent his support to FasterCures, VH-1 Save the Music, United Negro College Fund, the David Foster Foundation, and the Mike Milken Prostate Cancer Foundation.
Some famous music by Babyface includes:
Tender Lover
How Come, How Long
For The Cool In You
Every Time I Close My Eyes
It’s No Crime
And Our Feelings
When Can I See You
Barbra Streisand & Babyface – Evergreen – Interview/Performance
Toni Braxton & Babyface – Hurt You
We’ve Got Love and etc.
Babyface is indeed a legend who has just one thing in his mind: That is To Make People Feel Good Through Music.
