Babyface Biography

Kenneth Brian "Babyface" Edmonds (born April 10, 1959) is a ten-time Grammy Award-winning American R&B musician, singer–songwriter and record producer. He has written and produced over 26 No. 1 R&B hits throughout his career.

Early life

Kenneth Edmonds was born on April 10, 1959, in Indianapolis, Indiana, to Marvin and Barbara Edmonds. Barbara was a pharmaceutical plant manager. Edmonds, who is the fifth of six brothers (including future After 7 band members Melvin and Kevon Edmonds, the latter of whom went on to have a modestly successful solo career), attended North Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana, and as a shy youth, wrote songs to express his emotions. When he was in eighth grade, Edmonds' father died of lung cancer, leaving his mother to raise her sons alone. At this stage, Edmonds became determined to have a career in music.

Music career

Edmonds later played with funk performer Bootsy Collins, who tagged him "Babyface" because of his cute face while he was still a teen. He also performed in the group Manchild (which had a 1976 hit "Especially for You" with band member Daryl Simmons), as he was a guitarist for the band. Then, as a keyboardist in the light-funk and R&B group The Deele (which also included drummer Antonio "L.A." Reid, with whom he would later form a successful writing and producing partnership). One of his first major credits as a songwriter for outside artists came when he wrote the tune "Slow-Jam" for the R&B band Midnight Star in 1983. The tune was on Midnight Star's double-platinum No Parking on the Dance Floor album, and while it never hit the charts, the song is still played on quiet storm shows. Babyface remained in The Deele until 1988, when both he and Reid left the group.

His album Playlist consists of eight cover songs and two original works. It was released on September 18, 2007. It was the first album on the newly re-launched Mercury Records label.

On February 4, 2014, he released a duets album with Toni Braxton titled Love, Marriage & Divorce on Motown Records after numerous release date changes.

Other ventures

Writing and producing

In the late 1980s, he contributed to the creation of new jack swing, writing and producing music for the likes of Bobby Brown, Karyn White, Pebbles, Paula Abdul and Sheena Easton.

In 1989, Edmonds co-founded LaFace Records with Reid. Three of the label's early artists TLC, Usher, and Toni Braxton were successful, the former becoming one of the best selling female groups in music history. Braxton's eponymous 1993 debut album went on to sell over eight million copies, and earned her the 1994 Grammy Award Best New Artist. TLC's first two albums on LaFace"?1992's Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip and 1994's CrazySexyCool"?combined to sell more than 15 million copies in the U.S. CrazySexyCool won the 1996 Grammy Award for Best R&B album.

Babyface helped form the popular late-90s R&B group Az Yet. Edmonds also helped to mold and work closely with some of his former wife Tracey Edmonds acts such as Jon B and producer Jon-John Robinson.

Edmonds works with many successful performers in contemporary music. "I"?m Your Baby Tonight,"? produced for Whitney Houston, was his first No. 1 Top 40 hit in the US. He also wrote and produced Boyz II Men's "End of the Road" and "I'll Make Love to You," both of which established records for the longest stay at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. He co-wrote, co-produced, and provided backing vocals on Madonna's 1994 Bedtime Stories, which featured the 7-week No. 1 hit "Take a Bow," and shared billing with Eric Clapton on the chart-topping Grammy winner "Change the World" from the Phenomenon soundtrack. He also wrote and produced the No. 1 hit "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" for Whitney Houston as well as the rest of the critically acclaimed 10 million selling Waiting to Exhale soundtrack in 1995, which spawned additional hits for Houston, Brandy and Mary J. Blige.

Additionally, Edmonds has produced and written music for many artists including Carole King, Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Faith Evans, Al Green, Beyonc, Diana Ross, Sheena Easton, Toni Braxton, Michael Jackson, Michael Bolton, Paula Abdul, Eric Clapton, Pebbles, Tevin Campbell, Bobby Brown, Whitney Houston, Brandy, Mary J. Blige, Tamia, Shola Ama, 3T, Sisq, Dru Hill, Fall Out Boy, Cline Dion, Honeyz, Katharine McPhee, Mariah Carey, Vanessa L. Williams, Chant Moore, En Vogue, Kenny G, Kristinia DeBarge, Lil Wayne, Japanese singer Ken Hirai, P!nk, Marc Nelson, TLC, Ariana Grande, and Phil Collins among others. He received three consecutive Grammy Awards for Producer of the Year in 1995-1997.

Babyface was in the studio for about two years with Ashanti to produce her album The Declaration.

He worked on the Lil Wayne album Tha Carter III, on the Kanye West-produced "Comfortable." He also worked with R&B singer Monica for her sixth studio album Still Standing.

In 2013, Babyface served as producer for Ariana Grande's debut album Yours Truly, producing majority of her songs, including her second single, "Baby I".

Acting career and film producing

In 1994, he appeared and performed on an episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 entitled "Mr. Walsh Goes to Washington (Part 2)".

In the mid-1990s, Edmonds and his then wife Tracey Edmonds expanded into the business of motion pictures, setting up Edmonds Entertainment Group and producing films such as Soul Food (1997), Josie and the Pussycats (2001), and also the soundtrack for the film The Prince of Egypt, which included contributions from numerous artists, including Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. They are the current executive producers of the hit BET reality series College Hill. Edmonds also worked with David Foster to compose "The Power of the Dream," the official song of the 1996 Summer Olympics, performed by superstar Cline Dion. Linda Thompson provided the lyrics.

Babyface also participated as a duet partner on the Fox reality show Celebrity Duets.

Soda Pop Records

Edmonds founded his record label Soda Pop Records in 2009. Since founding the label he has signed R&B icons K-Ci & JoJo to the label, they currently are releasing their first album on the label entitled My Brother's Keeper. In 2013 Babyface secured a distribution deal with E1 Music for the label.

Current artists

• Babyface
• K-Ci & JoJo

Personal life

In 1990, Babyface met Tracey Edmonds when she auditioned for the music video "Whip Appeal". They married on September 5, 1992 and they have two sons, Brandon and Dylan Michael. In January 7, 2005, Tracey filed for divorce in Los Angeles County Superior Court, citing irreconcilable differences. In October 2005, Babyface and Tracey announced that they were ending their marriage of thirteen years.

In 2007, Babyface began dating his backup dancer Nicole "Nikki" Pantenburg (former dancer and personal friend of Janet Jackson's). In September 2008, Babyface and Nicole welcomed a daughter, Peyton Nicole Edmonds.

On December 2, 2012, Babyface worked at a local Nathan's for charity. All proceeds went to Toys for Tots.

Legacy

Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds Highway

In 1999, a 25-mile (40-km) stretch of Interstate 65 that runs through Indianapolis was renamed Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds Highway.

Discography

See Babyface discography for more information Solo albums

• Lovers (1986)
• Tender Lover (1989)
• A Closer Look (1991)
• For the Cool in You (1993)
• The Day (1996)
• Christmas with Babyface (1998)
• Face2Face (2001)
• Grown & Sexy (2005)
• Playlist (2007)

Collaboration albums

• Love, Marriage & Divorce (with Toni Braxton) (2014)

Awards

On August 30, 2006, Babyface was honored as a BMI Icon at the 6th annual BMI Urban Awards. Throughout his career, Babyface has won the BMI Pop Songwriter of the Year trophy seven times and a total of 51 BMI Awards, which includes Song of the Year for his Toni Braxton hit, "Breathe Again," in 1994.

Babyface was honored with the 2,508th star of the Hollywood Walk of Fame on October 10, 2013. The star is located at 6270 Hollywood Boulevard.

Grammy Awards

|- | style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"| 1989 | "Don't Be Cruel" | Best Rhythm & Blues Song | |- | | Producer of the Year (Non-Classical) | |- | style="text-align:center;" rowspan="4"| 1990 | "Every Little Step" | rowspan="2"| Best Rhythm & Blues Song | |- | "Superwoman" | |- | "It's No Crime" | Best R&B Instrumental Performance | |- | | Producer of the Year (Non-Classical) | |- | style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"| 1991 | "Whip Appeal" | Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male | |- | "My, My, My" | Best Rhythm & Blues Song | |- | style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"| 1993 | "End of the Road" | Best Rhythm & Blues Song | |- | | Producer of the Year (Non-Classical) | |- | style="text-align:center;" rowspan="3"| 1994 | The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album (as a Producer) | Album of the Year | |- | "For the Cool in You" | Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male | |- | "Can We Talk" | Best Rhythm & Blues Song | |- | style="text-align:center;" rowspan="4"| 1995 | rowspan="2"| "When Can I See You" | Best Male R&B Vocal Performance | |- | rowspan="3"| Best Rhythm & Blues Song | |- | "I'll Make Love to You" | |- | "You Mean the World to Me" | |- | style="text-align:center;" rowspan="4"| 1996 | | Producer of the Year | |- | "Someone to Love" (with Jon B.) | Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals | |- | "Red Light Special" | rowspan="2"| Best Rhythm & Blues Song | |- | "You Can't Run" | |- | style="text-align:center;" rowspan="7"| 1997 | "Change The World" (as a Producer) | Record of the Year | |- | rowspan="2"| "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" | Song of the Year | |- | rowspan="3"| Best Rhythm & Blues Song | |- | "Sittin' up in My Room" | |- | "You're Makin' Me High" | |- | "Slow Jam" | Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal | |- | | Producer of the Year | |- | style="text-align:center;" rowspan="5"| 1998 | rowspan="2"| The Day | Album of the Year | |- | Best R&B Album | |- | "Every Time I Close My Eyes" | Best Male Pop Vocal Performance | |- | | Producer of the Year, Non-Classical | |- | rowspan="2"| "How Come, How Long" (feat. Stevie Wonder) | Best Short Form Music Video | |- | style="text-align:center;"| 1999 | Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals | |- | style="text-align:center;"| 2013 | "Pray For Me" | Best R&B Song | |- | style="text-align:center;"| 2014 | "Girl on Fire" (as a Producer) | Best R&B Album | |-