Babyface performed “America the Beautiful” at the Super Bowl LVII pregame show, held Sunday (Feb. 12), in Glendale, Arizona.
Standing at the mic with an acoustic guitar, the legendary singer/songwriter delivered a pleasant rendition of the patriotic song.
“Truly excited and honored to perform ‘America the Beautiful’ at Super Bowl LVII and to be a part of this pregame lineup,” Babyface said when he was announced as this year’s performer.
Ahead of Babyface’s performance, he released “As a Matter of Fact,” his first solo single in eight years. He wrote the song and co-produced it with Tommy Brown.
“As a Matter of Fact” is Babyface’s first new song since releasing his album Girls Night Out last October. The collaborative album featured guest vocals from Coco Jones, Ella Mai, Muni Long, Sevyn Streeter, Queen Naija and more.
Babyface told Rated R&B that he was inspired to record the album after his Verzuz celebration with Teddy Riley.
“I ended up getting a lot more fans through Instagram and hearing from people in a different age group that I didn’t realize were fans. I picked up new fans, as well,” Babyface said.
“I [wanted] to figure out how to keep writing for a generation that I wasn’t as completely attached to. Doing this record allowed me to be myself, but also allowed me to work with younger artists, hear their voices and write with them. That’s exactly what this album is — a collaboration of with these girls.”
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His Mai-assisted single, “Keeps on Fallin’,” reached No. 1 at R&B radio. It also scored a Best Traditional R&B Performance nomination at the 65th Grammy Awards.
In other news, Babyface is on the road with Anita Baker as a supporting act for her headlining Songstress 40th Anniversary Tour. They will perform in 15 major U.S. cities throughout the year. The tour will conclude Dec. 23 at Oakland Arena in Oakland, California.
Watch Babyface perform “America the Beautiful” below.
Babyface 2023 Tour Dates with Anita Baker
Feb 11 – Hollywood, FL @ Hard Rock Live*
Feb 14 – Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena
Feb 17 – New Orleans, LA @ Smoothie King Center
May 10 – Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center
May 12 – Belmont, NY @ UBS Arena
May 14 – Baltimore, MD @ CFG Bank Arena
Jun 30 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
Jul 2 – Detroit, MI @ Pine Knob Music Theatre
Nov 18 – Greensboro, NC @ Greensboro Coliseum Complex
Nov 22 – Memphis, TN @ FedExForum
Nov 24 – Atlantic City, NJ @ Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena*
Dec 15 – Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
Dec 17 – Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
Dec 22 – Los Angeles, CA @ Crypto.com Arena
Dec 23 – Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena
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