As we all know, February 14th is a special day on the calendar, why, because it's Valentine's Day, a romantic holiday where people buy cards, candy, flowers, and other gifts for their Valentine to show their love, appreciation, and gratitude.
This pass Valentine's Day, New York City natives received a soul stirring gift at Madison Square Garden. 11x Grammy winner Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds with special guests Avery Sunshine and 112 hit the stage for a special performance. Even though it was also the weekend of the NBA All-Star game, it was still the perfect gift, and fans came out in droves to take heed.
Avery Sunshine, the first musical act for the evening, moved the crowd, especially when she sung her number one single, "Call My Name." Sunshine is a talented pianist and her voice is a powerhouse. She is truly blessed with a gift that will continue to spark the world every step of the way. The next act was 112 who was one of the biggest R&B groups from the 90's. They are known for their chart-topping hits, "Only You," "Dance With Me," and "Peaches & Cream."
Around 9:30 pm, Babyface, the man of the hour, stepped on the stage, cool, calm and collected when he started his segment with "For The Cool in You." The crowd screamed from the top of their lungs when they saw him because he is an important musical messenger in R&B. Babyface's songs are the epitome of romance, forgiveness, fidelity, trust, and cherishing the simple things in life. He called every man out in the audience when he said, "I apologize for every stupid man who has done a woman wrong in their life," because he knows a lot of men tend to forget to honor and appreciate their lady. When he said those words, women yearned for him more because Babyface was their love doctor for the evening.
Babyface also sung his other hits with so much fervor and avidity such as "Never Keeping Secrets," "Everytime I Close My Eyes," "Sunshine," and "Soon As I Get Home." He also took audience members to church when he sung those songs because the Holy Spirit was potent on the stage.
In the industry, Babyface is a prolific songwriter and producer who wrote over 26 No.1 singles for many artists. So, at his concert, he covered songs he wrote for The Deele, Bobby Brown, Boyz II Men, Tevin Campbell, After 7, Midnight Star, and The Whispers. As he was explaining his early days as a songwriter, the crowd found him to be humorous because he said certain songs allowed him to have a JC Penny and Sears credit card. Even though Babyface made the audience laugh with his storytelling, they recognized his prolific role as an artist.
Babyface ended the show with his love ballad, "Whip Appeal," from his album, Tender Lover. The song is a classic for many, because of the lyrics and melody. As you can see, no one does it like Babyface because!
Overall, I am not surprised by Babyface's stellar performance because he is an icon with many musical talents. The Babyface concert was a way for people to understand that we should spread love unconditionally and have a benevolent concern for others. And even if you didn't have a Valentine in 2015, Babyface's top-notch songs is further confirmation that we need to recognize the precious jewel within ourselves in order to love someone and remain hopeful about relationships. His love songs moves everyone from all walks of life, and that is why he is still inevitable 30 years later.
