THIS. IS. EPIC. Legendary songwriter, producer, and hitmaker, Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds recently covered Billie Eilish's "my future" with his 12 year old daughter Peyton for a virtual school event. In his own words he stated:
"First things first, my daughter Peyton and I love us some Billie Eilish...and since we were asked to do a song together for a school event this past Saturday it only made sense, that she'd wanna do a Billie Eilish song. So for sheep-doodles and giggles, we went in the studio and recorded My Future... and also shot this little video on my IPhone." IG: @babyface
It's no doubt that having Babyface for a father, the adorable Peyton would be bound to come out with smooth vocals of her own, which she has. The video itself is fun, bright, and joyous with the perfect Babyface aesthetic all throughout the music, including his own falsetto background vocals that sent glitter flying throughout my body! Jesus! That man's voice. And perhaps the blond kid was a cousin or classmate. He added to the vibe as well.
Yet, I was jaded. I mean, this is the man who gave us Toni Braxton and numerous collaborations from Mariah Carey and Boys 2 Men, Brandy, Tamia, Chaka Khan, and Gladys Knight, Babyface and Madonna! "Take a Bow"!, Whitney Houston and so many more. And let's not forget his own masterpiece, Grown and Sexy, which I played on repeat for a year straight. There is nothing like picking up a new release while on a road trip and playing that same record for 28 hours straight. Grown and Sexy will always connect me to that time and the magical beauty I witnessed driving through some of the most amazing countryside.
To say the name Babyface is to also think of Diane Warren, another world renowned songwriter he shares the ranks with, ranks that clearly showed in the comment section of his post. There lied replies from stellar celebrities, from supermodels to label executives, Naomi Campbell, Holly Robison Peete, Tommy Mottola, Kris Jenner, just to name a few. Even my sweet angel Brandy, who shares my fan page with her angel sister Billie, sealed the deal with her red heart, an artist Babyface had always been a huge advocate for showcasing her on many tracks as the primary vocalist. The who's who of all who-isms was present. What was not present were Billie Eilish fans.
I scrolled for a while, admiring plenty of blue check marks, but could it be that I was the only fan account excited about sharing this rendition, and commenting to let it be known that Billie stans were in the place to be? Yeah, I like showing off for the people I am passionate about and if I were Billie, or any artist for that matter, and Babyface covered one of my songs I would be laid out on my back staring up at the ceiling for a week in disbelief. If I were a fan I would be even more stoked about someone giving Billie her flowers while she is alive to receive them, showing her all the love in the world. But hey, that's me. My main thought was really about the fandom as a whole, and I get it, this could all be purely generational. But let's just say I was not 1,000 years old and I was 16 and I ran across Billie content of a random guy and his daughter covering her song, but I did not know who they were. After seeing a comment section of major celebrities I would want to know who this person was and then look into it.
Unfortunately, there are biases within the fandom where younger stans judge older stans for even having accounts. Also, if Billie content surfaces by someone the fandom does not know, they are ignored and no re-posting takes place. Doesn't seem fair really. And let's be honest, younger stans only know who older celebrities like Julia Roberts and Naomi Campbell are, because Billie has mentioned them repeatedly and has taken photos with them, and I am not going to lie and say that I knew who Rosalia, Jessie Reyez, and Denzel Curry were before Billie made mention of them in her interviews. That is the beautiful gift she has and one of the reasons I love her so much, the gift to blend many generations into one musical construct. As a 15 and 16 year old I was stunned to see how much she related to the music and culture of my time. But then again, Billie does have older parents and also, she is an old soul. So if I am able to connect myself to Gen Z artists as well as music from my childhood, younger stans should be able to make that connection as well. You love on who's loving on the the one you love.
Overall, I would have loved to have seen Billie stans show up and show out in Babyface's comment section, not just to show him love, but to show all the love to his 12 year old daughter who holds a love for Billie just as much as most of us in the fandom does.
The full video can be seen on Babyface's Instagram @babyface. What a beautiful visual I have of them having a blast in his home studio recording a song by an artist they both love as parent and child.
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