The 39th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 26, 1997, at Madison Square Garden, New York City. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Babyface was the night's biggest winner, with 3 awards. Celine Dion, Toni Braxton, Sheryl Crow, and The Fugees won two awards. Celine Dion for "Best Pop Album" and "Album of the Year" and Toni Braxton for "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance" and "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance". The show was hosted by Ellen Degeneres who also performed the opening with Shawn Colvin, Bonnie Rait, and Chaka Khan.
Kenneth Brian Edmonds, better known by his stage name Babyface, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has written and produced over 26 number-one R&B hits throughout his career and has won 13 Grammy Awards. He was ranked number 20 on NME's 50 of The Greatest Producers Ever list.
Rodney Roy Jerkins, also known by his stage name Darkchild, is an American record producer, rapper, and songwriter. He has collaborated with a broad range of popular artists.
Hip hop soul is a subgenre of contemporary R&B music, most popular during the early and mid 1990s, which fuses R&B or soul singing with hip hop musical production. The subgenre had evolved from a previous R&B subgenre, new jack swing, which had incorporated hip-hop influences into R&B music. By contrast, hip hop soul is, as described in The Encyclopedia of African American Music, "quite literally soul singing over hip hop grooves".
"Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" is a song by American recording artist and actress Whitney Houston, featured on the soundtrack for the film Waiting to Exhale. It was released as the lead single from the soundtrack on November 6, 1995, by Arista Records. The song was written and produced by Babyface. A mid-tempo R&B and soul ballad, composed in the key of D-flat major, the song's lyrics speak about growing up and learning to let go. The song garnered mostly positive reviews from critics, many of whom noted Houston's vocal maturity in the song.
Waiting to Exhale: Original Soundtrack Album is the soundtrack for the film of the same name, released on November 14, 1995, by Arista Records. Produced by Babyface, the soundtrack features appearances by several prominent R&B artists, including Whitney Houston, Toni Braxton, TLC, Brandy, Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Faith Evans, Patti LaBelle, SWV and Mary J. Blige.
VH1 debuted the first annual VH1 Divas concert in 1998. VH1 Divas Live was created to support the channel's Save The Music Foundation and subsequent concerts in the series have also benefited that foundation. The VH1 Divas concerts were a follow-up to the channel's annual VH1 Honors benefit concert that ran from 1994 to 1997, airing annually from 1998 to 2004. After a five-year hiatus, the series returned in 2009 with a younger-skewed revamp. In 2010 the concert saluted the troops and in 2011 it celebrated soul music, doubling the previous year's ratings. After a dance music-focused 2012 edition aired live from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on December 16, 2012, the show took another hiatus before being revived on December 5, 2016, at the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, New York with a holiday theme and achieved its highest ratings in over a decade.
The ESSENCE Festival of Culture is the largest African-American culture and music event in the US. The annual music festival started in 1995 in New Orleans, Louisiana to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Essence magazine. The festival features artists simultaneously performing on a main stage as well as four standing-room only stages.
MTV Party to Go Platinum Mix was the twelfth album in the MTV Party to Go series. The majority of songs on this album have appeared on previous volumes of the Party To Go series.
The Pacific Rim Tour was a concert tour of arenas and stadiums by American Pop/R&B singer Whitney Houston. The tour included 10 concert dates in Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Australia and United States in 1997. The tour was in support of her 1996 multi-platinum album, The Preacher's Wife.
The following is the discography of American musician Babyface.
The 1994 Soul Train Music Awards were held on Tuesday, March 15, 1994, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. The show was hosted by Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight and Johnny Gill.
The 1998 Soul Train Music Awards were held on February 27, 1998, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. Puff Daddy was the top nominee with five nominations, other top nominees included Janet Jackson, Aaliyah and Maxwell. The show was hosted by Patti LaBelle, Erykah Badu and Heavy D.
The 1995 Soul Train Music Awards was held on March 13, 1995, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. The show honored the best in R&B, soul, rap, jazz, and gospel music from the previous year. The show was hosted by Anita Baker, Babyface, and Patti LaBelle.
The 2000 Soul Train Music Awards were held on March 4, 2000 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. The show was hosted by Eric Benét, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, Tamia and Shemar Moore.
The 1993 Soul Train Music Awards was held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on March 9, 1993. The show was hosted by Natalie Cole, Patti LaBelle and Luther Vandross.
The 1997 Soul Train Music Awards was held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on March 7, 1997. The show was hosted by Brandy, LL Cool J and Gladys Knight. It would be the final public appearance for the Notorious B.I.G., as he would be murdered two days after the ceremony.
Marcus Raboy is an American film and music video director.
