Music icon Babyface graces the top 10 on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart, as his current single “As a Matter of Fact” moves to No. 9 this week.
It’s Babyface’s 16th top 10 single, dating back to 1993’s “For The Cool In You,” which reached No. 2. The song appeared on his album of the same name.
Babyface made an appearance in the top 10 twice in 2022, with “No Stoppin’ Us” alongside Charlie Wilson, Johnny Gill and K-Ci Hailey, and “Keeps On Fallin’” with Ella Mai.
“No Stoppin’ Us” spent three weeks at No. 1, while his Grammy-nominated record with Mai peaked at No. 2. However, the latter did go the distance to No. 1 on R&B radio.
“As a Matter of Fact” marks Babyface’s first top 10 hit as a lone artist since 2016, when “We’ve Got Love” shined at No. 9. That song is lifted from his 2015 album, Return of the Tender Lover, which was released on Def Jam.
This is Babyface’s third consecutive year having a top 10 entry on the Adult R&B Airplay chart. He started this trend in 2021 when he was featured at No. 2 on Jam & Lewis’ “He Don’t Know Nothin’ Bout It.”
“As a Matter of Fact” was released on Feb. 9, two days ahead of his Super Bowl LVII performance, where he performed “America the Beautiful.”
At this publishing, there are no details to support if “As a Matter of Fact” will appear on a forthcoming Babyface album. It is, however, his first release for P Music Group.
On Capitol Records, Babyface released Girls Night Out, an album of duets featuring Ella Mai, Ari Lennox, Kehlani, Queen Naija, Muni Long, Coco Jones and more.
After Girls Night Out earned year-end praise from Rated R&B in 2022, Babyface extended the album with three new tracks.
Babyface will keep the momentum for his latest achievement going with a slate of concerts.
In addition to playing dates on Anita Baker’s The Songstress Tour, he’s booked for other shows, including the Hampton Jazz Festival, the Cincinnati Music Festival and Bourbon & Beyond. Get the rundown on all of Babyface’s 2023 shows at babyfacemusic.com.
Listen to Babyface’s “As a Matter of Fact” below.