Babyface Back in Hot 100 Top 10 Thanks to SZA’s ‘Snooze’
Written by djfrosty on August 18, 2023
Legendary singer-songwriter and producer Babyface scores his first top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 as a producer in 23 years, thanks to his work on SZA’s “Snooze.”
The song, released in December on SZA’s 10-week Billboard 200 No. 1 album SOS, jumps 15-10 on the Hot 100 (dated Aug. 19). Babyface, who co-produced the track with BLK (real name: Blair Ferguson) and The Rascals (the production duo comprising Khristopher Riddick-Tynes and Leon Thomas III), last appeared in the top 10 as a producer in December 2000, with P!nk’s “Most Girls.” The song climbed to No. 4 the prior month, becoming P!nk’s first career top five hit (of an eventual eight to date).
Babyface is also one of five credited co-writers on “Snooze” (however SZA solely wrote the lyrics).
While “Snooze” marks Babyface’s return to the Hot 100’s top 10 as a producer, he’s tallied three additional top 10s on the Hot 100 this century as a writer, thanks to samples and interpolations of his older hits. (When a song is sampled on another track, credited writers of the original typically receive writing credits on the new song.)
Babyface is credited as a co-writer of Mariah Carey’s 2005 14-week No. 1 “We Belong Together,” thanks to its interpolation of “Two Occasions” by The Deele, in which he was a member; the latter song hit No. 10 on the Hot 100 in 1988. He even gets a shoutout in the lyrics of Carey’s lost-love song: “I gotta change the station / So I turn the dial, tryin’ to catch a break / And then I hear Babyface, ‘I only think of you’ / And it’s breaking my heart.”
In 2020, Babyface notched another top 10 as a writer, via Lil Mosey’s “Blueberry Faygo” (No. 8 peak). The track samples Johnny Gill’s 1990 No. 10 hit “My, My, My,” which he co-wrote with Daryl Simmons. In 2021, Babyface tallied another top 10, thanks to a writing credit on Drake’s “Fair Trade,” featuring Travis Scott (No. 3). The collab samples Charlotte Day Wilson’s 2019 song “Mountains.”
Of Babyface’s top 10 Hot 100 hits in any role (producer, writer or recording artist), seven have hit No. 1. They’ve combined to spend just shy of a year at the summit: 51 weeks.
Here’s a recap:
Artist Billing, Title (Peak Year; Role)
Whitney Houston, “I’m Your Baby Tonight” (1990, one week at No. 1; producer, songwriter)
Boyz II Men, “End of the Road” (1992, 13 weeks; producer, songwriter)
Boyz II Men, “I’ll Make Love to You” (1994, 14 weeks; producer, songwriter)
Madonna, “Take a Bow” (1995, seven weeks; producer, songwriter)
Whitney Houston, “Exhale (Shoop Shoop)” (1995, one week; producer, songwriter)
Toni Braxton, “You’re Makin’ Me High”/”Let It Flow” (1996, one week; producer, songwriter)
Mariah Carey, “We Belong Together” (2005, 14 weeks; songwriter)
Babyface praised SZA in an interview on Billboard’s Pop Shop Podcast in January. ““I think SZA is amazing,” he said. “She’s so unique and I’m amazed by her talent, to be honest, and very happy for her success. I think it’s very well-deserved.”
Of his own versatility, and longevity, he said, “I think as a musician, I’ve always tried to not be one particular thing and be able to cross different genres. I always kind of look at it [as], if you’re a full musician, then you should be able to do more than one thing. And what allows you to do that is to not have an ego, to the point to where you think what you do is the best thing and always the best. So, it’s always great to collaborate and get into a room and learn.”