Babyface will honor late mother during Super Bowl gig

Days after the announcement of his Super Bowl gig, Babyface revealed he’s dedicating his performance of “America the Beautiful” to his late mother. Speaking to TMZ, the singer said he’s teaming up with Shine The Light On to create hoodies for the performance. He will donate proceeds to Keep Memory Alive, the Alzheimer’s organization she was involved with.

Babyface said since his mother’s passing he’s been “pushing myself to go do things that would be either out of my comfort zone or things that I hadn’t done before,” noting she and his late brother would be excited.

He says he didn’t expect to get the gig. “I can safely say that I never saw this one coming,” the singer tells TMZ. “It’s great. It’s an honor to do it. I was honored that I got the call and that everybody was supportive at the NFL and Roc Nation, as well.”

Though he knows he’ll be “completely rattled when this happens,” Babyface intends to treat the moment with respect.

“As much as I’m going to try to be comfortable with it, I know I’m going to be nervous because you think about how many people you’re actually performing for and what that moment means, and I won’t take that moment lightly because it is an honor,” he says. “And no matter what anyone thinks, to have this moment at this point in my life as well, it’s very special so I’m gonna treat it with respect.”

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