Babyface recently recalled mediating a recording session between Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston while there was tension between the two artists. Speaking with Vulture for a recent interview, Babyface reflected on the making of the 1998 song, “When You Believe,” for the movie The Prince of Egypt.
“Well, they did not record together. It was done separately. The one great thing that came out of that, more than anything, is that I was asked to be the producer because they both asked for me, and neither of them were going to do it, from what I understand, unless I was the producer,” the legendary R&B producer shared.
He then explained that neither singer would trust the other’s primary producer, which is why they brought in Babyface.
“Mariah’s producer was Walter Afanasieff at the time and did most of her stuff, and Whitney’s was David Foster. So neither one of them trusted those producers; Whitney wouldn’t have trusted Walter, and Mariah wouldn’t have trusted David.”
From there, Babyface revealed the two singers were willing to pose together for photos, despite not recording with one another.
“I was Switzerland, and I was able to go in there, and they both felt safe that I would do the best for them. It was a little bit of work to get to that point,” he added. “We had a photo-op together where they were in the studio together, but they did not sing together that time.”
Babyface previously worked with Houston for her album, My Love Is Your Love.
Revisit Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston’s 1998 collaboration, “When You Believe,” below.
[Via]