The iconic producers rescheduled their "Verzuz" battle to Monday night after technical difficulties proved too disruptive on Saturday.
Rescheduled from Saturday night after connectivity and sound issues kept most fans from tuning in, R&B legends Babyface and Teddy Riley returned to Instagram Live on Monday to finally have it out.
Despite a few technical challenges along the way, the two producers laid down the tracks that defined a decade -- the '90s to be exact -- as they battled across two hours, trending atop Twitter and breaking a huge record along the way ... not to mention Instagram Live itself.
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View StoryProducer Swizz Beatz (one of the masterminds behind the event, says they had 3 million people trying to tune in, a new Instagram Live record, though Pop Crave says it was closer to 512,000. Either way, it appears the record that they broke was their own, set during their aborted Saturday night attempt to lay it down and see who is the king of '90s R&B. iHeartRadio reports more than 400,000 viewers were tuning in then.
We broke insta tonight !!!!!!!!!! #verzuz @verzuzonline over 3mill https://t.co/O0fDx1M5Ke
@THEREALSWIZZZ
Perhaps ironically, it appears the record that they broke was their own, set during their aborted Saturday night attempt to lay it down and see who is the king of '90s R&B.
During the latest session, Babyface blew the minds of the livestream's viewers when he also revealed a little known fact about the King of Pop. Apparently, he was interested in getting to know Halle Berry a little better back then (wasn't everyone?) and thought maybe the record producer could give him the hook up.
"Michael called me and said, 'Babyface, do you know who Halle Berry is?'" Babyface said during their livestream, as covered by Hollywood Life. "I said, 'Yeah, I know Halle Berry'. He said, 'Could you do me a favor? I want you to call her because I want to take her out on a date.'"
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View StoryBabyface and Teddy Riley are live on Instagram rn, and Babyface talked about that one time Michael wanted to take Halle Berry on a date 😭 pic.twitter.com/uomIeqGtuw
@juliejksn
"I said, 'What?' and he said, 'Call her, I want to take her out on a date,'" he continued. "So I said, 'Let me reach out' and I reached out for him, for the agent because I didn't have Halle Berry's number. I called and gave the message and the manager's like, 'What?" and I said, 'Yeah, he wants to take her out on a date.'"
The message got relayed, but Babyface said he couldn't say what Halle said in response. Instead, he played a quote of her from the movie 'Boomerang' where she said, "You know, what do you know about love? What do you possibly think you know about love?"
While the guys were mostly spinning the tracks they produced, Babyface had another surprise in store for fans, offering up a live rendition of his own hit "When Can I See You."
This battle -- which many fans believe Babyface took with that acoustic performance and a little remix shade(?) -- was the latest in the "Verzuz" series by producers Swizz Beatz and Timbaland. While there have been battle before this one, like T-Pain "verzuz" Lil John,this one took the whole series to a new level. Will it stay there?
Fans were loving the friendly rivalry between the two producers Monday night, keeping the action trending deep into the night.
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View StoryTHESE TWO BLACK KINGS BROKE IG! 👑 Despite the technical difficulties, the postponements, sound issues and "doing too much" *ahem Teddy*, this was a moment in legendary music history with these two legendary producers! Teddy Riley & Babyface both won! An epic battle! #VERZUZ pic.twitter.com/SKS7K5ytVS
@mrdoc
Instagram couldn't handle all of that melanin at one time. Being in harmony, singing with one another. The energy was beyond us. #TeddyRileyvBabyface #VERZUZ pic.twitter.com/2BSAP8HOWm
@ShauntelleBoyer
Babyface: Was that a remix?
@kilahphil
Teddy: yes
Babyface: oh ok, I didn't know we were doing remixes. But it's cool I don't do remixes.
Everbody :#VERZUZ pic.twitter.com/8oIy2AfzJs
"That ain't a problem, I don't remix anyway." #VERZUZ pic.twitter.com/FVcRbye1sU
@Brielieve
Teddy when he saw Babyface playing the guitar. #VERZUZ #BabyfacevsTeddyRiley pic.twitter.com/CPAs6sGPhQ
@PhotosByBeanz
I'm calling this match early! Uncle Kenneth done gave us an acoustic unplugged 😩😭🙌🏿 Uncle Teddy talkin' bout he cheatin lol #VERZUZ pic.twitter.com/0kwiK6sSCQ
@Aizehinomo
Teddy: My AOL dial up is acting up.. and for some reason my android phone is fuzzy.. brb
@kaishotz
Also Teddy when he got back on:#VERZUZ pic.twitter.com/iW88Tt7HIB
Teddy Riley played Let's Chill by Guy and Babyface came back with My, My, My by Johnny Gill. I'M SHOOK! #VERZUZ pic.twitter.com/8QnTJSLSmv
@Ryan_Johnson
Me when Babyface played Whitney and Mariah's When You Believe #VERZUZ #TeddyRileyVsBabyface pic.twitter.com/6rMKMdG7r6
@thatgirlshelbyv
Teddy got Remember the Time going. I'm about the bust out the dance routine like it's 1991. #VERZUZ pic.twitter.com/FtE3JsjK0m
@BritniDWrites
The Babyface vs Teddy Riley #VERZUZ battle was like watching 2 of your uncles trying to use IG for the first time, but was everything I needed. pic.twitter.com/NG33Z8l8zN
@bluesteel1914
Baby Face when he dropped I'll Make Love To You #TeddyRileyvsBabyFace #Verzuz pic.twitter.com/AdRfAwyYNZ
@iam_Jaxon
Babyface is my demographic of petty. A little sassy, a little classy, always respectful, always gets the point across. #VERZUZ pic.twitter.com/9rYc1Z40t3
@letsbeKHAlear
Can we talk about the shade king Baby Face y'all.....After every song Teddy played Baby Face hit him with the....
@DOPECHICKBEATS
🤣🤣🤣🤣
#VERZUZ#BabyfacevsTeddyRiley pic.twitter.com/WMP9P7mhUG
*BabyFace vs Teddy Riley #VERZUZ Lmao pic.twitter.com/8XcX4ZGUeE
@D_1andOnly_
Teddy, please. We are begging you! THROW IN THE TILE!!!!! Babyface hasn't even played the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack yet.. THROW IN THE TILE!!!!! #VERZUZ pic.twitter.com/qc7s9Zl3f9
@Do_RaeeeMi
Teddy: That's where we going?
@DOPECHICKBEATS
Baby Face: That's where we went
💀💀💀💀
#TeddyRileyvBabyface#VERZUZ pic.twitter.com/bMGpw7pNqC
So everyone in agreement? Babyface won. #TeddyRileyVsBabyface #Verzuz pic.twitter.com/ALPATQ0T1Z
@jkatrinasmith
Winner by knockout, Kenneth #Babyface Edmonds. #VERZUZ pic.twitter.com/LFsYmlemQ3
@_JRTheGent_
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