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Stephanie Edwards (born May 13, 1968), better known by her stage name Sparkle, is an American R&B singer. She began her career in 1998 as a
protégé Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...
of fellow Chicago native
R. Kelly Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses. During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwi ...
. Sparkle is best known for her 1998 R&B debut hit single "
Be Careful BE or be may refer to: Linguistics * ''To be'', the English copular verb * Be (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet * ''be'' (interjection), in several languages * Be language or Ong Be, a language of northern Hainan province, China *Bla ...
".


Career

Sparkle first started singing in her family's gospel music group. Sparkle met singer R. Kelly in 1989. Sparkle was the first and only successful artist to release an album on Kelly's Rockland label. Sparkle's début album, the self-titled ''
Sparkle Sparkle may refer to: * Sparkle (catamaran), a catamaran designed by Angus Primrose * Sparkle (drink), a lemon-flavored soft drink * Sparkle, a brand of paper towels owned by Georgia-Pacific * Sparkle Plenty, a character in the ''Dick Tracy'' c ...
'', was released on May 19, 1998. The album debuted at No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and No. 2 on the
R&B charts The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
and was certified gold soon after its release. The album is best known for the single "
Be Careful BE or be may refer to: Linguistics * ''To be'', the English copular verb * Be (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet * ''be'' (interjection), in several languages * Be language or Ong Be, a language of northern Hainan province, China *Bla ...
," a 1998
duet A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...
with R. Kelly, which made it to two of Billboard's major airplay charts, peaking at No. 3 on the Rhythmic Top 40 and charted at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot R&B Airplay for six consecutive weeks, while also reaching No. 7 in the UK. Despite the success of her début album, Sparkle and R. Kelly began to have creative differences while working on her second album, which led to her asking to be released from Rockland/Interscope. She then signed with
Motown Records Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmant ...
, where she would release her second album '' Told You So'' in 2000. However, the album didn't do as well because of lack of promotion, only making it to 121 on the Billboard 200, while scoring a minor hit with the single "It's a Fact". On August 13, 2012, Sparkle released her first music video in 12 years called "So Bad"; however, the single is currently not available for purchase on iTunes or any digital music outlet.


Works

Sparkle has worked with several artists, including
Aaliyah Aaliyah Dana Haughton (; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer and actress. She has been credited for helping to redefine contemporary R&B, pop and hip hop, earning her the nicknames the "Princess of R&B" and " ...
(backing vocals on
Age Ain't Nothing but a Number ''Age Ain't Nothing but a Number'' is the debut studio album by American singer Aaliyah. It was released on May 24, 1994 by Blackground Records and Jive Records. After being signed by her uncle Barry Hankerson, Aaliyah was introduced to recordi ...
album),
R. Kelly Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses. During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwi ...
on '' R'';
Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...
on ''
Share My World ''Share My World'' is the third studio album by American R&B singer Mary J. Blige, released by MCA on Earth Day, April 22, 1997. The album became Blige's first to open at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200 album chart. Moreover, it is her ...
'';
Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, a ...
on "Loving You Remix";
Avant AVANT, also known as AVANT street art guerrilla collective, was the artist group active in New York City from 1980 to 1984. By 1984 AVANT had produced thousands of acrylic on paper paintings and plastered them on walls, doors, bus-stops and gallerie ...
on the remix of "Separated" which features
Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling girl ...
;
Joe Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...
on "Woman's Heart", Jimmy Sommers; and Tank. Sparkle also has sung background vocals for
Toni Braxton Toni Michele Braxton (born October 7, 1967) is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. She has sold over 70 million records worldwide and is one of the best-selling female artists in history. ...
in her Las Vegas stage show ''Toni Braxton Revealed''.


Personal life

In 2002, the Chicago Police and a writer for the ''
Chicago Sun Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'' showed Sparkle a videotape allegedly of her young niece, then approximately 14, and R. Kelly engaging in sexual acts. Sparkle identified the young girl as her niece. Sparkle testified against R. Kelly in a subsequent criminal trial on charges of child pornography in 2008. However, in the end, the jury found Kelly not guilty in the case.


Discography


Albums


Singles

* "
Be Careful BE or be may refer to: Linguistics * ''To be'', the English copular verb * Be (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet * ''be'' (interjection), in several languages * Be language or Ong Be, a language of northern Hainan province, China *Bla ...
" (featuring
R. Kelly Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses. During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwi ...
) (1998) * "Time to Move On" (1998) * "What About" (1998) * "Lovin You" (1999) * "It's a Fact" (2000) * "Good Life" (2001) * "So Bad" (2012) * "We Are Ready" (2018) * "Easy" (2020) * "Open Letter" (2021)


References


External links


2019 ''New York Times'' article on Sparkle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sparkle American contemporary R&B singers 1975 births Living people Singers from Chicago African-American women singer-songwriters Interscope Records artists Motown artists Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American women singers 20th-century African-American women singers Singer-songwriters from Illinois