What Ever Happened to: Sparkle

I’ve been blessin’ y’all with these “What Ever Happened to…” features for years now. And if you’ve been following the series from the beginning, at this point you know the road to stardom tends to follow a predictable path: Church-honed vocals catch the ear of an industry insider, hit singles follow, sudden tragedy strikes and then cold, lonely obscurity.

But I can’t think of a story more troubling than that of Sparkle.

No, not THAT Sparkle. I’m talking about Stephanie Edwards, protege of the toxic R. Kelly.

Whisper a prayer, cling to the old rugged cross and come with me as we revisit the ups and downs of Sparkle’s promising career.

Stephanie Edwards honed her vocals in her local church (see! I told you!) before a fateful meeting with Robert Kelly in the late ’80s. As Kellz’s start began to shine, Sparkle was right there, using her connections to R to collaborate with A-listers like Mary J. Blige and Aaliyah in the mid 90s and artists like Avant later on.

By 1998, it was time for Sparkle to bask in the spotlight.

That year, she dropped her self-titled debut, which was anchored by her infamous duet with R. Kelly, “Be Careful.” Kellz had fashioned himself as the voice for scorned women and, playa, was that song ever scornful. Sparkle is pissed because Kelly wants to call it quits, Kellz claims he’s tired of being disrespected because he’s out of work. The song works because it’s so emotional and so real – far from the cartoony tales of stuttering pimps and psychotic dwarfs  in that horrible “Trapped In The Closet” fiasco.

This looks like Star Wars: Attack of the Coons.

The singles that followed “Be Careful” weren’t nearly as memorable. “Time to Move On” was way too subdued and while  “What About” tried to capture the pissed-off spirit of “Be Careful,” it couldn’t quite get there.

Needless to say, the No. 1 R&B hit “Be Careful” was the crown jewel of Sparkle, which climbed to No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and went platinum.

A few years later, the bond between Kelly and Sparkle began to strain. After creative differences over the direction of her new project, Sparkle cut ties with Kelly’s Rockland label and signed with Motown Records. In 2000, she dropped her sophomore set Told You So.

“It’s A Fact” pretty much followed up where “Be Careful” left off – another bluesy song about a no-good man. It wasn’t bad but it certainly lacked the spirit of the original. The single and album underperformed.

Sadly, here’s where things go horribly, horribly wrong.

Unless you were hiding under a Rockland in 2002, you most certainly remember R. Kelly’s sex tape scandal. You know, the one where some deluded underage girl thought it would be cool to be used as a urinal.

That young girl was Sparkle’s niece.

Yes, Sparkle identified the 14-year-old as her sister’s daughter and that the girl was engaging in filth with the Pied Piper of R&Pee. Sparkle testified against Kelly in 2008 but, as we all know, he was found not guilty.

But let me chill.

As you can imagine, all this drama derailed Sparkle’s career. In 2012, though, she returned with “So Bad,” and I gotta say, it’s pretty fun. Yeah, once again she’s singing about heartbreak, but it’s much more energetic and rejuvenating than many of the songs from her glory days.

A year later, after R. Kelly hopped on Kelly Rowland’s “Dirty Laundry” remix, Sparkle dropped her own version of the song, publicly addressing her struggles with Kellz: “Regretting the day I put my family in my business/A tape, a trial, and guess who’s a star witness?”

Should She Come Back?: Sparkle seems tailor-made for a show like R&B Divas, an artist who had a promising career shot down by unfortunate circumstances. While I wouldn’t mind hearing new music from her (“So Bad” shows she has gas left in the tank), she’s probably better off writing and supporting rising artists, a role she excelled at in the past. Most importantly, she can use her experiences to ward impressionable young women away from the evils of the industry.

“Be Careful” takes on a whole new meaning that way.

Visit our “What Ever Happened to…” archive for more on your favorite forgotten artists

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14 Comments

  1. LOL at Star Wars: Attack of the Coons!!

    • SOUND LIKE OR SHOULD I SAY..WHOEVER WROTE THIS ARTICLE IS A BITTER..SCORNED..WISH THAT THA KING OF R&B WAS INDEED IN JAIL…WELL SORRY HATER YOUR WISH WAS REJECTED ALONG WITH YOUR DEPOSIT TO HATE ON R KELLY’S NAME THINKING YOUR LITTLE SUBLIMINALS..4 INSTANCE “and that the girl was engaging in filth with the pied piper of r&pee”..with the kanye west kind of pissed off face with “but let me chill”..Nevertheless this little bullshit piece of a story didnt do nothing but remind us that the KING OF R&B made a nobody a star by writing her the only hit song she ever had and most importantly will have.Created by who..THA KING👑OF R&B R KELLY..And oh yeah..That little small talk about “Trapped in the Closet” saying bullshit like..”far from the cartoony tales of stuttering pimps and phsycotic dwarfs in that horrible “Trapped in the Closet” fiasco..All I can say is thank you..4 the record as a writer..write..I seen your hate & disgust and judgemental wtiting for an artist that really made this story awful at best..Your name ain’t Chris Rock or Chris Tucker you don’t get paid to tell jokes..you’re not funny with your little one liner punchlines..So please “Step in the name of Love” and have a joyful day…#RKELLY4LIFE

      • Jay Reed. Your comment is disgusting and I hope you don’t have children because you are promoting a pedophile. Its almost as if R. Kelly paid you to be his personal PR and hype man.

      • Bet you feel pretty stupid and ignorant now, idiot. The world knows he’s a pedophile predator now, you dumbfuck asswipe

      • Sparkle is a very talented singer! R Kelly ruined her career & her family, along with many, many lives!

  2. #rkelly4life is having pipe dreams. Money and fame is the only thing that got rkelly out of his troubles. You seem to value these things rather than humanity. Rkelly does in fact think he is above the law, and above God’s judgement, sadly he is mistaken. He will answer for his ways.

  3. I loved her debut album, that joint still goes hard in 2017.

  4. Im.am a big r.kelly can it’s a shame to see so many derogatory statements about him,he hasn’t. Beven charged with any criminal charges. The.questions I raise is are these women consenting adults and were they kidnapped against they’re will,they lived in his house on they’re own free will.they could left on they own free will.how come there’s no opposition against Elvis Presley,Marvin Gaye, Jerry Lewis, woody Allen,.thats the double standard, the easiest media.

    • I’m sorry I WAS a fan also, but even a FOOL can see this man has a problem with messing with young women WHEHTER THEY CONSENT OR NOT THEY ARE UNDERAGE & THEREFORE NOT ABLE TO MAKE THOSE TYPE OF DECISIONS WITH A SOUND MIND. Anyone that thinks otherwise is basically stating it is okay to rape an underage child as long as they don’t say no.(IT IS STILL RAPE..THEY CANNOT CONSENT) It is disgusting and R. Kelly will pay for his discretions one way or the other.

    • Did R. Kelly write this? Why’s it so jacked up.

  5. R Kelly is a pedaphile a waste I hope that mother fucker gets his money got him out of trouble
    The only reason he got off his brother took the rap for it and all he got was a house I hope he rots in jail the manager needs to be charged the parents who took the payout just disgraceful
    He says he going to sue lifetime bitch you ain’t got no money you ain’t sold a song in years
    Put me in a room with him for five minutes alone I would break his fucking kneck

  6. Where were their parents???As a mother he isn’t the only one responsible the parents of these girls should be in question also. No matter the color of these girls there mothers and fathers should be ashamed. But why come out now and make this mess??? This is unnecessary now. Years later…🤦🏽‍♀️

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