Be Careful (Sparkle song)

"Be Careful" is a song by American singer Sparkle from her 1998 debut album, Sparkle. The song reached number three on the US Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 and number one on the Billboard Hot R&B Airplay chart; it was ineligible to appear on the Hot R&B Singles and Hot 100 charts at the time because it was not released as a commercial single in the US. Internationally, "Be Careful" reached number four in the Netherlands and number seven in the United Kingdom.

"Be Careful"
Single by Sparkle featuring R. Kelly
from the album Sparkle
Released	April 28, 1998 (1998-04-28)
Length	5:17
Label	Interscope Rockland
Songwriter(s)	R. Kelly
Producer(s)	R. Kelly
Sparkle singles chronology
"Be Careful" (1998) "Time to Move On" (1998)
R. Kelly singles chronology
"Gotham City" (1997) "Be Careful" (1998) "Friend of Mine (Remix)" (1998)

Background and promotion

The video, directed by Kelly, also features Kelly who wrote, produced, and composed this song. The single and the video were released before R. Kelly's single "When a Woman's Fed Up", which is the continuation of the story.^{[original research?]} Five weeks after the song was released it had already been played on the radio more than 40 million times in the US.^[1] Due to a Billboard rule, the song could not chart on the regular Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart in America. The music video is directed by R. Kelly.^[2] The video shows an African-American family that's struggling.

Track listing

European CD single

1. "Be Careful" (LP version) – 5:16
2. "Be Careful" (radio edit 1) – 5:18

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for "Be Careful" Chart (1998) Peak position Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[3] 50 Canada Dance/Urban (RPM)[4] 23 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[5] 26 Germany (GfK)[6] 52 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[7] 4 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[8] 4 Scotland (OCC)[9] 43 UK Singles (OCC)[10] 7 UK Dance (OCC)[11] 11 UK Indie (OCC)[12] 1 UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[13] 3 US Radio Songs (Billboard)[14] 32 US R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (Billboard)[15] 1 US Rhythmic (Billboard)[16] 3

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for "Be Careful" Chart (1998) Position Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[17] 36 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[18] 33 UK Singles (OCC)[19] 180 US Hot R&B Airplay (Billboard)[20] 17 US Rhythmic Top 40 (Billboard)[21] 33

Release history

Release history for "Be Careful"

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United States	April 28, 1998	Rhythmic contemporary radio	Interscope Rockland	[22]
	June 9, 1998	Contemporary hit radio		[23]
United Kingdom	July 6, 1998	CD cassette	Jive Rockland	[24]

References

1. Billboard 6 mar 1999, p. 34, at Google Books
2. "mvdbase.com – Sparkle – "Be careful"". www.mvdbase.com.
3. "Sparkle – Be Careful" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
4. "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 3603." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
5. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 15, no. 30. July 25, 1998. p. 12. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
6. "Sparkle – Be Careful" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
7. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 30, 1998" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
8. "Sparkle – Be Careful" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
9. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
10. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
11. "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
12. "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
13. "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
14. "Sparkle Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
15. "Sparkle Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
16. "Sparkle Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
17. "Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 1998". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
18. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1998" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
19. "Najlepsze single na UK Top 40–1998 wg sprzedaży" (in Polish). Archived from the original on June 4, 2015. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
20. "The Year in Music 1998: Hot R&B Singles Airplay". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 52. December 26, 1998. p. YE-52.
21. "Most Played Rhythmic Top 40 Songs of 1998". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 6, no. 52. December 25, 1998. p. 46.
22. "New Releases" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1245. April 24, 1998. p. 94. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
23. "New Releases" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1251. June 5, 1998. p. 39. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
24. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. July 4, 1998. p. 31. Retrieved July 11, 2021.