"Sweetheart" is a song originally recorded by American singer Rainy Davis. It was written by Davis and Pete Warner, and produced with Dorothy Kessler. The track was released in 1986 by independent record label SuperTronics as a single from Davis's 1987 studio album Sweetheart. A freestyle, hip hop pop, and synth-funk song, "Sweetheart" appeared on R&B and dance music-based record charts in the United States.
American singer Mariah Carey recorded a cover version with American rapper Jermaine Dupri (credited as JD) for his debut album, Life in 1472 (1998), and her first greatest hits album, #1's (1998). So So Def and Columbia Records released it as the third single from the former album on September 7, 1998. Carey was inspired to create a remake of "Sweetheart" as she liked listening to the song as a teenage girl. Critics categorized the cover as a dance, hip-hop, and R&B song, and its instrumental features synths and bass runs. The lyrics describe a woman's desire for a person with whom to share a romance.
"Sweetheart" was promoted with a music video directed by Hype Williams in Spain. Although American and British music magazines predicted it would experience success on major record charts, its performance in those countries was restricted to the US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 and UK club charts due to the absence of a commercial release. It fared better in mainland Europe, where it charted in the top twenty on Dutch, German, and Swiss record charts. In reviewing "Sweetheart", music critics focused on Carey's vocal performance, Dupri's rapping style, and the cover's perceived sexual nature.
Rainy Davis original
"Sweetheart" is a freestyle, SuperTronics, a Brooklyn-based independent record label, issued the song in early 1986. A representative from the label stated that the release was part of a strategy to expand beyond promoting songs made for dance clubs by finding and issuing ones suitable for radio airplay.
"Sweetheart" appeared on R&B and dance music-based record charts in the United States. According to a 2020 Billboard article, it experienced minor success on the former. The song peaked at numbers twenty-three, twenty-four, and twenty-seven, respectively, on charts published by Cash Box, Billboard, and Radio & Records magazines. and R&B writer Nelson George compared Davis's vocals to those of Lisa Lisa on Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam's "I Wonder If I Take You Home". Writing for the Hartford Advocate in 1987, George Lane named it the best song on Sweetheart for its restrained production which he thought showcased her voice well.
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
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!Chart (Publisher)
!Peak<br/>position
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!scope="row"|12-inch Singles Sales (Billboard)
|13
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!scope="row"|Club Play (Billboard)
|15
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!scope="row"|Black Contemporary (Cash Box)
|23
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!scope="row"|Black/Urban (Radio & Records)
|27
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+
!Chart (Publisher)
!Peak<br/>position
|-
!scope="row"|12 Inch Singles Sales (Billboard)
|32
|}
Jermaine Dupri and Mariah Carey version
and questioned Sony's decision to cancel the September 29 commercial release. Internationally, "Sweetheart" peaked within the top twenty of record charts in Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. Like with many music videos for other songs by Carey such as "Honey" (1997), the video for "Sweetheart" features an exotic setting. It was shot at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, in August 1998. Williams persuaded Carey to travel there after showing her pictures of the building. Williams had often used a fisheye lens to produce perspective distortion in past music videos, but he did not use it for "Sweetheart" because the Guggenheim, an example of architecture in the deconstructivist style, is inherently distorted.
"Sweetheart" depicts Dupri dancing on top of the museum, She wears a metal mesh outfit that matches the museum's motif. The Morning Calls Paul Willistein called the video "even hotter" than the song itself and The Advertiser felt it would not have been filmed if Carey were still married due to the "sexy, fleshy" visuals. In her book Experiencing Music Video, scholar Carol Vernallis wrote that the Guggenheim represents a departure from the typical iconography of R&B music videos. Irene Nero stated that the video contributed to the museum's perceived celebrity-like status for its many depictions in media.
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Life in 1472 and #1's.
|15
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!scope="row"|Europe – Eurochart Hot 100 Singles (Music & Media)
|63
|-
!scope="row"|Germany – Top 100 Singles (Media Control AG)
|15
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!scope="row"|Netherlands Dutch Top 40 ()
|14
|-
!scope="row"|Netherlands Single Top 100 (Dutch Charts)
|22
|-
!scope="row"|Sweden Hitlistan (GLF)
|44
|-
!scope="row"|Switzerland Hitparade (Media Control AG)
|18
|-
!scope="row"| UK Club (Music Week)<br/>
|16
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!scope="row"|UK Pop Club (Music Week)
|21
|-
!scope="row"|UK Urban Club (Music Week)
|2
|-
!scope="row"|UK Dance Airplay (Music Week)
|27
|-
!scope="row"|US Bubbling Under Hot 100 (Billboard)
|25
|-
!scope="row"|US Crossover (Billboard)
|28
|-
!scope="row"|US Hot R&B Airplay (Billboard)
|45
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!scope="row"|US Rhythmic Top 40 (Billboard)
|23
|-
!scope="row"|US /Rhythmic (Radio & Records)
|17
|-
!scope="row"|US Hip-Hop (Radio & Records)
|2
|-
!scope="row"|US Urban (Radio & Records)
|14
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+
!Region – Chart (Publisher)
!Position
|-
!scope="row"|Netherlands Dutch Top 40 ()
|137
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!scope="row"| US Rhythmic Top 40 (Billboard)
|92
|-
! scope="row"|US CHR/Rhythmic (Radio & Records)
|88
|}