Sweetheart (Rainy Davis song)

A freestyle, hip hop pop, and synth-funk song, "Sweetheart" appeared on R&B and dance music-based record charts in the United States.

In reviewing "Sweetheart", music critics focused on Carey's vocal performance, Dupri's rapping style, and the cover's perceived sexual nature.

[6][7] 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.

[3] The song peaked at numbers twenty-three, twenty-four, and twenty-seven, respectively, on charts published by Cash Box, Billboard, and Radio & Records magazines.

[2] 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.

[4] According to Carey, after divorcing Sony Music CEO Tommy Mottola following the release of her sixth studio album Butterfly (1997), she negotiated an exit from Columbia Records.

Carey yearns, "Baby, won't you be my sweetheart / And we could share a storybook romance", to which Dupri responds through ad-libs and a rapped verse.

[3] An explicit introduction in the album version of the song on Life in 1472, in which Carey talks to Dupri on the phone about "fucking", is omitted in subsequent releases.

[36] A commercial release in the United States scheduled for September 29 was retracted for unspecified reasons and instead distributed for free with the purchase of #1's.

[37][38] Spin reported that DreamWorks and Arista Records were concerned that the song might cannibalize sales of their impending release, Carey's duet with Whitney Houston, "When You Believe".

[39] Dupri, Carl-So-Lowe, Lil Jon, Mark Picchiotti, and Eddie Arroyo produced remixes that appeared on several releases.

[a] Writing for the Popular Music and Society journal, Vincent Stephens thought this helped make "Sweetheart" one of her best R&B songs.

[1][52] The Baltimore Sun's J. D. Considine said "Carey's effortless carnality makes Jermaine Dupri's sex-obsessed rap seem almost silly".

[3] The incorporation of hip-hop elements in "Sweetheart" was also analyzed; in the view of Boston Globe writer Joan Anderman, they come across as sanitized.

[62] Writing for Complex in 2013, David Drake said that the song underperformed compared to Carey's 1998 standards[e] and questioned Sony's decision to cancel the September 29 commercial release.

[65][66][67] Remixes peaked at number sixteen on the UK Record Mirror Club Chart published by Music Week.

[32] As with other media projects filmed there, the Guggenheim was chosen for its unique appearance;[71] Williams persuaded Carey to travel there after showing her pictures of the building.

[73] "Sweetheart" depicts Dupri dancing on top of the museum,[69] while Carey twirls in a dress to reveal her underwear and rides on the back of a motorcycle with her lover.