Originally the main character, Sam, was going to be an electrician and that is why the title was Sparkle. (In the UK, a sparky is a nickname for someone in that profession.) However over time the plot developed and Sam's character was just looking for any kind work when he went to London. The producers however still wanted to call the film Sparkle, so had to come up with another reason for that. They gave Sam the surname Sparks, and developed his mum's character as a singer, so that they could continue to use Sparkle as the film's title.