Honey (Mariah Carey song)

Infobox Single
Name = Honey


Artist = Mariah Carey
Album = Butterfly
Released = August 26, 1997 (US)
Format = CD single, CD maxi single, cassette single, cassette maxi single, 7" single, 12" single, video single
[ Recorded = ]
Genre = Pop, R&B
Length = 4:58 (Album Version)
4:39 (Smooth Version)
5:31 (Remix)
Label = Columbia
Writer = Mariah Carey, Puff Daddy, Stevie J, Q-Tip (The Ummah), Bobby Robinson, Stephen Hague, Ronald Larkins, Malcolm McLaren, Larry Price
Producer = Mariah Carey, Puff Daddy, Stevie J, Q-Tip (The Ummah)
Chart position =

• #1 (U.S. , Israel, Philippines)
• #2 (Canada, Croatia, Serbia)
• #3 (UK)
• #8 (Australia, Sweden)
• #12 (Finland)

Last single = "O Holy Night"
(1996)
This single = "Honey"
(1997)
Next single = "Butterfly"
(1997)
Misc = Extra track listing
Album = Butterfly
Type = studio
prev_track =
prev_no =
this_track = "Honey"
track_no = 1
next_track = "Butterfly"
next_no = 2Extra track listing
Album = #1's
Type = compilation
prev_track = "My All"
prev_no = 4
this_track = "Honey"
track_no = 5
next_track = "Always Be My Baby"
next_no = 6Extra track listing
Album = Greatest Hits (CD #2)
Type = compilation
prev_track = "Underneath the Stars"
prev_no = 4
this_track = "Honey"
track_no = 5
next_track = "Butterfly"
next_no = 6Extra track listing
Album = The Remixes (CD #1)
Type = remix album
prev_track = "Fantasy (Morales Sweet Club Mix)"
prev_no = 5
this_track = "Honey (Classic Mix)"
track_no = 6
next_track = "Dreamlover (So So Def Club Mix)"
next_no = 7Extra track listing
Album = The Remixes (CD #2)
Type = remix album
prev_track = "Breakdown"
prev_no = 5
this_track = "Honey (So So Def Mix)"
track_no = 6
next_track = "Loverboy (Remix)"
next_no = 7

"Honey" is a song co-written and co-produced by American singer Mariah Carey, Puff Daddy, Stevie J, and Q-Tip (listed in credits as "The Ummah"), and recorded for Carey's seventh album "Butterfly" (1997). It uses two samples: "Hey DJ", originally performed by the World Famous Supreme Team, and "The Body Rock" by the Treacherous Three. It was released as the first single from "Butterfly" in 1997 (see 1997 in music) and became one of Carey's bigger hits, reaching number one in the United States and selling well elsewhere.

The song is best known for its video, which presented a more sexual and less conservative image of Carey than had been previously seen. It also marked a musical transition in her career, moving her away from pop music and further towards hip hop. "Honey" was nominated for the 1998 Grammy Awards for "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance" and "Best R&B Song".

Chart performance

"Honey" was Carey's twelfth number-one single on the U.S. "Billboard" Hot 100 and became her third single to debut at number one, consolidating her position as the artist with the most number-one debuts (the others being "Fantasy" and "One Sweet Day", both 1995). After its debut it spent three weeks at the top of the chart, from September 7 to September 27 1997. It replaced "Mo Money Mo Problems" by The Notorious B.I.G. featuring Puff Daddy and Mase, and it was replaced by Boyz II Men's "4 Seasons of Loneliness". After its sales had begun to decline, radio airplay was not strong enough to keep "Honey" popular, and it began a new trend for Carey's singles that did not end until the release of "We Belong Together" (2005): the CD single would sell well, but the song would only achieve average success on the radio. Her records became increasingly less successful on charts that were weighing airplay far more heavily than sales. "Honey" remained in the U.S. top forty for eighteen weeks and was ranked thirty-second on the Hot 100 1997 year-end charts.

"Honey" was a substantial hit outside the U.S., going top three in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Italy. Its success across most of Continental Europe, however, did not rival that of singles such as "Hero" (1993), "Without You" (1994) and "Fantasy". It peaked inside the top ten in Sweden and Australia.

In Asia, the song peaked at number one, though Carey's image seemed to be very controversial now that she had revealed more skin and exemplifiend a sexier look. The lyrics of the song according to some critics in Asia seemed racy, and the video itself was the manifestation of the different vibe Carey had offered. In the Philippines, the song became the first single ever to debut at the top three positions, a record still held by Carey, which was almost beaten by another single of hers, "Don't Forget About Us", which debuted at number four.

"Honey" debuted at number 3 in the United World Chart, making it the highest debut for female artists on the chart (so far).

Music video

The best-known aspect of "Honey" was its video, which forever changed Carey's public image. Carey had previously been dressed conservatively, as the "girl next door". Starting with "Honey" (directed by Paul Hunter), she was seen in revealing clothing.

The video premiered on MTV and BET in September 1997 and was inspired by James Bond films and shot in Puerto Rico in July 1997. It starts out with Carey, clad in a conservative-looking dress and 4-inch metal stiletto heels, being held prisoner in a mansion. After escaping her captors via a swimming pool, she takes off her dress in the water to reveal a bikini, inspired by Bond girl Honey Ryder's famous white bikini in "Dr. No" (1962). Carey dresses into a wetsuit and uses a watercraft to evade her captors, who are also on watercraft. The video is intercut with sequences of Carey singing in a two-piece outfit on an island, and sequences involving her dancing with sailors. Carey's captors interrogate the sailors, but she is nowhere to be seen. The video ends with Carey frolicking around on a beach with Cuban American male model David Fumero and her dog, Jack. The video was nominated at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards for "Best Female Video".

Many at the time (and up to the present day) made comparisons between the video and Mariah's real life. Prior to the release of the Butterfly album, Mariah had spent several years married to Sony Music Entertainment executive Tommy Mottola, who was also responsible for discovering her. Mariah has commented that she was very unhappy in the marriage, and likened the experience to imprisonment. In addition, she charges Mottola with being very jealous and, as a result, Mariah was made to cover her body with clothing so as not to come off as sexually desirable. In the video, Mariah is imprisoned by thuggy Italian-types, which reflects on Tommy's Italian heritage and his rumored ties to the Mafia. When she escapes, she sheds her dress and (for the first time in her career) is without clothing, appearing in just a bikini. People saw the whole video as a passive aggressive slap in Tommy's face, especially because the video was all Mariah's concept. Mottola himself commented that he thought the video was her best yet. Whether or not he chose to see the deliberate (or highly coincidental) likenesses to real life has never been disclosed.

Remixes

Several remixes were commissioned for "Honey", most notably the Bad Boy remix and the Classic mix, the latter of which appears on Carey's remix compilation "The Remixes" (2003). The former is similar to the original version, but there is a new spoken intro from Carey in which she states, "I thought I told you, we won't stop". The string chords present in the original "Honey" are entirely excised from the Bad Boy remix, and it features rapping by The Lox and Mase. The rap from Mase entirely replaces the second chorus of the song, while the Lox's parts replaces a section of the song's bridge.

The song's main remix, "Honey" (Bad Boy remix), also has a music video, with additional sequences directed by Paul Hunter. Much of the footage of the video for this remix is from the original video, with the new sequences featuring Carey with Mase, the Lox (later known as D Block), and Puff Daddy in a long beige tunnel flowing with water ("The Honey Tunnel"). During Mase's rap, Carey is rescued by Mase (rather than joining the sailors on the boat) when he lowers a rope into the ocean from his helicopter.

Another major hip-hop mix of the song was released: "Honey" (So So Def mix), produced by Jermaine Dupri and featuring raps from him and Da Brat. Carey re-recorded some of her vocals, but most lyrical and melodic structures are kept similar to the album version. The song uses a new sample from "It's Great to Be Here" (originally performed by The Jackson 5), but it does not use "The Body Rock" from the album version and Bad Boy remix. The So So Def remix does use the sample of "Hey DJ", but in a different manner: the album version and Bad Boy remix use the piano riff from "Hey DJ", while the So So Def remix uses the line "Hey JD, won't you play that song, keep them dancing, dancing all night".

David Morales created several dance remixes of the song, the most notable being "Honey" (Classic mix), and variations of this include "Honey" (Def Club mix), "Honey" (Rascal dub), and "Honey" (Boss Anthem mix). These give songwriting credit to the writers of "The Body Rock", although this is not sampled. Morales is also credited as a songwriter for the remixes, although they are close to the original melodic and lyrical structure of the original song.

Audio sample

multi-listen item
filename = MariahCareyHoney.ogg
title = Album version of "Honey"
description = |

Charts

{| class="wikitable"!align="left"|Chart (1997)!align="center"|Peak
position
-
align="left"|Italian Singles Chart
align="center"|2
-
align="left"|Yugoslavian Singles Chart
align="center"|2
-
align="left"|UK Singles Chart
align="center"|3
-
align="left"|Eurochart Hot 100 Singles
align="center"|3
-
align="left"|Australian ARIA Singles Chart
align="center"|8
-
align="left"|Swedish Singles Chart
align="center"|8
-
align="left"|Finland Singles Chart [ [http://finnishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Mariah+Carey&titel=Honey&cat=s finnishcharts.com] Accessed: March 19, 2007]
align="center"|12
-
align="left"|Swiss Singles Chart
align="center"|23
-
align="left"|German Singles Chart
align="center"|38
-
align="left"|French Singles Chart [ [http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Mariah+Carey&titel=Honey&cat=s LesCharts.com] Accessed: March 19, 2007]
align="center"|39

ee also

*Hot 100 number-one hits of 1997 (USA)
*Number-one dance hits of 1997 (USA)
*ARC Weekly Top 40 number-one hits of 1997 (U.S.)

Notes

References

* [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.vnuArtistId=48340&model.vnuAlbumId=668708 "Mariah Carey - Artist Chart History"] . "Billboard". Retrieved November 6 2006.
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:2smsa9ugb238~T51 "Mariah Carey - Billboard Singles"] . "Billboard" and Allmusic. Retrieved November 6 2006.
* [http://www.mariah-charts.com/chartdata/PHoney.htm "Honey"] . Mariah-charts.com. Retrieved November 6 2006.