"Honey" garnered acclaimed response from contemporary music critics. David Browne from Entertainment Weekly described the importance the song held for Carey's musical transition. He wrote "You're prepared for a song on which Carey finally breaks free of her adult-contemporary chains and gets down." He felt "Honey" sounded as "anyone striking out on his or her own — caught between old and new habits and taking cautious baby steps into the future." Browne also commented that Carey showed a commendable vocal restraint in the song, "showing some admirable restraint, she nestles herself into the downy-soft beats of "Honey." Author Chris Nickson felt the single's importance was "well beyond its chart placing" and that the single was one of the most important songs in Carey's career, enabling her to transition into R&B and hip-hop. Nickson commented that before, Carey was seen as a pop singer with R&B tendencies, but "Honey" changed that idea, giving the singer "hip-hop credibility", and forced naysayers to "take another look." Rich Juzwiak from Slant complimented the song, calling it "awakening, both sensually and musically." Juzwiak concluded the review writing ""Honey" exemplifies the abrupt gear shifting that appreciating Mariah the artist requires. Its new pop brilliance doesn't always come easy, where detecting it depends on the audience's newfound ability to apply Carey's pop life to her pop music." Additionally, the song won the BMI Pop Award for "Songwriter."

|}

Chart performance

"Honey" was Carey's third single to debut atop the Billboard Hot 100. Additionally, the song became her 12th chart-topper, breaking the fifth place record she had shared with Madonna and Whitney Houston. 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". The song stalled at number two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (behind "You Make Me Wanna..." by Usher), spending 22 weeks in the chart. "Honey" finished number 32 on the Billboard end of year chart for 1997. In Canada, the song debuted on the RPM Singles Chart at forty-eight on the RPM issue dated August 18, 1997, and reached the top of the chart on September 22, 1997. It was present on the chart for a total of 20 weeks, and ranked 18 on the RPM Year-end chart for 1997.

The song debuted on the UK Singles Chart on September 6, 1997, at its peak of number three, becoming Carey's 13th top ten single, and spent a total of eight weeks in the chart. "Honey" is Carey's 15th best-selling single in the United Kingdom as of 2010, with estimated sales of over 200,000. In Australia, "Honey" peaked at number eight on the charts, spending a total of 19 weeks in the chart. It was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), denoting shipments of over 35,000 units. In New Zealand, the song peaked at number three, and stayed in the chart for 14 weeks. The song's success in most other worldwide markets was moderate, with it not reaching the same peaks as Carey's previous singles. While "Honey" peaked at number 12 in Finland, it fell dropped out of the chart the next week, spending a total of only one week in the chart. In Sweden, the song performed well, peaking at number eight and staying within the chart for ten weeks. In Austria and France, "Honey" peaked at number 39, spending one and four weeks on the charts, respectively. The song peaked at number 29 and 30 in Belgium Flanders and Wallonia.

Music video

thumb|Carey exiting a swimming pool in the "Honey" music video, which became one of the most iconic moments in her videography.|alt=A woman exiting a swimming pool.

Aside from the attention surrounding the song, the music video for "Honey" garnered much speculation. For the first time in her career, Carey was featured provocatively dressed, giving viewers a "taste of the freer Mariah." The video's concept was created by Carey with Paul Hunter filling in as the director. The video begins with Carey, playing "Agent M", being held hostage in a large mansion. The captors are played by Eddie Griffin, Frank Sivero, and Johnny Brennan of The Jerky Boys, who continue to taunt Carey over her capture and eventual death. "Honey" was performed during Carey's following tour, the Charmbracelet World Tour (2003–2004). Carey continued performing the song throughout her 2006 tour, The Adventures of Mimi. The performance did not include any video intro, but did introduce a four-piece of male dancers dressed in sailor outfits. Carey wore a pair of black leggings, accompanied by a sparkling mini-bra. During the performance in Madison Square Garden, Carey was joined with Sean "Diddy" Combs (previously known as Puffy) on stage after the second verse. During her Angels Advocate Tour (2010) performance of the song, Carey donned a sparkling mini-Herve Leger gown, with a faux-fur snug jacket. During the song, male and female dancers joined her on stage, and performed up-tempo dance routines. She performed the song regularly during The Elusive Chanteuse Show (2014), singing the So So Def Mix. She also included the song in her 2015 Las Vegas residency, Mariah Carey Number 1's, where she would enter the stage in a black leotard, riding a yellow jet ski, in homage to the video. Carey started performing "Honey" for the first time since July 2017 on her second concert residency, The Butterfly Returns (2018).

During The LOX's 2021 battle with The Diplomats (DipSet) via Timbaland and Swizz Beatz' Verzuz at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden, Jadakiss performed his verse from the Bad Boy Remix of "Honey" as part of a medley. Specifically, in response to a remark from Juelz Santana after DipSet had played Cam'ron's "Oh Boy" and "Hey Ma" that The LOX had no records for female fans, The LOX performed the Bad Boy Remix of "Honey", "Ryde or Die, Bitch" featuring Eve, other remixes featuring them of Jennifer Lopez's "Jenny from the Block" and Mary J. Blige's "Family Affair" and also Sheek Louch's "Good Love" and Jadakiss' "Knock Yourself Out". Before he performed his "Honey" Bad Boy Remix verse, Jadakiss remarked, "We got Grammys! These (expletive)s (DipSet) don't know what Grammys look like, they know what grams look like!"

Track listing and formats

US CD single

  1. "Honey" (LP version) – 4:59
  2. "Honey" (Bad Boy Remix) – 5:32

UK CD single (Part 1)

  1. "Honey" (LP version) – 4:59
  2. "Honey" (Bad Boy Remix) – 5:32
  3. "Honey" (Smooth Version with Intro) – 5:07
  4. "Honey" (So So Def Mix) – 5:13

UK CD single (Part 2)

  1. "Honey" (LP version) – 4:59
  2. "Honey" (Classic Mix) – 8:06
  3. "Honey" (Morales Club Dub) – 11:02
  4. "Honey" (Mo' Honey Dub) – 7:24
  5. "Honey" (Classic Instrumental) – 7:32

Digital remixes / 2× 12-inch vinyl

  • Mariah Carey – vocals, songwriting, co-producing
  • Sean Combs – songwriting, co-producing
  • Kamaal Fareed – songwriting, co-producing
  • Steven Jordan – songwriting, co-producing
  • Stephen Hague – songwriting
  • Bobby Robinson – songwriting
  • Ronald Larkins – songwriting
  • Larry Price – songwriting
  • Malcolm McLaren – songwriting

Charts

Weekly charts

{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

|+Weekly chart performance for "Honey"

!Chart (1997)

!Peak<br />position

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

!scope="row"|Benelux Airplay (Music & Media)

|3

|-

! scope="row"|Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)

|2

|-

! scope="row"|Canada Contemporary Hit Radio (BDS)

|1

|-

!scope="row"| Croatia (HRT)

| 1

|-

!scope="row"|DACH Airplay (Music & Media)

|16

|-

! scope="row"|Denmark (IFPI)

|17

|-

! scope="row"|European Hot 100 Singles (Music & Media)

|16

|-

|-

|-

|-

! scope="row"|Hungary (MAHASZ)

|5

|-

!scope="row"|Hungary Airplay ()

|2

|-

! scope="row"|Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)

|26

|-

|-

! scope="row"|Israel (IBA)

|align="center"|1

|-

! scope="row"| Italy (FIMI)

| 2

|-

!scope="row"|Italy Airplay (Music & Media)

| 1

|-

! scope="row"|Japan (Oricon)

|39

|-

|-

|-

|-

!scope="row"|Scandinavia Airplay (Music & Media)

|4

|-

!scope="row"|Spain Airplay (Music & Media)

|2

|-

|-

|-

!scope="row"| UK Club (Music Week)

|31

|-

!scope="row"| UK Urban Club (Music Week)

| 1

|-

!scope="row"|UK Airplay (Music & Media)

|2

|-

!scope="row"|UK Airplay (Music Control)

|5

|-

!scope="row"| UK Dance Airplay (Music Control)

|1

|-

|-

!scope="row"|US Crossover (Billboard)

|2

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

! scope="row"|US Adult Contemporary (Gavin Report)

|16

|-

! scope="row"|US Top 40 (Gavin Report)

|6

|-

! scope="row"|US Urban (Gavin Report)

|1

|-

! scope="row"| US CHR/Pop (Radio & Records)

|10

|-

! scope="row"| US CHR/Rhythmic (Radio & Records)

|1

|-

! scope="row"| US Urban (Radio & Records)

|1

|-

! scope="row"| US Urban AC (Radio & Records)

|2

|}

Year-end charts

{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

|+Year-end chart performance for "Honey"

!Chart (1997)

!Position

|-

! scope="row"| Australia (ARIA)

|align="center"|50

|-

!scope="row"|Canada Singles (SoundScan)

|align="center"|13

|-

! scope="row"| Canada Top Singles (RPM)

|align="center"|18

|-

! scope="row"| Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)

|align="center"|44

|-

! scope="row"| Canada Dance/Urban (RPM)

|align="center"|9

|-

!scope="row"|Europe Airplay (Music & Media)

|align="center"|24

|-

! scope="row"| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)

|align="center"|105

|-

! scope="row"| Netherlands (Single Top 100)

|align="center"|79

|-

! scope="row"| New Zealand (RIANZ)

|align="center"|18

|-

! scope="row"| Sweden (Topplistan)

|align="center"|91

|-

! scope="row"| UK Singles (OCC)

|align="center"|93

|-

!scope="row"|UK Urban (Music Week)

|align="center"|13

|-

! scope="row"| US Billboard Hot 100

|align="center"|32

|-

! scope="row"| US Hot R&B Singles (Billboard)

|align="center"|37

|-

! scope="row"| US Maxi-Singles Sales (Billboard)

|align="center"|12

|-

! scope="row"| US Rhythmic Top 40 (Billboard)

|align="center"|19

|-

! scope="row"| US Top 40/Mainstream (Billboard)

|align="center"|45

|-

! scope="row"|US CHR/Pop (Radio & Records)

|align="center"|60

|-

! scope="row"|US CHR/Rhythmic (Radio & Records)

|align="center"|19

|-

! scope="row"|US Urban (Radio & Records)

|align="center"|40

|-

! scope="row"|US Urban AC (Radio & Records)

|align="center"|35

|}

Certifications

Release history

{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

|+Release dates and formats for "Honey"

!scope="col"|Region

!scope="col"|Date

!scope="col"|Format(s)

!scope="col"|Label(s)

!scope="col"|

|-

! scope="row"| United States

|

| <!-- According to Radio & Records magazine, "Honey" was serviced to CHR and rhythmic radio stations. -->

| Columbia

|

|-

! scope="row"| France

| rowspan="2"| August 25, 1997

|

| Sony Music

|

|-

! scope="row"| United Kingdom

|

| rowspan="3"| Columbia

|

|-

! scope="row"| Canada

| rowspan="2"| August 26, 1997

| 12-inch vinyl

|

|-

! scope="row"| United States

|

|

|-

! scope="row"| Japan

| August 27, 1997

| CD

| Sony Music

|

|-

! scope="row"|

| February 17, 2023

| 2× 12-inch vinyl (Urban Outfitters exclusive)

| Sony Music

| align="center"|

|}

See also

  • List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones of 1997
  • List of number-one dance singles of 1997 (U.S.)

References

Further reading