Here is something more on Mariah's number one hit Honey from the album Butterfly.
Single:
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Honey was long awaited first single from Mariah’s album Butterfly. It was released worldwide on August 26th 1997. The song introduced Mariah’s new style and revealed her changed image. Though some people were shocked, her true fans accepted it as another great hit. Honey is featuring a kind of hip-hop style. It came along with a great music video, showing a little more of Mariah than usual. Honey single went straight to #1 on Billboard charts upon its release and stayed there for three weeks until it was kicked out to #2 by Boyz II Men's '4 Seasons of Loneliness'.
That made Mariah with her hits Fantasy and One Sweet Day responsible for the three of only six singles ever to accomplish that.
There were three different versions of the single, featuring several great remixes (including Bad Boy Remix, Def Club Mix, So So Def Mix,...). Of course Mariah wrote the lyrics and the song was produced by Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs of Bad Boy Entertainment.
They have included a sample of ‘The Body Rock’ by Treacherous 3 and also a replay of ‘Hey DJ’ written by S. Hague. This hit single also featured other rap artists: Mase & The Lox, Da Brat and JD. Mariah proved that she can make great songs in any music style, she also showed her urban side. Mariah tells how they came up with the music:
"Q-Tip, from Tribe Called Quest came up with that idea, to use the "Body Rock" loop and he played it to me over the phone and I knew immediately that this was the happy, light summer vibe I needed. Then we thought it out and put "Hey DJ" on top of it and Puffy came in with all his ideas so it was a collaborative effort. That’s what I’m about. I don’t just get a producer to come in and invent or reinvent me."
Singles featuring Honey remixes:
Europe & US:
1. LP Version
2. Bad Boy Remix Featuring Mase & The Lox
3. Classic Mix
4. So So Def Mix Featuring Da Brat & JD
5. Classic Instrumental
UK Honey remixes:
1. Album Version
2. Classic Mix
3. Morales Club Dub
4. Mo Honey Dub
5. Classic Instrumental
Australian version:
1. LP Version
2. Bad Boy Remix Featuring Mase & The Lox
3. Smooth Version With Intro
4. So So Def Mix Featuring Da Brat & JD
Butterfly Album (non US ver.)
13. So So Def Radio Mix
14. Def Club Mix
Music Video:
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Music video for Honey was released around the same time as the single. This was Mariah’s first music video that showed a little more of her body, when Mariah appeared in her swimsuit. She showed herself as a free person, who can finally do what she wants. Also the theme of the video expresses Mariah’s new freedom after the divorce. There were even some rumors that she created the video to get back at Tommy (her ex-husband), cause it shows her escape, but she denied them... so we have to believe her.
She was inspired for the video when she was riding jet skis one day in Puerto Rico, where also the video was filmed on a little island (Cayo) in June 1997. Mariah wanted to do a James Bond kind of thing, so she plays a secret agent named 'Agent M'.
The whole video is like a little action movie. It starts in a castle, where Mariah is held captive, tied up in a chair, wearing short black dress and black stilettos. She is interrogated by a big Italian mob boss look alike (actor Frank Sivero). He asks her questions and Mariah answers in Spanish, that his hair looks funny. She than jumps up and runs to the balcony, where she dives into a pool.
Under the water she takes of her clothes and shoes, and swims out wearing a cream swimsuit. She changes her clothes again into a black swimsuit.
The chase begins... She escapes on jet skis and she’s chased by guys. There are also some scenes of Mariah dancing (!) on some ship with a group of other dancers (sailors). People are after her so the guys help her disappear. When the camera is showing Mariah singing, she is standing in front of some white sail by the sea, dressed in a white top and short skirt looking really attractive (as always). Finally Mariah reaches the coast where she is awaited by her guy, played by Cuban-American model David Fumero. Mariah is dressed in a light brown short dress kneeling down on the beach. They hug and he carries her away...
Later there was also a second video released for the rap version: Honey Bad Boy Remix. The video is featuring rappers Mase and The Lox. The story is pretty similar to the original video, but now Mariah is singing along with the rappers in some golden tunnel. She is dressed in red top and short skirt, even making some dance moves.
There is also one other interesting scene not included in original version, when Mariah is pulled up on a rope to a helicopter. After the video she explains:
"Why I’m in bed is because I’m so exhausted because last night I was being hoisted up by a helicopter and I was hanging on to a rope fifty feet up in the air. You know, just an average day!" she joked, explaining the plot of her female James Bond-type video. "Have you seen the regular "Honey" video when I’m on the jet skis?" She asked enthusiastically. "Well in this one, I’m on the jet skis and it’s Mace and The Lox (Bad Boy Records rappers) in a helicopter and they throw down a rope and grab it and they save me. So last night me and Puffy and the guys were in this water tunnel thing doing that. It’s cute."
Well, beside showing us her great talented voice and her natural beauty, Mariah also showed that she is also very talented in acting. She even made all the stunts herself (jumping, rides with jet skis, climbing on a helicopter...). The original video was directed by Paul Hunter and the remix by Daniel Pearl.
