Honey

When "Honey" hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 1997, it became Mariah Carey's twelfth chart-topper, breaking the fifth-place record she had shared with Madonna and Whitney Houston. It was also her third single to debut at the top, a feat that set a record she would hold for 23 years until Ariana Grande surpassed it. The song stayed at number one for three consecutive weeks and also topped the charts in Canada, Croatia, Estonia and Israel.

Released on July 29, 1997, as the lead single from her album Butterfly, "Honey" marked a deliberate turn toward hip hop for Carey, who had begun exerting more control over her career after the success of Daydream. She recorded the track in February 1997 with Q-Tip, and the pair brought lyrics, samples and melody to Puff Daddy, who had just earned his second number one with "Mo Money Mo Problems." Because of reports of his overbearing studio manner, Carey recorded her vocals separately, handing him around a hundred demos to choose from. Combs called the finished song "slammin'" but felt only cautiously optimistic about its commercial prospects given its heavy hip-hop influence.

The song drew two Grammy nominations at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards, for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song, and won the BMI Pop Award for Songwriter. Its music video, a James Bond–themed plot in which Carey escapes captivity and flees assailants on a watercraft, prompted comparisons to rumors of her failing marriage, which she denied as coincidence.