The song was written and produced by Carey, Sean Combs, Kamaal "Q-Tip" Fareed and Steven "Stevie J" Jordan.

The song samples "Hey DJ" by The World's Famous Supreme Team and "The Body Rock" by the Treacherous Three.

"Honey" also topped the charts in Canada and reached the top-ten in Australia, New Zealand, Hungary, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

[4] Carey included the song in the setlist of various live shows and future tours, where she would sing both the original and remix versions.

Subsequent scenes see Carey escaping her assailants on a watercraft, dancing aboard a ship with sailors and frolicking on a beautiful island with her lover.

After the success of her urban crossover album Daydream, Carey began exerting more control over the creative aspects of her career.

"[5] Due to reports of Puffy's overbearing nature, Carey recorded her vocals separately, until she gave him a few demos to choose from.

[5] Puffy expressed his respect for Carey and her craft, mentioning that she re-did her vocals many times until she felt they were perfect.

After they had the vocals, Carey and Puffy began working on the song's hook and incorporating the music samples and blending them into the bridge and chorus.

Combs's production gave the song a "light and airy" effect, further distancing it from Carey's contemporary sound.

[1] "Honey" is built around a bassline sample from Treacherous Three's "The Body Rock" and a piano motif reprised from "Hey DJ" by The World's Famous Supreme Team.

"[1] According to author Chris Nickson, "Honey" revealed a more confident and independent side to Carey that had never been presented in her previous work.

"[14] Juzwiak concluded the review writing ""Honey" exemplifies the abrupt gear shifting that appreciating Mariah the artist requires.

[17] At this point, Carey was tied with The Supremes for fourth most US number ones, behind Michael Jackson with thirteen, and Elvis Presley and The Beatles with 17 and 20, respectively.

[17] "Honey" was certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of over two million units.

[29] Serving a James Bond theme, Carey was cast as "the very sexy agent M", a woman who escapes a large mansion in which she has been held captive.

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.

After a sequence of light dance routines, Carey is seen on an island with her lover, model David Fumero, and her real-life dog, Jack.

[17] After she accepts and ascends the line, Carey boards the aircraft alongside its pilots, Puffy and the members of Bad Boy Entertainment.

Carey first performed a mash-up of the song and the Bad Boy remix live on the British music chart program Top of the Pops in 1997.

[1] During her live routine of the song, various male dancers donned in similar sailor outfits joined Carey on stage.

[citation needed] The performance did not include any video intro, but did introduce a four-piece of male dancers dressed in sailor outfits.

During the performance in Madison Square Garden, Carey was joined with Sean "Diddy" Combs (previously known as Puffy) on stage after the second verse.

[citation needed] During her Angels Advocate Tour (2010) performance of the song, Carey donned a sparkling mini-Herve Leger gown, with a faux-fur snug jacket.

[citation needed] During the song, male and female dancers joined her on stage, and performed up-tempo dance routines.

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.

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".