About Honey

"Honey" is a mid-tempo house-pop and alternative-pop song with techno influences by Swedish singer-songwriter Robyn, released on 26 September 2018 as the second single from her eighth studio album of the same name. "Honey" is produced by Joseph Mount of Metronomy, co-produced and co-written by Robyn and her frequent collaborators Klas Åhlund and Markus Jägerstedt, and mixed by the late Phillip Zdar of Cassius. The song's premiere on 21 May 2018 during her surprise DJ set at ADVENTURE[s]' Robyn-themed pop-up club series' 'This Party is Killing You' at the Brooklyn Bowl resolved rampant social media speculation surrounding her team's arduous editing of it over a year after an early demo of the song, a drastically divergent version sonically, was partially used on 16 April 2017 on the series finale of HBO comedy-drama Girls (2012-2017) then a recording of that audio was taken off SoundCloud. Robyn's self-described "white whale", the song took over four years in total from its conception to complete, the longest in her career.

"Honey" was made available as a two-track single online the same day as it's accompanying album became available to pre-order and its radio premiere on Annie Mac's show on BBC Radio 1 on 26 September 2018. Depicting an abstract description of pleasure, sensuality, and peace of mind, some of its lyrics reference The Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want" (1969), flipping its message of what vs. need to a lover to signify her abandonment of optimism. The song was inspired by Robyn's recovery from past trauma, her favorite "hypnotic" songs and her fascination with 'honey' as a dichotomous concept. Critical reception was largely laudatory and included The New York Times, who deemed the song Robyn's "masterpiece" and ranked the song as one of the greatest tracks of 2018. An accompanying music video, directed by longtime collaborator Max Vitali, was first released on 5 December 2018, meant to show catharsis through movement that would express one's self and/or their sexual liberation. It shows Robyn dancing in a warehouse amongst other dancers she found through a Twitter casting call emphasizing many body types and ethnic background diversity.