Honeyz
I Don't Know

"I Don't Know" was (unfortunately) the last commercially released single by the renowned English R&B group Honeyz. It was released in August 2001, and the song itself is a mid-tempo R&B ballad revolving around a relationship where the narrator is uncertain about their partner's feelings and intentions. It expresses the confusion and uncertainty that can arise when a romantic partner appears distant or is unclear about their emotions.

Listening to the pre-chorus and the chorus brings to mind the situation of the three singers: the song was recorded by the second lineup of the group, consisting of the ever-present Celena and Naima along with Mariama, who joined a year after their debut to replace Heavenli who left the group to spend time with her new boyfriend. Heavenli's departure was devastating for the group, as they were about to sign a £1,000,000 contract that was retracted at the time of her departure, and after that, it was the beginning of the end.

"...I don't always know where the road will lead
Gotta understand that it's alright
Always there for you, you've been there for me
And I still wonder why...

I don't know, you don't know, we don't know
Don't know where we're going
But, we'll find our way together
We'll make it through whatever...!

Mariama had left the group recently, and Heavenli, a member of the original lineup, was brought back into the group by their management. The chorus, as Heavenli stated in a 2013 interview, described their situation: "I don't know, you don't know, we don't know, don't know where we're going...".

The song brings a tear to my eye every time I listen to it, and I find it very beautiful musically: perhaps I wouldn't have selected it as a single since by 2001, the trend had shifted from ballads to more danceable and faster-paced songs. It was probably chosen because it reminded of their hits from their debut album ("Finally Found" and "End of the Line").

I am also very satisfied with the B-sides taken from CD1 and CD2: "Why You Wanna Lie On Me" (CD1), produced by Ray Ruffin', resembles a part 2 of a song from their first album, "What Does She Look Like".

In CD2, the B-side is "In the Street (2001 Mix)", a revisited, re-recorded, and reproduced version of "In The Street", a promo single from their first album produced by one of my favorite producer teams of all time, the Ignorants. Compared to the original 1998 version, it sounds much better. Nonetheless, it still remains extremely faithful to the original. You can sense the maturation of the production, which significantly improves from the original version.

The single reached position #26 in the UK Singles Chart and #11 in the UK R&B Chart. Although it wasn't exactly a flop, it didn't achieve enough success according to the label: therefore, the subsequent single "Talk To The Hand" unfortunately wasn't released, and the same fate befell their second album.