Smile (Lily Allen song)
Encyclopedia
"Smile" is a song by British recording artist Lily Allen
from her debut studio album
, Alright, Still
. It was written by Allen, Iyiola Babalola and Darren Lewis
in 2004, while sampling The Soul Brothers' "Free Soul". The song was released as the lead
mainstream single of the album in March 2006. After signing a contract deal with Regal Recordings
and gaining popularity on the social network website MySpace with demo songs
, Allen released a limited edition of "LDN
" to promote her work and afterwards announced the release of "Smile".
The song incorporates Rocksteady
music, as the lyrics tackle her dealing with the betrayal of her boyfriend, while enjoying his misery. Most contemporary critics complimented the song, noticing the confidence it hides and the carnivalesque, yet melancholy, theme. On the other hand, some considered it was not one of the album's best tracks and it makes the singer a "theoretical pop princess". The single peaked inside the top forty of the charts of some European countries and Australia, while staying on the summit of the UK Singles Chart
for two consecutive weeks and ended the year as the country's eleventh most successful song. It is also charted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
, where it was certified gold.
For promotion, "Smile" was also re-recorded in Simlish
and played on shows. It also received its own answer song
. The accompanying music video
portrayed a revenge theme, with Allen hiring a posse
to beat her ex-boyfriend. It was directed by Sophie Muller and, afterwards, banned on MTV due to obscene language. The song was performed live many times, including on talk shows, her 2007 concert tour and also during her 2009 concert tour
, though Allen claimed to be "sick" of it. In 2008, it won a Pop Award at the London Broadcast Music Incorporated
Awards.
, with whom she had written and produced demos, which were sent to various labels. In 2005, Allen was signed to Regal Records, who gave her £
25,000 to produce an album. The singer considered it to be a "small development idea", as they were also unable to provide much support for it due to their preoccupation with other releases. Taking advice from Lady Sovereign
, the singer created an account on MySpace
and began posting demo songs in November 2005. By March 2006, they attracted thousands of listeners, and 500 limited edition 7" vinyl singles of one of the demos, a song titled "LDN", were rush-released and sold for as much as £40. Allen also produced two mixtape
s to promote her work. As she accumulated tens of thousands of MySpace friends, The Observer Music Monthly
took interest. Few people outside of her label's A&R
department had heard of Allen, so the label was slow in responding to publications who wanted to report about her. Her label wasn't pleased with the sound of the demos, so they assigned the singer to "more mainstream producers and top-line writers". After that, they finally approved some of her songs, being confident of their inclusion on the album. "Smile" was among the chosen ones, that Allen claimed she was happy with. It was the first song she had ever written, claiming:
"Smile" was released as a single, and the maxi single
format for it contains two B-Sides, "Absolutely Nothing" and "Cheryl Tweedy", which Allen struggled to get on the album, but lost them in favour of "Take What You Take". The latter is a satirical song about celebrity, finding the commercial promotion side of the celebrity machine uncomfortable, while mentioning Girls Aloud
member Cheryl Tweedy
, but argued she doesn't "have anything against her".
, while the organ riff contains a sample
of Jackie Mittoo
playing keyboards on the 1960s rocksteady song "Free Soul" by The Soul Brothers, also written by Mittoo. She and Clement Dodd received credit on the song as co-writers. It was described to have a "cod-reggae groove that smoulders like a barbecue", as a guitar and piano were used for the background music, following the notes Gm—F as its basic chord progression
. It is set in the time signature
of common time, having a metronome
of 96 beats per minute, and is played in the key of F major
. Lyrically, the song describes Allen's satisfaction in her former lover's suffering, being in a vengeful mood: "At worst / I feel bad for a while, / But then I just smile / I go ahead and smile," thus creating a contrast between "the peppy melody and brassy lyrics". The inspiration for the song came from a real life experience, when Allen broke up with her then boyfriend, Lester Lloyd, resulting in a drug overdose and hospitalization for her depression. The singer claimed "I started to get depressed and anyone who suffers from depression knows that it can soon get so bad that you can't get out of bed. It was then that I checked into the Priory. That was really tough as I was an emotional mess. [...] The lyrics are definitely bitter-sweet". Allen said she later regretted the direct approach of her lyrics:
reporter Jon Dolan claims that Allen "deploys a sugary melody as a Trojan horse for a smackdown on a douche-bag ex-boyfriend", as Rob Webb from Drowned in Sound
called "Smile" an "infectious slice of bouncing, carnival reggae
that punches hard with its opening line: 'When you first left me / I was wanting more / But you were fucking that girl next door / What you do that for?,'" and went on to say that the theme of the song is melancholy, "set against breezy beats", and while not being "an obvious TOTP
contender on the surface, [it] is good but far from one of the LP's choice cuts". Rob Sheffield
from Rolling Stone
gave a rather negative review, claiming the singer "doesn't sound as if she's trying too hard", singing the song with a "breezy sha-la-la lilt that just made the song seem even nastier". Later, he called Allen a "theoretical pop princess, who just entered the breakup-song hall of fame". Dom Passantino of Stylus
suggested that "'Smile' gets burned off the lights by both Sean Paul
and Abs when it comes to facsimiles of 'Uptown Top Ranking,' but neither of them could bring the quality of lyricism the singer does," while Slant Magazine
reporter Sal Cinquemani was baffled as to why the song, which she "sings without a smirk of irony", is a UK chart-topper.
The reviewer from NME
considered that the song sashays along with sass, while still remaining charming, and said that though it doesn't mark Allen out as excellent dating material, as a soundtrack to the summer, "it’s a dead fackin’ cert". Adrien Begrand of PopMatters
called "Smile" just as good as "LDN", "its loose reggae arrangement augmented by the clever sample of Jackie Mitoo’s piano from the Soul Brothers’ 60s ska tune 'Free Soul', as Allen sings bitterly about her ex, with just a hint of vulnerability at first, before going to her friends for reassurance, and confronting the guy during the chorus with a mean-spirited confidence that has us cheering inside". While John Murphy of MusicOMH praised the song and its "gently lilting reggae rhythm", Priya Elan from NME considered that the Althea & Donna
groove of "Smile" is what made fans "fall for her in the first place". The former argued that "even people who profess to hate pop music will secretly be tapping a foot to it and claiming it is just downright perfect pop for lolling around during the lazy warm, guaranteed to cheer the listeners up, no matter how down they're feeling". Other reviews came from The Guardian
reporter Sophie Heawood, who didn't consider the song as Allen's greatest effort, but still thought she was far better than being called "the female Mike Skinner
".
In October 2011, NME
placed it at number 104 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".
store in the United Kingdom in the spring of 2006 and spent its first week at number 1 on the iTunes chart, before entering the main UK Singles Chart
at number thirteen, based on download sales alone. The next week, on the issue of 15 July 2006, it rose to the summit of the chart, selling 39,501 copies, knocking Shakira
's Hips Don't Lie
off the top spot and spending two consecutive weeks there. It later descended to number four, being replaced by McFly
's Please, Please. It was her very first single in her home country's main charts, following a top forty entry with the limited release of "LDN" the same year. It ended 2006 as UK's eleventh best selling single of the year. Allen was surprised at the success of it, stating: "Of course, I never thought the record would chart - I didn't even think I'd get a record contract". She was named "one of the brightest hopes for domestic crossover rap" because of this single. The song shared similar success in Ireland, where it debuted on the issue of 6 July 2006 and peaked inside the top ten at six, holding on the chart for nine weeks. In mainland Europe, it broke the top forty of most countries, but wasn't as successful as in the singer's home country. Notable successes were ten on the Dutch Top 40
, sixteen on the French Singles Chart and twenty-one on the Swiss Singles Chart. Across the ocean, "Smile" reached 14 on the ARIA Charts
and in New Zealand peaked inside the top ten at six.
In North America, the song only managed to peak 49 on the main Billboard chart
in the U.S. on the issue of 24 February 2007 and spent twelve weeks on the chart. On the same week, it climbed to twenty-nine on the Hot Digital Songs
and, later in May, reached thirty-five on the Pop Songs and twenty on the Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks
. Despite its low position, "Smile" managed to slowly sell over 500,000 copies in paid digital download and was certified Gold
by the Recording Industry Association of America
on 9 February 2009. It also peaked at 86 on the Canadian Singles Chart
.
was released on 3 July 2006. Having been directed by Sophie Muller
, it contained a vengeance theme, similar to that of the song. It starts off with Allen sitting on the bed in her apartment, eating chocolate and cheeseballs. Interleaved, there are shots of her and her ex-boyfriend spending time together appear as a memory. He is played by Elliott Jordan
. As the bridge
comes up, the scene changes to the singer standing on the corner of a street, talking to a man and paying him money. The man leaves and goes to some gangster
s, giving them instructions and each a share of money. As Allen's former lover walks down the street talking on his mobile phone, one of the gangsters pushes him into an abandoned playground; where they are joined by a second gangster, and the pair give Allen's ex a beating. In this time, Allen, witnessing the scene, smiles. She then meets with her bruised ex-boyfriend, and takes him to a coffee shop. There, he tried to explain to her how he was beaten by the muggers
, not knowing that, meanwhile, they were breaking down his apartment door and destroying his furniture and possessions, including scratching his gramophone record
s. The ex-boyfriend leaves the table for a while, enough time for Allen to put laxative
pills in his coffee; upon returning, he drinks it and leaves the shop. After, he goes to his apartment, only to find it trashed and destroyed. Scavenging through what's left, he happily finds the record box, thinking they are intact, but he suddenly gets diarrhoea as a result of the laxatives, but is unable to use his toilet, as it is clogged with his clothes. He goes to Allen's apartment with his records, seeking consolation, unaware that she is laughing behind his back. As the video finishes, the scene changes to Allen walking down the street, at night, smiling, singing the last chorus, while her ex-boyfriend, actually a disc jockey
, is in a nightclub, getting ready to put his music, but finds out that all his records have been scratched.
After the video was banned on the music channel MTV
in the United Kingdom, Allen commented regarding this in an inverview:
DJ Ron Slomowicz of About.com
criticised the music video, saying it was "mean-spirited", it would "alienate any sort of club fan base she might discover", and that if a male "had his friends beating up his ex-girlfriend, trashing her living space, drugging her and destroying her possessions, he would be branded as violent" and would be shunned, thus questioning the singer's taste level.
On the day the single was released, Allen appeared on BBC Radio 1
's Live Lounge
with DJ Jo Whiley
, performing an acoustic version of "Smile", and a cover of The Kooks
' song, "Naïve". At the Secret Garden Party
, in September 2006, Allen made a rendition of the song and afterwards stated: "The festival was well good, particularly as Lester, my ex, who I wrote 'Smile' about, and subsequently sold his story to the papers, had a tent called 'the shit tent' positioned directly opposite the main stage. So he and his new girlfriend had no option but to watch me perform to a couple of thousand people singing 'Smile' back to me. Oh, it's the little things eh!"
"Smile" was performed live as part of the setlist of Allen's 2007 concert tour. During the 2007 South By Southwest
music festival, Allen said "I'm so sick of this song, but I'll play it for you, Austin" before singing it. On 3 February 2007, the singer was invited as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live
and played this single and "LDN". In 2009, it was on the setlist of Allen's 2009 concert tour
, as part of the encore.
when rapper Example
recorded a track called "Vile" in 2006, from We Didn't Invent the Remix
, with tongue-in-cheek lyrics written from the boyfriend's perspective. While it also features elements from Keith Allen's single "Vindaloo
", Example added "I think Lily has heard the track. I gave it to her producer to play to her. We just did it for a laugh. Hip-hop artists take life too seriously." Upon hearing the reply single, Chris Moyles
, from BBC Radio 1
, recorded his own parody version of the song for The Chris Moyles Show
.
Allen herself re-recorded the single in Simlish
, the fictional language used in The Sims
games, to help promotion. The Simlish version was used in the Sims expansion pack The Sims 2: Seasons
soundtrack, and Allen also had her own character in the game. She declared: "Recording 'Smile' was a great experience for me. Sometimes revenge can be fun. But getting to sing it again [in Simlish] came very naturally and it was hilarious to practice! The silly language and whimsy of The Sims games are a perfect fit for the song. I was laughing the entire time!" Also, an animated music video was made for the Simlish version.
"Smile" appears on another video game soundtrack, that of Thrillville: Off the Rails
, which is a theme park simulation. Among other citations, the song is present in the film He's Just Not That Into You
and featured on the 2007 Judd Apatow
's film Knocked Up
and on the soundtrack. In 2009, the season one episode "Mattress
" of the Fox
musical comedy/drama Glee
, "Smile" was covered by the character Rachel, voiced by Lea Michele
; the version was made available as an iTunes single download and was later included on the second volume of the season one soundtracks
.
Lily Allen
Lily Rose Beatrice Cooper , better known as Lily Allen, is an English recording artist and fashion designer. She is the daughter of actor and musician Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. In her teenage years, her musical tastes evolved from glam rock to alternative...
from her debut studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
, Alright, Still
Alright, Still
Alright, Still is the debut album by British pop singer-songwriter Lily Allen, released on 14 July 2006 by Regal Recordings . Recording the album began with sessions between Allen and production duo Future Cut, and Allen's work garnered publicity on the Internet as she posted demos to her MySpace...
. It was written by Allen, Iyiola Babalola and Darren Lewis
Darren Lewis
Darren Joel Lewis is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Oakland Athletics , San Francisco Giants , Cincinnati Reds , Chicago White Sox , Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox ; he played his final season in 2002 with the Chicago Cubs...
in 2004, while sampling The Soul Brothers' "Free Soul". The song was released as the lead
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
mainstream single of the album in March 2006. After signing a contract deal with Regal Recordings
Regal Recordings
Regal Recordings is a British record label functioning as an imprint of Parlophone.-Background:Regal Records was a British record label founded in 1914 as a subsidiary of the UK branch of Columbia Records known as Columbia Graphophone Company...
and gaining popularity on the social network website MySpace with demo songs
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
, Allen released a limited edition of "LDN
LDN (song)
"LDN" is a single by Lily Allen which was released in the UK on 25 September 2006. It was co-written by Future Cut, and features a Colombian porro from the country's Caribbean coast...
" to promote her work and afterwards announced the release of "Smile".
The song incorporates Rocksteady
Rocksteady
Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor to ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was performed by Jamaican vocal harmony groups such as The Gaylads, The Maytals and The Paragons. The term rocksteady comes from a dance style that was mentioned in the Alton...
music, as the lyrics tackle her dealing with the betrayal of her boyfriend, while enjoying his misery. Most contemporary critics complimented the song, noticing the confidence it hides and the carnivalesque, yet melancholy, theme. On the other hand, some considered it was not one of the album's best tracks and it makes the singer a "theoretical pop princess". The single peaked inside the top forty of the charts of some European countries and Australia, while staying on the summit of the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
for two consecutive weeks and ended the year as the country's eleventh most successful song. It is also charted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, where it was certified gold.
For promotion, "Smile" was also re-recorded in Simlish
Simlish
Simlish is a fictional language featured in EA Games' Sim series of games. It debuted in SimCopter, and has been especially prominent in The Sims, The Sims 2 and The Sims 3. The Sims development team created the unique Simlish language by experimenting with fractured Ukrainian, French, Latin,...
and played on shows. It also received its own answer song
Answer song
An answer song is, as the name suggests, a song made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. It is also known as a response song. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s through 1950s...
. The accompanying music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
portrayed a revenge theme, with Allen hiring a posse
Gang
A gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. In early usage, the word gang referred to a group of workmen...
to beat her ex-boyfriend. It was directed by Sophie Muller and, afterwards, banned on MTV due to obscene language. The song was performed live many times, including on talk shows, her 2007 concert tour and also during her 2009 concert tour
Lily Allen concert tour (2009)
The It's Not Me, It's You World Tour is the second concert tour by English singer-songwriter Lily Allen in support her second studio album, It's Not Me, It's You...
, though Allen claimed to be "sick" of it. In 2008, it won a Pop Award at the London Broadcast Music Incorporated
Broadcast Music Incorporated
Broadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed...
Awards.
Background
After meeting George Lamb on a holiday in Ibiza, Allen made him her manager. Lamb later introduced the singer to production duo Future CutFuture Cut
Future Cut is the stage name of drum and bass producers Darren Lewis and Tunde Babalola. They share production duties.The duo first met whilst promoting rival Drum 'n' Bass nights in Manchester...
, with whom she had written and produced demos, which were sent to various labels. In 2005, Allen was signed to Regal Records, who gave her £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
25,000 to produce an album. The singer considered it to be a "small development idea", as they were also unable to provide much support for it due to their preoccupation with other releases. Taking advice from Lady Sovereign
Lady Sovereign
Louise Amanda Harman , better known by the stage name Lady Sovereign, is an English rapper & grime artist. She is noted for her professional success in performing styles of music generally dominated by males...
, the singer created an account on MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
and began posting demo songs in November 2005. By March 2006, they attracted thousands of listeners, and 500 limited edition 7" vinyl singles of one of the demos, a song titled "LDN", were rush-released and sold for as much as £40. Allen also produced two mixtape
Mixtape
A Mix Tape or Mixed Tape is a compilation of songs recorded in a specific order, traditionally onto an audio Compact Cassette.A Mix Tape, which usually reflects the musical tastes of its compiler, can range from a casually selected list of favorite songs, to a conceptual mix of songs linked by a...
s to promote her work. As she accumulated tens of thousands of MySpace friends, The Observer Music Monthly
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
took interest. Few people outside of her label's A&R
A&R
Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
department had heard of Allen, so the label was slow in responding to publications who wanted to report about her. Her label wasn't pleased with the sound of the demos, so they assigned the singer to "more mainstream producers and top-line writers". After that, they finally approved some of her songs, being confident of their inclusion on the album. "Smile" was among the chosen ones, that Allen claimed she was happy with. It was the first song she had ever written, claiming:
When I set out to do this I knew I wanted to make songs that sounded a) up to date and now and b) really organic. Because you can't get really good players without spending loads of money these days, the only other option is to sample. The first song I ever wrote was 'Smile'. We just went through about seven or eight sample lyrics, found a beat, put it all in... Then when it comes to writing lyrics I write... like a rapper would, I suppose, with absolutely no melody involved whatsoever, I'm just getting my flow sorted. Then I write the whole text of the song and then ad lib the melody into the microphone. It's not terribly clever!
"Smile" was released as a single, and the maxi single
Maxi single
A maxi single or maxi-single is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an a-side song and a b-side song.-The first maxi singles:...
format for it contains two B-Sides, "Absolutely Nothing" and "Cheryl Tweedy", which Allen struggled to get on the album, but lost them in favour of "Take What You Take". The latter is a satirical song about celebrity, finding the commercial promotion side of the celebrity machine uncomfortable, while mentioning Girls Aloud
Girls Aloud
Girls Aloud are a British and Irish pop girl group based in London. They were created through the ITV1 talent show Popstars The Rivals in 2002. The group consists of Cheryl Cole , Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. They are signed to Fascination Records, a Polydor...
member Cheryl Tweedy
Cheryl Cole
Cheryl Ann Cole is an English pop and R&B recording artist, songwriter, dancer, actress and model. She rose to fame in late 2002 when she auditioned for the reality television show Popstars: The Rivals on ITV. The programme announced that Cole had won a place as a member of the girl group, Girls...
, but argued she doesn't "have anything against her".
Music structure and lyrics
Musically, "Smile" is a bubbly, mid-tempo tune with "a barroom piano lick", subdued horns and a reggae beat, singing in a light falsettoFalsetto
Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...
, while the organ riff contains a sample
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
of Jackie Mittoo
Jackie Mittoo
Jackie Mittoo was a Jamaican keyboardist, songwriter and musical director. He was a founding member of The Skatalites and was a mentor to many younger performers, primarily through his work as musical director for the Studio One record label.-Biography:He was born Donat Roy Mittoo in Browns Town,...
playing keyboards on the 1960s rocksteady song "Free Soul" by The Soul Brothers, also written by Mittoo. She and Clement Dodd received credit on the song as co-writers. It was described to have a "cod-reggae groove that smoulders like a barbecue", as a guitar and piano were used for the background music, following the notes Gm—F as its basic chord progression
Chord progression
A chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord. In other words, the succession of root relationships...
. It is set in the time signature
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
of common time, having a metronome
Metronome
A metronome is any device that produces regular, metrical ticks — settable in beats per minute. These ticks represent a fixed, regular aural pulse; some metronomes also include synchronized visual motion...
of 96 beats per minute, and is played in the key of F major
F major
F major is a musical major scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat . It is by far the oldest key signature with an accidental, predating the others by hundreds of years...
. Lyrically, the song describes Allen's satisfaction in her former lover's suffering, being in a vengeful mood: "At worst / I feel bad for a while, / But then I just smile / I go ahead and smile," thus creating a contrast between "the peppy melody and brassy lyrics". The inspiration for the song came from a real life experience, when Allen broke up with her then boyfriend, Lester Lloyd, resulting in a drug overdose and hospitalization for her depression. The singer claimed "I started to get depressed and anyone who suffers from depression knows that it can soon get so bad that you can't get out of bed. It was then that I checked into the Priory. That was really tough as I was an emotional mess. [...] The lyrics are definitely bitter-sweet". Allen said she later regretted the direct approach of her lyrics:
I'm now less inclined to do that, because everything that I do say gets repeated in a way that I haven't said it, or taken out of context and spun in some negative way — and it makes me really sad. I'm not, like, a negative person. I'm actually quite positive, but this industry has really made me feel angry and negative recently. I'm not enjoying it at the moment.
Critical reception
According to Heather Phares of Allmusic, the song "has a silky verse melody that just barely conceals [the singer's] spite", while she keeps "her revenge sweet, the extra sting being given to it by the way she sounds like she's singing about how ice cream or puppies or being in love makes her smile". BlenderBlender (magazine)
Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....
reporter Jon Dolan claims that Allen "deploys a sugary melody as a Trojan horse for a smackdown on a douche-bag ex-boyfriend", as Rob Webb from Drowned in Sound
Drowned in Sound
DrownedinSound.com or DiS is a UK based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway . The site is an editorially independent music website.-History:...
called "Smile" an "infectious slice of bouncing, carnival reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
that punches hard with its opening line: 'When you first left me / I was wanting more / But you were fucking that girl next door / What you do that for?,'" and went on to say that the theme of the song is melancholy, "set against breezy beats", and while not being "an obvious TOTP
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
contender on the surface, [it] is good but far from one of the LP's choice cuts". Rob Sheffield
Rob Sheffield
Rob Sheffield is an American music journalist and author. He is currently a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, writing music reviews and essays on pop culture. Prior to that, he was a contributing editor at Blender before the print version of the magazine folded in 2009, and at Spin...
from Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
gave a rather negative review, claiming the singer "doesn't sound as if she's trying too hard", singing the song with a "breezy sha-la-la lilt that just made the song seem even nastier". Later, he called Allen a "theoretical pop princess, who just entered the breakup-song hall of fame". Dom Passantino of Stylus
Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine was an online music and film magazine launched in 2002. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, a number of different podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog....
suggested that "'Smile' gets burned off the lights by both Sean Paul
Sean Paul
Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques , who performs under stage name Sean Paul, is a Jamaican pop rap and reggae singer.-1973–1996: Early life:...
and Abs when it comes to facsimiles of 'Uptown Top Ranking,' but neither of them could bring the quality of lyricism the singer does," while Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
reporter Sal Cinquemani was baffled as to why the song, which she "sings without a smirk of irony", is a UK chart-topper.
The reviewer from NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
considered that the song sashays along with sass, while still remaining charming, and said that though it doesn't mark Allen out as excellent dating material, as a soundtrack to the summer, "it’s a dead fackin’ cert". Adrien Begrand of PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
called "Smile" just as good as "LDN", "its loose reggae arrangement augmented by the clever sample of Jackie Mitoo’s piano from the Soul Brothers’ 60s ska tune 'Free Soul', as Allen sings bitterly about her ex, with just a hint of vulnerability at first, before going to her friends for reassurance, and confronting the guy during the chorus with a mean-spirited confidence that has us cheering inside". While John Murphy of MusicOMH praised the song and its "gently lilting reggae rhythm", Priya Elan from NME considered that the Althea & Donna
Althea & Donna
Althea & Donna were a Jamaican reggae singing duo, best known for their 1977 single "Uptown Top Ranking" which was a number one hit in the United Kingdom in 1978.-Career:...
groove of "Smile" is what made fans "fall for her in the first place". The former argued that "even people who profess to hate pop music will secretly be tapping a foot to it and claiming it is just downright perfect pop for lolling around during the lazy warm, guaranteed to cheer the listeners up, no matter how down they're feeling". Other reviews came from The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
reporter Sophie Heawood, who didn't consider the song as Allen's greatest effort, but still thought she was far better than being called "the female Mike Skinner
The Streets
The Streets were a British rap/garage project from Birmingham, United Kingdom, led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mike Skinner and has included a myriad of other contributors most notably drummer Johnny Drum Machine, vocalist Kevin Mark Trail and the Italian-American beatmaker Leroy.The...
".
In October 2011, NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
placed it at number 104 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".
Commercial performance
"Smile" was released to iTunesITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
store in the United Kingdom in the spring of 2006 and spent its first week at number 1 on the iTunes chart, before entering the main UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
at number thirteen, based on download sales alone. The next week, on the issue of 15 July 2006, it rose to the summit of the chart, selling 39,501 copies, knocking Shakira
Shakira
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll , known professionally as Shakira , is a Colombian singer who emerged in the music scene of Colombia and Latin America in the early 1990s...
's Hips Don't Lie
Hips Don't Lie
"Hips Don't Lie" is a Latin pop song based in a salsa and cumbia performed by Colombian singer Shakira and Haitian rapper Wyclef Jean, released in 2006 as the second single from Shakira's second English album Oral Fixation Vol. 2...
off the top spot and spending two consecutive weeks there. It later descended to number four, being replaced by McFly
McFly
McFly are an English pop rock band who first found fame in 2004. The band consists of Tom Fletcher , Danny Jones , Dougie Poynter and Harry Judd . They were signed to the Island Records label from their 2004 launch until December 2007, before creating their own label, Super Records...
's Please, Please. It was her very first single in her home country's main charts, following a top forty entry with the limited release of "LDN" the same year. It ended 2006 as UK's eleventh best selling single of the year. Allen was surprised at the success of it, stating: "Of course, I never thought the record would chart - I didn't even think I'd get a record contract". She was named "one of the brightest hopes for domestic crossover rap" because of this single. The song shared similar success in Ireland, where it debuted on the issue of 6 July 2006 and peaked inside the top ten at six, holding on the chart for nine weeks. In mainland Europe, it broke the top forty of most countries, but wasn't as successful as in the singer's home country. Notable successes were ten on the Dutch Top 40
Dutch Top 40
The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting...
, sixteen on the French Singles Chart and twenty-one on the Swiss Singles Chart. Across the ocean, "Smile" reached 14 on the ARIA Charts
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
and in New Zealand peaked inside the top ten at six.
In North America, the song only managed to peak 49 on the main Billboard chart
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
in the U.S. on the issue of 24 February 2007 and spent twelve weeks on the chart. On the same week, it climbed to twenty-nine on the Hot Digital Songs
Hot Digital Songs
The Hot Digital Songs chart ranks the best-selling digital singles in the United States, according to Billboard.Beginning in February 2005, digital sales have been incorporated into many of Billboards music single charts. It was decided to do so mainly because of the dramatic rise in popularity of...
and, later in May, reached thirty-five on the Pop Songs and twenty on the Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks
Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks
Adult Top 40 is a variation on the United States Billboard charts...
. Despite its low position, "Smile" managed to slowly sell over 500,000 copies in paid digital download and was certified Gold
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
on 9 February 2009. It also peaked at 86 on the Canadian Singles Chart
Canadian Singles Chart
The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays....
.
Music video
The song's music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
was released on 3 July 2006. Having been directed by Sophie Muller
Sophie Muller
Sophie Muller is a British music video director, noted for her long-time collaborations with artists like Sophie Ellis-Bextor, No Doubt, Sade, Shakira, Shakespears Sister, Garbage, Blur, Annie Lennox and Eurythmics.-Background:...
, it contained a vengeance theme, similar to that of the song. It starts off with Allen sitting on the bed in her apartment, eating chocolate and cheeseballs. Interleaved, there are shots of her and her ex-boyfriend spending time together appear as a memory. He is played by Elliott Jordan
Elliott Jordan
Elliott Jordan Elliott Jordan Elliott Jordan (born 22 April 1983 in London, England, is an English actor who has appeared in Film, Theatre and Television. Following a successful time with the National Youth Theatre, Jordan went on to work on a number of UK film projects. He played Callum Monks in...
. As the bridge
Bridge (music)
In music, especially western popular music, a bridge is a contrasting section which also prepares for the return of the original material section...
comes up, the scene changes to the singer standing on the corner of a street, talking to a man and paying him money. The man leaves and goes to some gangster
Gangster
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Some gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from mob and the suffix -ster....
s, giving them instructions and each a share of money. As Allen's former lover walks down the street talking on his mobile phone, one of the gangsters pushes him into an abandoned playground; where they are joined by a second gangster, and the pair give Allen's ex a beating. In this time, Allen, witnessing the scene, smiles. She then meets with her bruised ex-boyfriend, and takes him to a coffee shop. There, he tried to explain to her how he was beaten by the muggers
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
, not knowing that, meanwhile, they were breaking down his apartment door and destroying his furniture and possessions, including scratching his gramophone record
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
s. The ex-boyfriend leaves the table for a while, enough time for Allen to put laxative
Laxative
Laxatives are foods, compounds, or drugs taken to induce bowel movements or to loosen the stool, most often taken to treat constipation. Certain stimulant, lubricant, and saline laxatives are used to evacuate the colon for rectal and/or bowel examinations, and may be supplemented by enemas under...
pills in his coffee; upon returning, he drinks it and leaves the shop. After, he goes to his apartment, only to find it trashed and destroyed. Scavenging through what's left, he happily finds the record box, thinking they are intact, but he suddenly gets diarrhoea as a result of the laxatives, but is unable to use his toilet, as it is clogged with his clothes. He goes to Allen's apartment with his records, seeking consolation, unaware that she is laughing behind his back. As the video finishes, the scene changes to Allen walking down the street, at night, smiling, singing the last chorus, while her ex-boyfriend, actually a disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
, is in a nightclub, getting ready to put his music, but finds out that all his records have been scratched.
After the video was banned on the music channel MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
in the United Kingdom, Allen commented regarding this in an inverview:
I got really offended when my single 'Smile' got banned [during after-school hours] from MTV in the U.K. because it had the word fuck in it. They said, 'We don't want kids to grow up too quickly.' But then you have Paris HiltonParis HiltonParis Whitney Hilton is an American businesswoman, heiress, and socialite. She is a great-granddaughter of Conrad Hilton . Hilton is known for her controversial participation in a sex tape in 2003, and appearance on the television series The Simple Life alongside fellow socialite and childhood...
and the Pussycat DollsPussycat DollsThe Pussycat Dolls are an American pop girl group and dance ensemble based in Los Angeles; currently consisting of Lauren Bennett, Vanessa Curry, Kristal "Lyndriette" Smith, Tiffany "Taz" Zavala, Kia Hampton and Paula Van Oppen. The Pussycat Dolls were founded by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995...
taking their clothes off and gyrating up against womanizing, asshole men, and that's acceptable. You're thinking your kids are gonna grow up quicker because they heard the word fuck than from thinking they should be shoving their tits in people's faces?
DJ Ron Slomowicz of About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
criticised the music video, saying it was "mean-spirited", it would "alienate any sort of club fan base she might discover", and that if a male "had his friends beating up his ex-girlfriend, trashing her living space, drugging her and destroying her possessions, he would be branded as violent" and would be shunned, thus questioning the singer's taste level.
Live performances and promotion
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
's Live Lounge
Live Lounge
The Live Lounge is a segment on the British radio station BBC Radio 1. Originally hosted by Jo Whiley on her mid-morning radio show and now hosted by Fearne Cotton, it exhibits well-known artists usually performing one song of their own and one by another artist, in an acoustic format...
with DJ Jo Whiley
Jo Whiley
Johanne "Jo" Whiley is a British radio disc jockey and television presenter. She was the host of the long running weekday Jo Whiley Show on Radio 1.-Early life and education:...
, performing an acoustic version of "Smile", and a cover of The Kooks
The Kooks
The Kooks are an English indie rock band formed in Brighton, East Sussex, in 2001. Formed by Luke Pritchard , Hugh Harris , Paul Garred , and Max Rafferty , the lineup of the band remained constant until 2008 and the departure of Rafferty...
' song, "Naïve". At the Secret Garden Party
Secret Garden Party
The Secret Garden Party is an annual independent arts and music festival which takes place in Abbots Ripton near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. Part of the grounds of a Georgian farm house, the location has its own lake, river and landscaped gardens...
, in September 2006, Allen made a rendition of the song and afterwards stated: "The festival was well good, particularly as Lester, my ex, who I wrote 'Smile' about, and subsequently sold his story to the papers, had a tent called 'the shit tent' positioned directly opposite the main stage. So he and his new girlfriend had no option but to watch me perform to a couple of thousand people singing 'Smile' back to me. Oh, it's the little things eh!"
"Smile" was performed live as part of the setlist of Allen's 2007 concert tour. During the 2007 South By Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
music festival, Allen said "I'm so sick of this song, but I'll play it for you, Austin" before singing it. On 3 February 2007, the singer was invited as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
and played this single and "LDN". In 2009, it was on the setlist of Allen's 2009 concert tour
Lily Allen concert tour (2009)
The It's Not Me, It's You World Tour is the second concert tour by English singer-songwriter Lily Allen in support her second studio album, It's Not Me, It's You...
, as part of the encore.
Covers and other appearances
"Smile" received its own answer songAnswer song
An answer song is, as the name suggests, a song made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. It is also known as a response song. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s through 1950s...
when rapper Example
Example (rapper)
Elliot John Gleave , better known by his stage name Example, is an English singer and rapper signed to Data Records. His name arose due to his initials being E.G., which is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase "exempli gratia", which means, "for example".Example's third album Playing In The Shadows...
recorded a track called "Vile" in 2006, from We Didn't Invent the Remix
We Didn't Invent the Remix (album)
We Didn't Invent the Remix is a remix album by London-born recording artist Example. After many setbacks and promises, Example released a 13 track limited edition mixtape available through the internet or at concerts during his Spring 2007 tour supporting Plan B, The Rifles, and Just Jack)...
, with tongue-in-cheek lyrics written from the boyfriend's perspective. While it also features elements from Keith Allen's single "Vindaloo
Vindaloo (song)
"Vindaloo" is a song by British band Fat Les. The music was written by Blur bassist Alex James and the lyrics were written by comedian Keith Allen. It was released as a single in 1998 and recorded for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The song was originally written as a parody of football chants, but was...
", Example added "I think Lily has heard the track. I gave it to her producer to play to her. We just did it for a laugh. Hip-hop artists take life too seriously." Upon hearing the reply single, Chris Moyles
Chris Moyles
Christopher David Moyles is an English radio and television presenter and author, who currently presents The Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1 and Chris Moyles' Quiz Night on Channel 4....
, from BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
, recorded his own parody version of the song for The Chris Moyles Show
The Chris Moyles Show
The Chris Moyles Show is the current BBC Radio 1 breakfast show in the UK, and has been since Chris Moyles became the station's breakfast show presenter on 5 January 2004. From 2004 to 2007, the show was broadcast 6:55–10:00 am each weekday, but since 15 October 2007 it has started from...
.
Allen herself re-recorded the single in Simlish
Simlish
Simlish is a fictional language featured in EA Games' Sim series of games. It debuted in SimCopter, and has been especially prominent in The Sims, The Sims 2 and The Sims 3. The Sims development team created the unique Simlish language by experimenting with fractured Ukrainian, French, Latin,...
, the fictional language used in The Sims
The Sims
The Sims is a strategic life-simulation computer game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. Its development was led by game designer Will Wright, also known for developing SimCity...
games, to help promotion. The Simlish version was used in the Sims expansion pack The Sims 2: Seasons
The Sims 2: Seasons
-Reception:-External links:*...
soundtrack, and Allen also had her own character in the game. She declared: "Recording 'Smile' was a great experience for me. Sometimes revenge can be fun. But getting to sing it again [in Simlish] came very naturally and it was hilarious to practice! The silly language and whimsy of The Sims games are a perfect fit for the song. I was laughing the entire time!" Also, an animated music video was made for the Simlish version.
"Smile" appears on another video game soundtrack, that of Thrillville: Off the Rails
Thrillville: Off the Rails
Thrillville: Off the Rails is a theme park simulation video game developed by Frontier Developments. The sequel to the 2006 game Thrillville, it is again published by LucasArts...
, which is a theme park simulation. Among other citations, the song is present in the film He's Just Not That Into You
He's Just Not That into You (film)
He's Just Not That Into You is a 2009 American romantic comedy film directed by Ken Kwapis, based on the self-help book of the same name by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo, which in turn was inspired by a line of dialogue in Sex and the City...
and featured on the 2007 Judd Apatow
Judd Apatow
Judd Apatow is an American film producer, director, and screenwriter. He is well known for his work in comedy films, especially for films he has been involved with throughout the latter half of the 2000s. He is the founder of Apatow Productions, a film production company that also developed the...
's film Knocked Up
Knocked Up
Knocked Up is a 2007 American romantic comedy drama film co-produced, written, and directed by Judd Apatow. Starring Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd, and Leslie Mann, the film follows the repercussions of a drunken one-night stand between Rogen's slacker character and Heigl's just-promoted...
and on the soundtrack. In 2009, the season one episode "Mattress
Mattress (Glee)
"Mattress", also known as "Once Upon a Mattress", is the twelfth episode of the American television series Glee. The episode premiered on the Fox network on December 2, 2009. It was written by series creator Ryan Murphy and directed by Elodie Keene. In "Mattress", the glee club is omitted from the...
" of the Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
musical comedy/drama Glee
Glee (TV series)
Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
, "Smile" was covered by the character Rachel, voiced by Lea Michele
Lea Michele
Lea Michele Sarfati , known professionally as Lea Michele, is an American actress and singer. Michele began working professionally as a child actress on Broadway in productions such as Ragtime and Les Misérables. She originated the role of Wendla in the musical Spring Awakening and currently plays...
; the version was made available as an iTunes single download and was later included on the second volume of the season one soundtracks
Glee: The Music, Volume 2
Glee: The Music, Volume 2 is the second soundtrack album by the cast of the American musical television series Glee, featuring songs from episodes nine to thirteen of the show's first season. It was first released on December 4, 2009 in Australia by Columbia Records...
.
Track listings and formats
- UK CD1
- "Smile" – 3:17
- "Smile" (Gutter Mix) – 2:59
- UK CD2
- "Smile" – 3:16
- "Cheryl Tweedy" – 3:15
- "Absolutely Nothing" – 4:02
- "Smile" (Video) – 3:14
- Digital Download
- "Smile" – 3:17
- "Smile" (Gutter Mix) – 2:59
- "Cheryl Tweedy" — 3:15
- "Absolutely Nothing" – 4:02
- 7" Vinyl
- "Smile" – 3:17
- "Smile" (Gutter Mix) – 2:59
Credits and personnel
- Main vocals — Lily Allen
- Written by — Lily Allen, Darren LewisDarren LewisDarren Joel Lewis is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Oakland Athletics , San Francisco Giants , Cincinnati Reds , Chicago White Sox , Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox ; he played his final season in 2002 with the Chicago Cubs...
, Iyiola Babalola, Jackie MittooJackie MittooJackie Mittoo was a Jamaican keyboardist, songwriter and musical director. He was a founding member of The Skatalites and was a mentor to many younger performers, primarily through his work as musical director for the Studio One record label.-Biography:He was born Donat Roy Mittoo in Browns Town,...
, Clement Dodd - Produced by — Future CutFuture CutFuture Cut is the stage name of drum and bass producers Darren Lewis and Tunde Babalola. They share production duties.The duo first met whilst promoting rival Drum 'n' Bass nights in Manchester...
- MasteredMaster recordingA multitrack recording master tape, disk or computer files on which productions are developed for later mixing, is known as the multi-track master, while the tape, disk or computer files holding a mix is called a mixed master.It is standard practice to make a copy of a master recording, known as...
by — Tim Burrell , Tim Debney - Audio mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
— Future Cut, Mike Pelanconi - Keyboards — John Ellis
- Engineer — Mike Pelanconi, Darren Lewis
- DrumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s — Paul Powell - Bass — Clive Hunter
- SaxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
— Michael RoseMichael RoseMichael Rose is a Grammy award winning reggae singer from Jamaica. Possessing a wide-ranged voice, Rose would regularly meet in Kingston with singers, musicians, writers, and producers such as Dennis Brown, Big Youth, The Wailers, Gregory Isaacs, Sly and Robbie, and others.-Career:Rose started his... - TromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
— Trevor EdwardsTrevor EdwardsLeonard Trevor Edwards was a Wales international football player. A defender, he played his club football for Charlton Athletic. He was part of the Wales squad for the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden. In the sixties he emigrated to Australia, where he played for Sydney Hakoah, Melita Eagles and... - TrumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
— Eddie ThorntonEddie ThorntonEdward Thornton , better known as "Tan Tan", is a Jamaican trumpeter whose career began in the 1950s.-Biography:Thornton was born in 1932 and attended the Alpha Boys School. In the 1950s, he played in the Roy Coulton band along with Don Drummond...
Charts and procession
| Chart (2006/2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian ARIA Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
14 |
| Austrian Singles Chart Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
39 |
| Belgian Singles Chart Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995... (Flanders) |
27 |
| Belgian Singles Chart Ultratop 40 Ultratop 40 singles, often just Ultratop 40, is the weekly chart of best-selling singles in Wallonia and Brussels Capital Region, the french-speaking parts of Belgium. Its equivalent covering the Flanders region is Ultratop 50. Both charts are produced and published by the Ultratop organization... (Wallonia) |
33 |
| Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
86 |
| Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
10 |
| French Singles Chart | 16 |
| German Singles Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
67 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
6 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 6 |
| 38 | |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 21 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
49 |
External links
- "Smile" lyrics on Allen's official site
- Music video for "Smile" at MTVMTVMTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....