Smile (Avril Lavigne song)
"Smile" is a song by Canadian recording artist Avril Lavigne from her fourth studio album Goodbye Lullaby (2011). It was co-written by Lavigne, Max Martin and Shellback and produced by Martin and Shellback. "Smile" was released on 11 April 2011 by RCA Records as the second single from the album to Australian radio stations and then on 17 May the song was released to US contemporary hit radio. Upon its release, the song received critical acclaim from music critics, who described the track as a "sassy and catchy pop song".[1] It has charted inside the top-thirty on the Australian, Japanese and New Zealand charts, in addition to being certified by the recording industry associations of Australia and the United States. A music video directed by Shane Drake was filmed in April 2011 and released on 20 May. By November 2014, the music video had reached 100 million views on Vevo.
Background[edit]
"Smile" was written by Lavigne along with its producers, Max Martin and Shellback.[1] It was recorded at Maratone Studios in Stockholm, Sweden.[2] "Smile" pays tribute to the special someone who was able to win her heart and put a grin on her face.[1] Backed up by a punchy drum rhythm and electric guitars, Lavigne offers even more reasons why most normal guys would run in the other direction, then praises her guy for sticking around.[1] Lavigne described the song as a "rocker", in which she "expresses her gratitude for special people in her life".[3] Lavigne asked her fans via Twitter what the next single from Goodbye Lullaby should be, giving the choices between "Push" and "Smile".[4] Lavigne confirmed that "Smile" was to be the second single from the album though reports suggest Lavigne was fighting for a "Push" release. The singer's record label, RCA Records, announced that "Smile" will be sent out to Polish radio in April, with the same expected to happen in other territories such as Canada, New Zealand, Asia, and the UK.[5] She posted photos to her Twitter of the set of the music video, filmed on 21 April 2011.
Due to the many uses of profanity in the song, different clean edits have been released. The official clean edit which is played on most radio stations replaces "Crazy bitch" with "Crazy chick", removes "Shit", and replaces "You're fucking crazy" with "You like it crazy". Another edit is the same, but instead of removing "You don't really give a shit", it is replaced with "You don't really give it up." Finally, the iTunes edit completely blanks out all profanity, as well as "Blacked out". Some radio stations and music channels also remove "What did you put in my drink?"
Composition[edit]
"Smile" is an up-tempo pop punk[6] song, with a frenzied drum beats, electric guitars and acoustic guitars. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Alfred Publishing, the song is written in the key of F♯ minor and is set in time signature of common time with a tempo of 100 beats per minute.[7] Lavigne's vocal range spans two octaves, from E3 to F♯5.[7] The lyrics of "Smile" carry a message of infatuation, with Lavigne paying tribute to the special someone who was able to win her heart and put a grin on her face.[1]
Chart performance[edit]
In the United States, "Smile" debuted at number 94 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the issue dated 23 July 2011.[18] The song peaked at number 68 for the issue dated 20 August 2011, spending a total of seven weeks on the chart.[18] "Smile" was also a success on the Mainstream Top 40 chart, peaking at number 25 and spending 11 weeks on the chart.[19] Almost two years after its release, "Smile" was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of 500,000 paid digital downloads.[20]
After officially being released as a single, "Smile" debuted on the Australian Singles Chart and New Zealand Singles Chart. In Australia, it debuted at number forty-two on 2 May 2011 and has peaked at number 25.[21] The song has sold over 100,000 units of digital copies in the Australia. In New Zealand, the song debuted at thirty-three on 25 April 2011 and peaked at number thirty. The song peaked at 189 on the UK Singles Chart[22] after her Britain's Got Talent performance, then fell out of the chart the next week, making it her lowest charting single to date in the United Kingdom. It was never released on radio in the United Kingdom, Germany and some other European countries.
Music video[edit]
Background[edit]
The music video was shot on 21 April 2011, and was directed by Shane Drake.[23] Lavigne uploaded videos on her YouTube account of the set of the video. On 16 May, she posted a video titled "Ready, Set, Smile!".[24] The next day, she posted another video, titled "Smile & Style".[25] On 18 May, she posted the third video, titled "Graffiti Guitar", and the fourth video, "Avril Lavigne - "Smile" Behind the Scenes" was viewed more than 120,000 times in less than 24 hours. Lavigne premiered the music video on 18 May 2011 on her Vevo account.
Live performances[edit]
Lavigne performed the song, while promoting the album, on Walmart Soundcheck,[32] on "2DayFM",[33] and also on T4.[34] Lavigne has performed the song on the German show Schlag den Raab on 4 June 2011.[35] The song was also recorded on Lavigne's concert on the aol.com website, to the AOL Sessions, with no release date announced yet. Lavigne performed a medley of the song and her previous single "What the Hell" on the British show Britain's Got Talent on 1 June, and at the America's Got Talent 6th session on 13 July.[36]
She then flew to Japan to perform the song at TV Asahi's weekly music program, Music Station, on 3 February 2012.[37]
Credits and personnel are adapted from the "Smile" single liner notes.[39]