Smile (Lily Allen song)
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- This article is about the Lily Allen song. For other uses, see Smile (disambiguation).
| "Smile" | ||
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| Single by Lily Allen | ||
| from the album Alright, Still | ||
| B-side(s) | "Cheryl Tweedy" "Absolutely Nothing" |
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| Released | 3 July 2006 (Worldwide) 26 September 2006 (US) |
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| Format | CD (CD1 & CD2), Digital Download, Vinyl Record (7") | |
| Recorded | 2006 | |
| Genre | Pop, Ska | |
| Length | 3:13 | |
| Label | Regal Zonophone Records | |
| Writer(s) | Lily Allen, Iyiola Babalola, Darren Lewis, Jackie Mittoo, Clement Dodd | |
| Producer(s) | Future Cut | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| Lily Allen singles chronology | ||
| "Smile" (2006) |
"LDN" (2006) |
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| Alternative covers | ||
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| CD1 cover | ||
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| 7" vinyl cover/Promo CD cover/iTunes digital download | ||
"Smile" is Lily Allen's first mainstream single release, and was penned by Lily Allen, Iyola Babalola and Darren Lewis (the duo who produced the track as Future Cut). The Organ riff is a sample of Jackie Mittoo playing keyboards on Free Soul by The Soul Brothers, written by Jackie Mittoo and Clement Dodd.
Contents |
[edit] About the record
Allen announced through her MySpace blog that her first official single would be "Smile", taken from her debut album entitled, Alright, Still. The track was sent to radio a few weeks later, and was added to radio playlists immediately. The music video premiered in early June on all mainstream music channels in the UK. Allen also appeared on the cover of The Observer Music Monthly as well as performing on UK TV shows, such as Top Of The Pops.
"Smile" was released to iTunes UK on 26 June 2006, ahead of the physical CD release on 3 July. It spent most of its first week at number 1 on the iTunes chart before entering at number 13 in the Official UK Top 40. The physical single is backed by two B-sides, including Cheryl Tweedy, a track which has generated publicity, as Allen states she wishes she looked like the Girls Aloud member in the lyrics. The single rose to number one in the UK on 9 July, selling 39,501 copies in that week. It amassed 2 weeks at the number one spot selling a further 35,228 copies, falling to number four in its third week (the same week the album was released). The song contains a swear-word in the second line; "but you were fucking that girl next door". In the 'clean' version and when it is performed live on radio/television, the phrase "doing that girl" is used instead.
The lyrics are sung in the first person by a girl, describing her guilty pleasure of seeing a guy upset over her. Their breakup was bad for her, so now that she has got over it and he's crying over something, she feels he is getting what he deserves: he's feeling hurt like she had to. Hence, this makes her smile.
[edit] Music Video
The music video, directed by Sophie Muller (who also directed the video of previous UK #1 "Hips Don't Lie" by Shakira), shows Lily getting revenge on an ex-boyfriend. She pays some thugs to beat him up, then takes him to a cafe to console him, while the thugs trash his apartment and scratch his vinyl records, while she puts laxatives in his coffee so he gets the runs. Later he has to come round to her house to use the bathroom as his has been blocked by the thugs, and Lily laughs at him behind his back while pretending to console him. The video finishes with Lily walking down the street smiling while the ex-boyfriend is DJing in a nightclub only to find that all his vinyl records have been scratched. Lily commented in an interview that the video was banned on MTV because it contained mugging. It also has a profanity in its first verse; the offending lyric 'But you were fucking that girl next door' is censored in some releases, but present in others.
[edit] Promotion
On the day of the official release of Smile, Allen performed and did an exclusive record signing at private record store Sister Ray in Soho, London. She performed 4 songs from her debut album Alright, Still: "LDN," "Knock 'Em Out," "Littlest Things" and "Smile," followed by the signing.
Earlier the same day, Allen performed on the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge with DJ Jo Whiley, performing an acoustic version of "Smile," and a cover of The Kooks' Naïve, to apologise for insulting them via her Myspace blog.
[edit] Track listings
These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Smile".
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[edit] Charts
| Chart (2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart | 1 |
| Poland Singles Chart | 1 |
| Dutch Mega Top 50 | 6 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 6 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 6 |
| UK Download Chart | 8 |
| Philippine Singles Chart | 9 |
| Dutch Top 40 | 10 |
| Australian Singles Chart | 14 |
| France Singles Chart | 16 |
| Switzerland Singles Chart | 21 |
| Belgium Singles Chart | 27 |
| Sweden Singles Chart | 38 |
| Austria Singles Chart | 39 |
| Germany Singles Chart | 61 |
| Preceded by: "Hips Don't Lie" by Shakira |
UK Singles Chart Number One Single July 9, 2006 - July 23, 2006 |
Succeeded by: "Don't Stop Me Now/Please, Please" by McFly |
