Smile (Avril Lavigne song)
Encyclopedia
"Smile" is a song by Canadian recording artist Avril Lavigne
, taken as the second single from her fourth studio album Goodbye Lullaby
. Written by Lavigne with its producers Max Martin
and Shellback
, the song is a pop punk track. The lyrics find the singer expressing her gratitude for a special person in her life. "Smile" was released on 11 April 2011 to Australian radio stations and then on 17 May to U.S. radio as the second single. The song received favorable reviews from music critics, who described the track as a "sassy and catchy pop song". A music video directed by Shane Drake
was filmed on 21 April 2011 and was released on 20 May. It has charted inside the top-forty on the Australian
, Japanese
and New Zealand
charts.
and Shellback
. ‘Smile’ pays tribute to the special someone who was able to win her heart and put a grin on her face. Backed up by a punchy drum rhythm and electric guitar
s, Lavigne offers even more reasons why most normal guys would run in the other direction, then praises her guy for sticking around. Lavigne asked her fans via Twitter
what the next single from Goodbye Lullaby
should be, giving the choices between "Push" and "Smile". 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 USA, Canada, New Zealand, Asia, and the UK. She posted photos to her Twitter of the set of the music video, filmed on April 21.
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?"
said that: "The sassy "Smile," with its talk of doctored drinks and blackout tattoos, restore Avril to her rightful place ahead of Katy Perry
and Ke$ha." Scott Shelter from "Pop Crunch" was largely positive, rating it 9 stars (out of 10), saying that: "'Smile' is yet another catchy pop song from Lavigne, who's been scoring hits for nearly a decade now, far longer than most would have predicted when she hit the scene as a spunky teen with songs like 'Complicated
' and 'Sk8er Boi
.'" Another positive reaction came from Lewis Corner editor of Digital Spy
, who rated it four stars out of five. He commented that in the lyrics, she still maintaining her teen-brat persona rather worryingly at the age of 26", while naming the chorus "electric guitar-driven power-pop". He conclued that the song is "another effortlessly catchy soft-rock chant-along that is a welcome return to form".
Josh Langhoff from PopMatters
was more mixed, saying that: "More problematic is "Smile" and its bold pro-roofie stance." Marcus Gilmer from The A.V. Club
was positive, saying that: "Lavigne exhibits some of the old spunk on "Smile," dropping a litany of curse words and asserting her right to be "a crazy bitch" who does "what I want when I feel like it."" Robert Everett-Green from The Globe and Mail
said that: "Smile would have us believe that Lavigne is still ready to be really bad and kiss the wrong guy and maybe not even wash her hair for a day." Jon Pareles
from The New York Times
commented that: "In "Smile," she slings four-letter words through a tale of rock craziness and love at first sight."
Margaret Wappler from Los Angeles Times
explains that "On "Smile," Lavigne celebrates black-out nights, possibly with her ex-husband Deryck Whibley
, the kind that result in a new tattoo. She proudly calls herself crazy and out of control, before leading into a chorus that’s all gushy about love. Al Fox from BBC Music
said that: "the spiky, unstable Smile, shoehorns in more needless swear words than a week’s worth of late-night Hollyoaks." Dan Weiss from The Washington Post
commented that "'Smile' is the only other Lullaby tune where she fully savors her role as the estranged divorcee godmother of the Kesha
verse." Chris DeLine from "Culture Bully" explained that: "the song is energic and have a pop hook". While opining that: "The energetic track pales in comparison however, picking up on a trend that persists throughout the entire recording."
, making it her lowest charting single to date in the UK.
. Lavigne has performed the song on the German show Schlag den Raab
on 4 June 2011. 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 June 1, and at the America's Got Talent
6th session on July 13.
. Lavigne uploaded videos on her YouTube
account of the set of the video. On May 16, she posted a video titled "Ready, Set, Smile!". On May 17, she posted another video, titled "Smile & Style". On May 18, 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 May 18, 2011 on her VEVO
account. To date, it has spawned around 35 million views.
dress with yellow tiger print which says "Party Crasher", and black boots with neon green laces. She shakes a can of spray paint, and sprays a smiling face on the camera; two crosses which represent eyes, and a mouth. Lavigne decorates the walls around her with The Black Star Tour posters, and different words; for example "SMILE" in stencil, "Abbey Dawn
", "tattoo", "fuck you" and "batch" (meaning "bitch"). Lavigne sprays different designs on the walls, such as love hearts, stars, and more smiling faces, and then plugs a red electric guitar into an amplifier. She sings the first verse in the white room, then makes her way outside into New York City
. Lavigne is wearing a black Abbey Dawn
t-shirt with a smiling face design, with two crosses representing eyes, and "SMILE" representing a mouth. She is also wearing standard black jeans, Converse All Star, and a tiara. Lavigne walks over to people looking upset or distressed, and takes a piece of a broken heart lying by them. When she takes the piece, they begin to smile. The scenes of Lavigne in the city are a grayscale colour, but the pieces of heart are coloured red. The video switches between those locations; Lavigne in the white room and in the city, the same theme recurring throughout the duration of the video.
was positive and says that "Lavigne is back to her heavy mascara and punk-like teenage look on a studio set which she decorated herself with color spray bombs, posters and a few props." Lapointe also says that the video is "energetic and love struck." Jamie Peck from MTV Buzzworthly
commented that Avril is "learning to deal with things in a more grown-up fashion." Robbie Daw from Idolator
wrote that "she’s a foul-mouthed pop tart with a heart of gold!." Daw perceived that "those couple-breaking-up-at-a-cafe references to Debbie Gibson’s 1988 “Foolish Beat
” video." A positive response came from Billboard
s writer Jon Blistein, who says that "It's simple, sweet, and unlike "What the Hell
," wonderfully void of blatant product placement." The website Terra
was mixed, saying that Avril is stuck in the year 2000 in the video and that "she is still trying to play dress-up like she did back when "Complicated" made her peak."
digital download
UK digital download / CD single
In the radio edit, the word "bitch" is omitted while the track continues playing, "shit" is ommited while the track continues playing (or replaced with "you don't really give it up"), and "you're fucking crazy" is replaced with "you like it crazy".
In the promo only squeaky clean edit, the word "bitch" is replaced with "chick".
Source:
Avril Lavigne
Avril Ramona Lavigne is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She was born in Belleville, Ontario, but spent most of her youth in the small town of Napanee. By the age of 15, she had appeared on stage with Shania Twain; by 16, she had signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records worth more...
, taken as the second single from her fourth studio album Goodbye Lullaby
Goodbye Lullaby
Goodbye Lullaby is the fourth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne. The album was first released on 8 March 2011 through RCA Records . Recording sessions began in November 2008, and took place over a period of almost two years, concluding in October 2010...
. Written by Lavigne with its producers Max Martin
Max Martin
Martin Karl Sandberg, known professionally as Max Martin, is a Swedish music producer and songwriter. Raised in Stenhamra, a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden, he broke through as a producer and songwriter in the mid to late 1990s after crafting a string of hits for pop artists like the Backstreet Boys,...
and Shellback
Shellback (songwriter)
Karl Johan Schuster , better known by his stage name Shellback, is a songwriter, record producer and musician from Karlshamn, Sweden...
, the song is a pop punk track. The lyrics find the singer expressing her gratitude for a special person in her life. "Smile" was released on 11 April 2011 to Australian radio stations and then on 17 May to U.S. radio as the second single. The song received favorable reviews from music critics, who described the track as a "sassy and catchy pop song". A music video directed by Shane Drake
Shane Drake
Shane C. Drake is an American music video director originally from Redding, California. He has directed videos for bands such as Trivium, Paramore, Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco, Angels & Airwaves, Flo Rida, Timbaland, Blindside, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, The Almost, Hawthorne Heights and...
was filmed on 21 April 2011 and was released on 20 May. It has charted inside the top-forty on the Australian
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...
, Japanese
Japan Hot 100
The Japan Hot 100 is a music singles chart in Japan. It is compiled by Billboard and Hanshin Contents Link ever since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at billboard-japan.com and every Thursday at billboard.com ....
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
charts.
Background
Lavigne wrote the song with its producers, Max MartinMax Martin
Martin Karl Sandberg, known professionally as Max Martin, is a Swedish music producer and songwriter. Raised in Stenhamra, a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden, he broke through as a producer and songwriter in the mid to late 1990s after crafting a string of hits for pop artists like the Backstreet Boys,...
and Shellback
Shellback
Shellback may refer to:*Shellback , from Karlshamn, Sweden*Shellback, California, former settlement*Shellback Wilderness, White Pine County, Nevada, U.S., wilderness area*Shellback Island, Victoria, Australia...
. ‘Smile’ pays tribute to the special someone who was able to win her heart and put a grin on her face. Backed up by a punchy drum rhythm and electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
s, Lavigne offers even more reasons why most normal guys would run in the other direction, then praises her guy for sticking around. Lavigne asked her fans via Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
what the next single from Goodbye Lullaby
Goodbye Lullaby
Goodbye Lullaby is the fourth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne. The album was first released on 8 March 2011 through RCA Records . Recording sessions began in November 2008, and took place over a period of almost two years, concluding in October 2010...
should be, giving the choices between "Push" and "Smile". 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
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
, announced that "Smile" will be sent out to Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
radio in April, with the same expected to happen in other territories such as USA, Canada, New Zealand, Asia, and the UK. She posted photos to her Twitter of the set of the music video, filmed on April 21.
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
ITunes
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....
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?"
Critical reception
Nadine Cheung from AOL Music said positively: "The new song represents Lavigne's best qualities as a pop star, while the tune incorporates talk-singing as well as the bold melodic choruses for which the 26-year-old is known." Andy Greenwald from Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
said that: "The sassy "Smile," with its talk of doctored drinks and blackout tattoos, restore Avril to her rightful place ahead of Katy Perry
Katy Perry
Katy Perry is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents, Perry grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in her local church as a child. After earning a GED during her first year of high school, she began to pursue a...
and Ke$ha." Scott Shelter from "Pop Crunch" was largely positive, rating it 9 stars (out of 10), saying that: "'Smile' is yet another catchy pop song from Lavigne, who's been scoring hits for nearly a decade now, far longer than most would have predicted when she hit the scene as a spunky teen with songs like 'Complicated
Complicated
"Complicated" is a song by Avril Lavigne and was her debut single, released in 2002 from her debut album, Let Go. It was written by Lavigne and The Matrix , and produced by The Matrix...
' and 'Sk8er Boi
Sk8er Boi
"Sk8er Boi" is a song by Avril Lavigne, and is the second single from her debut album, Let Go . It was written by Avril Lavigne and The Matrix , and produced by The Matrix...
.'" Another positive reaction came from Lewis Corner editor of Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
, who rated it four stars out of five. He commented that in the lyrics, she still maintaining her teen-brat persona rather worryingly at the age of 26", while naming the chorus "electric guitar-driven power-pop". He conclued that the song is "another effortlessly catchy soft-rock chant-along that is a welcome return to form".
Josh Langhoff from 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,...
was more mixed, saying that: "More problematic is "Smile" and its bold pro-roofie stance." Marcus Gilmer from The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
was positive, saying that: "Lavigne exhibits some of the old spunk on "Smile," dropping a litany of curse words and asserting her right to be "a crazy bitch" who does "what I want when I feel like it."" Robert Everett-Green from The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
said that: "Smile would have us believe that Lavigne is still ready to be really bad and kiss the wrong guy and maybe not even wash her hair for a day." Jon Pareles
Jon Pareles
Jon Pareles is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of the New York Times. He played jazz flute and piano, and graduated from Yale University with a degree in music. In the 1970s he was an associate editor of Crawdaddy!, and in the 1980s an associate...
from The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
commented that: "In "Smile," she slings four-letter words through a tale of rock craziness and love at first sight."
Margaret Wappler from Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
explains that "On "Smile," Lavigne celebrates black-out nights, possibly with her ex-husband Deryck Whibley
Deryck Whibley
Deryck Jason Whibley is a Canadian musician and producer, best known for his work as the guitarist, lead vocalist, songwriter and producer of the Juno Award-winning rock band Sum 41. Whibley married fellow singer Avril Lavigne in 2006. The couple occasionally performed together, and they have...
, the kind that result in a new tattoo. She proudly calls herself crazy and out of control, before leading into a chorus that’s all gushy about love. Al Fox from BBC Music
BBC Music
BBC Music is a team working in the department of Audio and Music Interactive at the BBC. Responsible for the BBC Music website - the portal site to music content across the BBC website....
said that: "the spiky, unstable Smile, shoehorns in more needless swear words than a week’s worth of late-night Hollyoaks." Dan Weiss from The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
commented that "'Smile' is the only other Lullaby tune where she fully savors her role as the estranged divorcee godmother of the Kesha
Kesha
Kesha village is a small village nestled in the mountains of Yongshun County, northwestern Hunan province, China, located at latitude 29 05' 50", longitude 109 57' 9". The name is pronounced in Standard Chinese. The official language is Manderin Chinese....
verse." Chris DeLine from "Culture Bully" explained that: "the song is energic and have a pop hook". While opining that: "The energetic track pales in comparison however, picking up on a trend that persists throughout the entire recording."
Chart performance
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. The song has sold over 70,000 units of digital copies in the Australia. In New Zealand, the song debuted at thirty-three on 25 April 2011 and has peaked at number thirty. The song debuted at 94 on the US Billboard Hot 100 the charting week of July 16, 2011, rising to number sixty-eight in its fifth week. The song has sold over 316,000 units of digital copies in the USA. The song peaked at 178 on the UK Singles ChartUK 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 ...
, making it her lowest charting single to date in the UK.
Live performances
Avril performed the song, while promoting the album, on Walmart Soundcheck, on "2DayFM", and also on T4T4
- In airports and airlines :* The IATA airline code for Hellas Jet* Madrid Barajas Airport Terminal 4* London Heathrow Airport Terminal 4- In biology and medicine :* T4 phage, a bacteriophage* Thyroxine , a form of thyroid hormones* The T4 spinal nerve...
. Lavigne has performed the song on the German show Schlag den Raab
Schlag den Raab
Schlag den Raab is a game show airing on the German television channel ProSieben. A candidate who can beat Stefan Raab in a number of disciplines wins the jackpot.- Premise :...
on 4 June 2011. 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
What the Hell
Mostly positive, critics have noted similarities between "What the Hell" and Lavigne's previous single, "Girlfriend". Gil Kaufman of MTV.com stated "What the Hell" has "rousing cheerleader energy" and an "infectious groove and peppy vibe". Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone magazine said "the music is...
on the British show Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007 and originated from the Got Talent series. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's TalkbackThames and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The show is broadcast on ITV in Britain and TV3 in Ireland...
on June 1, and at the America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent (season 6)
The sixth season of America's Got Talent, a reality television series, premiered on May 31, 2011 on NBC. On September 14, 2011, Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr...
6th session on July 13.
Background
The music video was shot on April 21, 2011, and was directed by Shane DrakeShane Drake
Shane C. Drake is an American music video director originally from Redding, California. He has directed videos for bands such as Trivium, Paramore, Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco, Angels & Airwaves, Flo Rida, Timbaland, Blindside, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, The Almost, Hawthorne Heights and...
. Lavigne uploaded videos on her YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
account of the set of the video. On May 16, she posted a video titled "Ready, Set, Smile!". On May 17, she posted another video, titled "Smile & Style". On May 18, 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 May 18, 2011 on her VEVO
Vevo
Vevo is a music video website. It is a joint venture among Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Abu Dhabi Media with EMI licensing its content to the group without taking an ownership stake. The service was launched officially on December 8, 2009...
account. To date, it has spawned around 35 million views.
Synopsis
The video begins with Lavigne in a white room, with various large black amplifiers behind her. She is wearing a black Abbey DawnAbbey Dawn
Abbey Dawn is a clothing line designed by musician Avril Lavigne. The name goes back to Lavigne's childhood, where her father nicknamed her "Abbey Dawn", and her high school friends would often call her "Abbey". The line was initially described as a "Juniors' lifestyle brand", but since then has...
dress with yellow tiger print which says "Party Crasher", and black boots with neon green laces. She shakes a can of spray paint, and sprays a smiling face on the camera; two crosses which represent eyes, and a mouth. Lavigne decorates the walls around her with The Black Star Tour posters, and different words; for example "SMILE" in stencil, "Abbey Dawn
Abbey Dawn
Abbey Dawn is a clothing line designed by musician Avril Lavigne. The name goes back to Lavigne's childhood, where her father nicknamed her "Abbey Dawn", and her high school friends would often call her "Abbey". The line was initially described as a "Juniors' lifestyle brand", but since then has...
", "tattoo", "fuck you" and "batch" (meaning "bitch"). Lavigne sprays different designs on the walls, such as love hearts, stars, and more smiling faces, and then plugs a red electric guitar into an amplifier. She sings the first verse in the white room, then makes her way outside into New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Lavigne is wearing a black Abbey Dawn
Abbey Dawn
Abbey Dawn is a clothing line designed by musician Avril Lavigne. The name goes back to Lavigne's childhood, where her father nicknamed her "Abbey Dawn", and her high school friends would often call her "Abbey". The line was initially described as a "Juniors' lifestyle brand", but since then has...
t-shirt with a smiling face design, with two crosses representing eyes, and "SMILE" representing a mouth. She is also wearing standard black jeans, Converse All Star, and a tiara. Lavigne walks over to people looking upset or distressed, and takes a piece of a broken heart lying by them. When she takes the piece, they begin to smile. The scenes of Lavigne in the city are a grayscale colour, but the pieces of heart are coloured red. The video switches between those locations; Lavigne in the white room and in the city, the same theme recurring throughout the duration of the video.
Reception
Jeff Lapointe from MTV NewsMTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
was positive and says that "Lavigne is back to her heavy mascara and punk-like teenage look on a studio set which she decorated herself with color spray bombs, posters and a few props." Lapointe also says that the video is "energetic and love struck." Jamie Peck from MTV Buzzworthly
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....
commented that Avril is "learning to deal with things in a more grown-up fashion." Robbie Daw from Idolator
Idolator
Idolator is the third album by the Japanese, melodic death metal band, Blood Stain Child. Idolator combines melodic death metal similar to the more recent In Flames albums with electronic and trance influences, particularly on "Nuclear Trance". "Embrace Me", has a piano section both at the...
wrote that "she’s a foul-mouthed pop tart with a heart of gold!." Daw perceived that "those couple-breaking-up-at-a-cafe references to Debbie Gibson’s 1988 “Foolish Beat
Foolish Beat
"Foolish Beat" is the fourth single, and the first ballad release, from American singer-songwriter-actress Deborah Gibson...
” video." A positive response came from Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
s writer Jon Blistein, who says that "It's simple, sweet, and unlike "What the Hell
What the Hell
Mostly positive, critics have noted similarities between "What the Hell" and Lavigne's previous single, "Girlfriend". Gil Kaufman of MTV.com stated "What the Hell" has "rousing cheerleader energy" and an "infectious groove and peppy vibe". Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone magazine said "the music is...
," wonderfully void of blatant product placement." The website Terra
Terra
- Astronomy :* Earth* Terra , a multi-national NASA scientific research satellite* Terrae as extensive land masses found on various solar system bodies** List of terrae on Mars** List of terrae on Venus** Terrae, a highland on the Moon- Latin :...
was mixed, saying that Avril is stuck in the year 2000 in the video and that "she is still trying to play dress-up like she did back when "Complicated" made her peak."
Track listing
iTunes StoreITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
digital download
- "Smile" (Radio Edit) – 3:29
UK digital download / CD single
- "Smile" – 3:29
- "What the Hell" (Bimbo JonesBimbo JonesBimbo Jones is a UK dance music group comprising producers Lee Dagger and Marc JB and vocalist Katherine Ellis. Known for their remix work and white label releases, they produced a remix of Meck's 2006 UK number-one single "Thunder in My Heart Again"...
Remix) – 4:10 - "Smile" (music video) – 3:36
In the radio edit, the word "bitch" is omitted while the track continues playing, "shit" is ommited while the track continues playing (or replaced with "you don't really give it up"), and "you're fucking crazy" is replaced with "you like it crazy".
In the promo only squeaky clean edit, the word "bitch" is replaced with "chick".
Credits and personnel
- SongwritingSongwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
– Avril LavigneAvril LavigneAvril Ramona Lavigne is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She was born in Belleville, Ontario, but spent most of her youth in the small town of Napanee. By the age of 15, she had appeared on stage with Shania Twain; by 16, she had signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records worth more...
, Max MartinMax MartinMartin Karl Sandberg, known professionally as Max Martin, is a Swedish music producer and songwriter. Raised in Stenhamra, a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden, he broke through as a producer and songwriter in the mid to late 1990s after crafting a string of hits for pop artists like the Backstreet Boys,...
, ShellbackShellback (songwriter)Karl Johan Schuster , better known by his stage name Shellback, is a songwriter, record producer and musician from Karlshamn, Sweden... - ProductionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
and recordingSound recording and reproductionSound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
– Max Martin, Shellback - EngineeringAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
– Michael Ilbert - 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...
– Serban GheneaSerban GheneaSerban Ghenea is a four-time Grammy Award and three-time Latin Grammy Award-winning mixer. He has mixed songs for such artists as Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Faith Hill, Carrie Underwood, Jewel, Santana, Ozomatli, Shakira, Jill Scott, R. Kelly, Rod Stewart, and Dave Matthews Band... - Mix engineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
– John Hanes - Assistant mix engineer – Tim Roberts
- DrumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
– Shellback - KeyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
– Max Martin
Source:
Charts
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Brazil (Billboard Brazil) | 46 |
| Japan Adult Contemporary Airplay (Billboard Japan Hot 100 The Japan Hot 100 is a music singles chart in Japan. It is compiled by Billboard and Hanshin Contents Link ever since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at billboard-japan.com and every Thursday at billboard.com .... ) |
14 |
| Japan Hot 100 (Billboard Japan Hot 100 The Japan Hot 100 is a music singles chart in Japan. It is compiled by Billboard and Hanshin Contents Link ever since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at billboard-japan.com and every Thursday at billboard.com .... ) |
25 |
| South Korea (GAON International Chart Gaon Chart The Gaon Chart is a national record chart of South Korea. It is complied by the Korea Music Content Industry Association and sponsored by South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism; with an aim to create a national chart for Korea similar to the Billboard charts and Oricon charts... ) |
11 |
| US 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... |
68 |
| US Pop Songs Mainstream Top 40 (Pop Songs) The Mainstream Top 40 is an airplay chart from Billboard magazine, and is also known as Pop Songs on billboard.com. It was often mistaken for and confused with the now discontinued Pop 100 Airplay chart... (Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... ) |
25 |
Certifications
| Country | Certifications 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,... (sales thresholds) |
|---|---|
| Australia | Platinum |
Release history
| Region | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 11 April 2011 | Radio airplay | Sony Music |
| Norway | 6 May 2011 | Digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
|
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| Sweden | |||
| Switzerland | |||
| United States | 17 May 2011 | Top 40/Mainstream airplay | RCA Records |
| Germany | 3 June 2011 | CD single | |
| United Kingdom | 3 July 2011 | Digital download | |
Awards
| Year | Awards ceremony | Award | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | EVMA 2011 | Best Alternative Video |