Smile (3:17)

Smile is a song by British recording artist Lily Allen from her debut studio album, Alright, Still. Written by Allen, Iyiola Babalola and Darren Lewis in 2004. It samples The Soul Brothers’ Free Soul, the song was released as the lead mainstream single of the album on 3 July 2006. After signing a contract deal with Regal Recordings and gaining popularity on the social network of MySpace with demo songs, Allen released a limited edition of LDN to promote her work and afterwards announced the release of Smile on 3 July 2006.

The song incorporates ska music, as the lyrics tackle her dealing with the betrayal of her boyfriend, while enjoying his misery. Contemporary critics complimented the song, noticing the confidence it hides and the carnivalesque, yet melancholy, theme, although some, like Rob Sheffield, did not consider it one of the album’s best songs and 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 had 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 also 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.