Smile Like You Mean It

"Smile Like You Mean It" is a song by American rock band the Killers, written by lead vocalist Brandon Flowers and bassist Mark Stoermer. Originally released as a B-side of "Mr. Brightside" in September 2003, it is featured on their debut studio album Hot Fuss (2004). It was the third single from the album released in the United States and the fourth in the United Kingdom, reaching number 15 on the Billboard U.S. Modern Rock Tracks chart and number 11 on the UK Singles Chart. It also received substantial radio airplay in Australia, where it was ranked number 39 on Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2004.

For the Gotham episode, see Smile Like You Mean It (Gotham).
"Smile Like You Mean It"
Single by The Killers
from the album Hot Fuss
B-side
  • "Get Trashed"
  • "Change Your Mind"
Released2 May 2005
RecordedMarch – April 2003
Studio
Genre
Length3:54
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)The Killers
The Killers singles chronology
"All These Things That I've Done"
(2004)		 "Smile Like You Mean It"
(2005)		 "When You Were Young"
(2006)

Critical reception

Billboard said the song "seems to deal with coming to terms with growing up and getting older."[1] Chuck Arnold with People magazine called the song "a sardonic moper worthy of the Smiths."[2] Billboard said the single is "more restrained and downtempo compared with the band's previous hits" but otherwise "pretty upbeat and is awash with soaring new wave synthesizers and 'killer' guitars."[1] In the UK, the song was voted at 91 on Absolute Radio's 100 Best Songs of the Decade.[3]

Covers and other information

The Killers claim that the song was written in just eight minutes. According to Brandon Flowers, the lyric "Looking back at sunsets on the East side" refers to the East side of Las Vegas, Nevada.[4]

David Gray performed an acoustic version of "Smile Like You Mean It" on BBC's Radio 1 in the Live Lounge.[5] Tally Hall covered the song for the sixth The O.C. soundtrack: Music from the OC: Mix 6.

The song was released as a downloadable track for the music video game series Rock Band on November 25, 2008.

"Smile Like You Mean It" was remixed by French music producer Madeon and is available as a free download.

Music video

The music video for the song shows ghostly figures of the band wandering around a house that the characters of the song presumably used to live in. While Flowers sings to the camera, flashbacks of the old house are shown behind him, including a children's party, a Christmas morning, a high school party, and a funeral. While these extras are oblivious to being watched, at the end they turn to the camera to look at the viewer while the band fades away.

Track listing

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[11] Silver 200,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Caulfield, Keith; Paoletta, Michael (March 26, 2005), "Smile Like You Mean It". Billboard. 117 (13):29
  2. Arnold, Chuck 12/6/2004, "Hot Fuss (Music)". People. 62 (23):48
  3. "Smile Like You Mean It by The Killers". Song of the Decade. Archived from the original on 2012-07-19. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  4. "TheKillersShows on Twitter: "@BrandonFlowers explaining the line "Looking back at sunsets on the east side" (Smile Like You Mean It) #thekillers #samstown10 @thekillers https://t.co/5xxOK4Q1B7"". Twitter.com. 2016-11-06. Retrieved 2017-05-03. External link in |title= (help)
  5. "David Gray - Smile Like You Mean It (Acoustic)". YouTube. 2008-08-30. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  6. "Australian-charts.com – The Killers – Smile Like You Mean It". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  7. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Smile Like You Mean It". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  8. "The Killers: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  9. "The Killers Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  10. "The Official UK Singles Chart 2005" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  11. "British single certifications – Killers – Smile Like You Mean It". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.