"Smile" is a song by American pop rock band R5. It had its radio premiere on November 14, 2014, as the lead single from their second studio album, Sometime Last Night.[2]
Writing and composition
The song was written by Leah Haywood, Daniel James, Brian Lee and Matt Thiessen and produced by Dreamlab and Randall Bobbitt.[3] The band's frontman, Ross Lynch, told Teen Magazine that the song was about "doing ridiculous things in order to make someone else smile" and "the simplicity of just happiness."[4][5] "Smile" has a length of three minutes and twenty one seconds and sonically, "classic rock and roll" was the main inspiration of its sound.[6] "Smile" was compared to Maroon 5 and Bruno Mars.[7]
Reception
"Smile" has received generally positive reviews. Bop and Tiger Beat magazine said the song was "sweet, catchy and great".[8] Vivan Pham of Pop Dust noted that the band's sound has changed, no longer teen to become something more mature. She was positive and said it was "great".[9] Raffy Ermac to Teen Magazine said "Smile" was the band's best song so far and they were "playing better than ever".[4]
On November 14, 2014, the band released a live video in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to promote the song.[13] The official music video was premiered on MTV on December 23, 2014.[14] MTV also released an exclusive interview and behind-the-scenes, entitled "What Makes R5 Smile?".[14] The video shows the band backwards in a wooded park in four different scenes, like the four seasons. In the summer the band plays with water guns shirtless, in the spring they're on a picnic, in the autumn they dance in the rain among the dry leaves, in the winter they cut firewood in the snow.[15]
