"Smile" is a song by American singer Katy Perry from her upcoming sixth studio album of the same name. It was released as the album's fourth single on July 10, 2020, by Capitol Records, alongside the album's pre-order. The song samples Naughty by Nature's 1999 song "Jamboree". On the song, Perry talks about expressing her gratitude for changes in her life. The song was used in a back to school Target commercial.
Background and composition
The song was officially released on July 10, 2020 along with the album's pre-order, with Perry saying she hoped "it can be a few minutes of energizing hopefulness for you as it is for meee". "Smile" runs for 2 minutes and 47 seconds. It samples Naughty by Nature's 1999 song "Jamboree". The song starts off with an "upbeat hook" and a "dance-driven groove" that leads to the chorus containing lyrics expressing her gratitude for changes in her life: "Yeah, I'm thankful / Scratch that, baby, I'm grateful / Gotta say it's really been a while / But now I got back that smile". On the lyrics, Perry also "extols the virtue of perseverance" after suffering setbacks where every day feels like Groundhog Day as well as "going through motions felt so fake". The song was inspired by Perry's own experiences and was described by Uproxx as an "ode to remembering life's joys". Speaking about the release of the song, Perry said "I wrote this song when I was coming through one of the darkest periods of my life. When I listen to it now, it's a great reminder that I made it through. It's three minutes of energizing hopefulness".
's Zoe Haylock called the song "empowering", comparing it to Perry's 2013 single "Roar". Jason Lipshutz from Billboard, also compared "Smile" to Perry's previous songs "Walking on Air" and "Birthday", both taken from Perry's fourth album Prism, calling "Smile" the "same sort of dizzy glitter-pop" Perry embraced on Prism. In writing for Consequence of Sound, Wren Graves noted the song's positive message, stating that "lyrics overbrimming with warmth and gratitude. The song evokes the light at the end of the tunnel".
Music video
Perry released a performance video for "Smile" on July 14, 2020. In the video, she is dressed as a clown, in her "most fashionable clown attire, wearing an orange, polka-dotted blazer and matching blue jumper with whimsical tuxedo detailing across the front" and performs against a backdrop with a "number of giant clown hands, seated atop a comically oversizedclown shoe and more". In reply to a comment on her Instagram asking what the difference was between a performance video and music video, Perry replied "just that there is more to come".
