“Fake Smile” by Ariana Grande

“Fake Smile” has Ariana Grande dealing with situations that are part and parcel to her being a mega-celebrity. For instance, she may be compelled to appear happy in public, while internally her emotions are in turmoil. Moreover, she addresses reading negative, fictitious articles about her own life in the media. Ultimately, her response is that she has to be free to display her true feelings.

This is due to her being fed-up with the game. In other words, she has been through so much that she no longer has the wherewithal to pretend that she is okay. Thus she is not going to bother herself with trying to appear happy just to please other people. Some analysts also believe that when Ariana says that she “can’t take another fake smile”, she may also be referring to those displayed by other people, as in she is tired of seeing those also. It is important that we mention that such is not made clear in the song.

Fake Smile Lyrics

The first verse finds Ariana at a party. She is friendly to those she comes across yet has the desire to leave immediately. She expresses appreciation for her friends, but at this point she doesn’t feel obligated to be around just to make them happy.

In the second verse, she addresses false rumors spread about her, particularly it would seem through the tabloid media. Despite her knowing what she was getting into by aspiring to be a celebrity and already being a vet in the game, some of the things people say still catch her off-guard. However, she’s not really sweating these people. Her point rather is to let the listening audience know the kinds of experiences that have led to her not caring anymore.

Facts about “Fake Smile”

  • Writer(s): Many writers contributed to the writing of “Fake Smile”. They include: Joseph Frierson, Mary Frierson, Fred Ball, Happy Perez, Andrew “Pop” Wansel, Wendy Rene, Kennedi Lykken, Priscilla Renea and Justin Tranter. And of course Ariana Grande is also given songwriting credits on this song
  • Producer(s): Aside writing this song, Perez and Wansel also produced it.
  •  Album/EP: This is the fifth song off of Ariana’s fifth studio album entitled Thank U, Next.
  • Release Date: “Fake Smile” was formally released for sale on the 8th of February, 2019.
  • Record Label: The label that released this track is Republic Records.
  • Interesting Stuff: “Fake Smile” features a sample of the 1964 single “After Laughter (Comes Tears)” by soul singer Wendy Rene (1947-2014). Though that song may not have proven to be a hit amongst its contemporaries, it has been sampled by numerous A-list artists in modern times such as the Wu-Tang Clan, Alicia Keys and Kendrick Lamar.

Did Ariana Grande’s record label release “Fake Smile” as a single?

No. This wasn’t one of the singles that supported Thank U, Next. The songs “Thank U, Next“, “7 Rings” and “Break up with Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored” were the 3 singles from the aforementioned album.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may also like...