Smooth (song)

"Smooth" is a collaboration between Latin rock band Santana and Matchbox Twenty vocalist Rob Thomas. The song was written by Itaal Shur and Thomas, produced by Matt Serletic and sung by Thomas. In the United States, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 12 weeks; it was the final number-one hit of the 1990s and the first number-one hit of the 2000s. "Smooth" is the only song to appear on two decade-end Billboard charts. As of 2018, "Smooth" is ranked the second most successful song of all time by Billboard. It won three Grammy Awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. Worldwide, the song reached number one in Canada and the top 10 in Australia, Austria, Ireland and the United Kingdom.

"Smooth"
Single by Santana featuring Rob Thomas
from the album Supernatural
ReleasedJune 1999
Recorded1998–1999
Genre
Length
  • 4:56 (album version)
  • 4:00 (radio edit)
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Matt Serletic
Santana singles chronology
"Say It Again"
(1985)		 "Smooth"
(1999)		 "Maria Maria"
(1999)
Rob Thomas singles chronology
"Smooth"
(1999)		 "A New York Christmas"
(2003)
Music video
"Smooth" on YouTube

Concept and background

"Smooth" was originally conceived by Shur as a song called "Room 17". The lyrics were stripped off and the track was given to Thomas, who re-wrote the lyrics and melody and re-titled it "Smooth", then recorded the song as a demo to play for Santana. After hearing the song, Santana decided to have Thomas record the final version.[1] Matt Serletic (who produced Matchbox Twenty's debut album Yourself or Someone Like You) produced the song and it was released from Santana's album Supernatural. Thomas originally had George Michael in mind to sing the song.[2]

Thomas wrote "Smooth" for his wife, Marisol Maldonado. He stated in interviews that the lyric "My Spanish Harlem Mona Lisa" was inspired by the 1972 Elton John song "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters", which includes references to the 1961 Ben E. King song "Spanish Harlem".

Chart performance

"Smooth" became a chart-topping hit in 1999, spending 12 consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 beginning with the issue of October 23, 1999. It was the first chart-topping song in Carlos Santana's long-running career (his previous biggest hit having been "Black Magic Woman", which peaked at number four in 1971). "Smooth" stayed in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 for 30 weeks, a record only bested by "How Do I Live" by LeAnn Rimes, "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars, "Closer" by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey, "Shape of You" by Ed Sheeran, "Girls Like You" by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B, "Sunflower" by Post Malone featuring Swae Lee, "Sicko Mode" by Travis Scott featuring Drake, and "Circles" by Post Malone.

In the United Kingdom, "Smooth" first charted at number 75 on the UK Singles Chart in October 1999. After a full release in March 2000 it peaked at number three, spending eight weeks in the top 40. The song also peaked at number three in Ireland in March 2000, spending ten weeks on the Irish Singles Chart. It remains Santana's highest-charting single in both Britain and Ireland. The song also peaked at number one in Canada for a week, number four in Australia and number nine in Austria. It reached the top 40 in an additional seven countries: Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Switzerland.

"Smooth" also spent a record-breaking ten consecutive weeks at the top of the VSpot Top 20 Countdown, a record that held up until the Dixie Chicks broke it in 2006.

Legacy

On Billboard magazine's rankings of the top songs of the first 50 years of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, "Smooth" was ranked as the number-two song overall (behind only "The Twist" by Chubby Checker)[3] and the number-one rock song in the history of the chart.[4]

In the 21st century, particularly during the summer of 2016, the song became popular as an internet meme.[5] Writing for MTV.com, Sasha Geffen compared the situation to similar resurgences of "All Star" by Smash Mouth and "One Week" by the Barenaked Ladies, going on to attribute the song's popularity to "the merits of its vocal absurdity." She wrote, "There's something ridiculous about how eagerly Rob Thomas lays his earnest alt-rock croon over Santana's guitar, sweating out lines about how his 'Spanish Harlem Mona Lisa' is 'just like the ocean under the moon' without a hint of self-consciousness or irony".[6] In 2017, Tanya Sichynsky of The Washington Post similarly opined that, "The opening lyric 'Man, it's a hot one,'... is a punch line that requires no set-up."[7]

Track listing
  1. "Smooth" (Edit) – 3:55
  2. "El Farol" – 4:59

Remixes
  1. Chris Staropoli Remix – 3:52
  2. Club Mix – 7:29
  3. Club Mix [instrumental] – 7:29

Credits and personnel
  • Carlos Santana – lead guitar
  • Rob Thomas – lead vocals
  • Chester Thompson – keyboards
  • Benny Rietveld – bass
  • Rodney Holmes – drums
  • Karl Perazzo – percussion
  • Raul Rekow – congas
  • Jeff Cressman – trombone
  • José Abel Figueroa – trombone
  • Julius Melendez – trumpet
  • William Ortiz – trumpet

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[57] 2× Platinum 140,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[58] Gold 400,000*
United States (RIAA)[59]
(physical) 		Platinum 1,200,000[60]
United States (RIAA)[59]
(digital) 		Gold 500,000*

^shipments figures based on certification alone
sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

Cover versions
  • A cover version of the song is included in the Nintendo Wii version of Samba de Amigo. Post-hardcore group Escape the Fate also recorded a cover version of the song for the compilation album Punk Goes Pop 2, released on March 10, 2009. Junior Lima from Brazilian pop duo Sandy & Junior sung a cover version of the song for the duo's live album/DVD As Quatro Estações - O Show, released in 2000.
  • The song was featured on two tracks, "Melt Everyone" and "Smooth Flow", from Neil Cicierega's 2014 mash-up album Mouth Sounds, and on two tracks, "Smooth" and "Shit", from the 2017 follow-up album Mouth Moods.
  • The song Albi Ekhatark (قلبي اختارك) by Egyptian singer Amr Diab is loosely based on Smooth.[61]
gollark: Due to some somewhat beeoidal design decisions it won't actually webhook without a restart.
gollark: Ah yes.
gollark: ++tel init_webhook
gollark: I should do webhookoids.
gollark: ++tel link apionet #e

See also
  • List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 1999
  • List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 2000
  • List of RPM number-one singles of 1999
  • List of RPM Rock/Alternative number-one singles (Canada)

References
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  63. "Miley Cyrus - Gonna Get This Lyrics". Genius Lyrics. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  64. https://www.funnyordie.com/platform/amp/2013/2/8/17716664/smooth-the-tv-show-with-matchbox-20
  65. "NO SHOW Comedy". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
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