Smooth (Santana song)

Concept and background

"Smooth" was originally conceived by Itaal Shur as a song called "Room 17". The lyrics were stripped off and the track was given to Rob 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. Matt Serletic (who produced Matchbox Twenty's debut album Yourself or Someone Like You in 1996) produced the song, and it was released from Santana's 1999 album Supernatural. Thomas originally had George Michael in mind to sing the song.

Chart performance

By June 1, 1999, "Smooth" was leaked and played by some radio stations before its official release. The single became a chart-topping hit that summer, spending 12 consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 beginning with the week of October 23, 1999. It was the first chart-topping hit in Carlos Santana's long-running career, peaking higher than his previously-biggest hit, "Black Magic Woman" (1971) which had peaked at number four. "Smooth" stayed in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 for 30 weeks and the top 100 for 58 weeks.

In the United Kingdom, "Smooth" first charted at number 75 on the UK Singles Chart in October 1999. After a full release on March 20, 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 the UK and Ireland. The song also peaked at number one in Canada for a week, number two for six weeks, and was on the charts for 51 weeks. It was number two in Greece, 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.

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 and the number-one rock song in the history of the chart.

In the 21st century, particularly during the summer of 2016, the song became the subject of several internet memes. 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." They 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".

Track listings

US CD and cassette single

1. "Smooth" – 3:55
2. "El farol" – 4:59

UK 1999 CD single

1. "Smooth" – 3:55
2. "Smooth" (instrumental) – 4:55
3. "El farol" – 4:59

UK 2000 CD and cassette single

1. "Smooth" (radio edit) – 3:55
2. "Smooth" (dance radio mix) – 4:55
3. "Smooth" (instrumental) – 4:55 European CD single
4. "Smooth" (radio edit) – 3:55
5. "Smooth" (album version) – 4:55

Australian CD single

1. "Smooth" (radio edit) – 3:55
2. "Smooth" (album version) – 4:55
3. "Smooth" (instrumental) – 4:55

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the Supernatural album booklet.

Studios

• Recorded at Fantasy Studios (Berkeley, California)
• Mixed at the Record Plant (New York City)
• Mastered at A&M Mastering Studios (Los Angeles, California)

Personnel

• Itaal Shur – music, lyrics
• Rob Thomas – lyrics, lead vocals
• Carlos Santana – lead guitar
• Benny Rietveld – bass
• Chester Thompson – keyboards
• Rodney Holmes – drums
• Raul Rekow – congas
• Karl Perazzo – percussion
• Jeff Cressman – trombone
• José Abel Figueroa – trombone
• Javier Melendez – trumpet
• William Ortiz – trumpet
• Matt Serletic – production
• David Thoener – recording, mixing
• Steve Fontano – recording assistance
• Andy Haller – mixing assistance
• Mark Dobson – programming and digital editing
• Stephen Marcussen – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Release history

Cover versions

• A cover version of the song is included in the 2008 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.
• An acoustic version of the song was released by indie-folk artist Kimberly June on album Covers from Another, recorded at Round Hill Studios in Nashville in 2021.
• The song "Albi Ekhatark (قلبي اختارك)" by Egyptian singer Amr Diab from the 2000 album Tamally Maak is loosely based on "Smooth".

In popular culture

• In February 2013, The Onion published a satirical video joking that "Smooth" had swept the Grammy Awards for 13 years in a row.
• Singer Miley Cyrus, as her television alter ego Hannah Montana from the series of the same name, made reference to "Smooth" and Carlos Santana in her song with Iyaz, "Gonna Get This" from her 2010 album Hannah Montana Forever.
• Funny or Die released a police drama parody trailer with Rob Thomas that recited the song's lyrics.
• In 2019, comedian JP Leonard released a bit inspired by the song which puts Rob Thomas in various jobs. The track, "Man, It's a Hot One", appears on the comedy album NO Show Comedy: A Louisiana Album Recording.
• In 2025, this song was used in season 2 of Sausage Party: Foodtopia, most notably in the third episode of said season.

References

References

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