Smiley Faces

For other uses, see Smiley (disambiguation).

"Smiley Faces" is a song by American soul music duo Gnarls Barkley from their debut album, St. Elsewhere (2006). It was released July 17, 2006, as the second single from that album in the United Kingdom and peaked at number 10 on the UK Singles Chart.

"Smiley Faces"
Single by Gnarls Barkley
from the album St. Elsewhere
B-side	"Go-Go Gadget Gospel"
Released	July 17, 2006 (2006-07-17)
Length	3:05
Label	Warner Music, Lex
Songwriter(s)	Brian Burton, Thomas Callaway
Producer(s)	Danger Mouse
Gnarls Barkley singles chronology
"Crazy" (2006) "Smiley Faces" (2006) "Who Cares? / Gone Daddy Gone" (2006)
Audio sample
file help
Alternative covers
UK CD2 cover
Music video
"Smiley Faces" on YouTube

Music videos

Like the single "Crazy", there are two different music videos for this song.

The mockumentary-style music video for "Smiley Faces", directed by Robert Hales shows a music historian (played by Dennis Hopper) and an A&R executive (played by Dean Stockwell) being interviewed about whether or not Gnarls Barkley (the person) exists and pondering over whether Barkley is behind the music scene. The video shows musical acts and cultural events from the 1920s to the 1990s, with Cee-Lo and producer Danger Mouse in the background. The effect is similar to that of Woody Allen editing himself into archival film footage in Zelig.^[1] (Danger Mouse has spoken of Woody Allen's films, and Allen's auteur approach as having an influence on his music.) In September 2007, the video won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Editing.

There was another music video made directed by Marc Klasfeld and animated by Edgar Reyes, featuring an instant messaging smiley with a gangster smileys' wife (who takes her top off for him), going to a sex dungeon, killing the gangster with a chainsaw, getting arrested and sent to prison, getting broken out of prison by the gangsters' wife, being at a Gnarls Barkley concert (who were also both in smiley form), drinking a lot and being sick, going home with the gangsters wife and then her getting three of her topless friends, with the main smiley being very happy. This video was originally put on British music channels before the mockumentary video but was banned due to sexual content and violence.

Track listings

UK CD1

1. "Smiley Faces"
2. "Smiley Faces" (live on Later with Jools Holland)

UK CD2

1. "Smiley Faces" (radio edit)
2. "Go-Go Gadget Gospel"
3. "Crazy" (video)
4. "Exclusive Microsite"

UK 12-inch vinyl

1. "Smiley Faces"
2. "Go-Go Gadget Gospel"
3. "Smiley Faces" (instrumental)

Chart performance

The song entered the UK Official Download Chart on May 3, 2006, at number 152. It reached its peak at number 12 on July 9, 2006.^[2][3] It then entered the UK Singles Chart on July 16, 2006, at number 23 based on download sales alone, climbing to number 10 after the physical release was available.^[4]

Weekly charts Chart (2006) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[5] 38 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[6] 37 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[7] 33 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[8] 39 Germany (GfK)[9] 32 Ireland (IRMA)[10] 9 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[11] 3 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[12] 47 Scotland (OCC)[13] 12 Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[14] 81 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[15] 57 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[16] 37 UK Singles (OCC)[4] 10 UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[17] 3

Year-end charts Chart (2006) Position UK Singles (OCC)[18] 98

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United Kingdom	July 17, 2006	CD	Warner Bros. Lex	[19]
Australia	August 28, 2006		Warner Music	[20]

References

1. Peverini, Paolo (2010). Keazor, Henry; Wübbena, Thorsten (eds.). Rewind, Play, Fast Forward: The Past, Present and Future of the Music Video. Transaction Publishers. p. 146. ISBN 9783837611854. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
2. "The Official UK Top 200 Downloads", Yahoo!. URL last accessed on July 3, 2006.
3. "The Official UK Download Chart" BBC. URL last accessed on August 18, 2006
4. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
5. "Gnarls Barkley – Smiley Faces". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
6. "Gnarls Barkley – Smiley Faces" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
7. "Gnarls Barkley – Smiley Faces" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
8. "Gnarls Barkley – Smiley Faces" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
9. "Gnarls Barkley – Smiley Faces" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
10. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Smiley Faces". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
11. "Tipparade-lijst van week 40, 2006" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
12. "Gnarls Barkley – Smiley Faces" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
13. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
14. "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 200636 into search.
15. "Gnarls Barkley – Smiley Faces". Singles Top 100. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
16. "Gnarls Barkley – Smiley Faces". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
17. "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
18. "End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 – 2006". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
19. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. July 15, 2006. p. 23.
20. "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 28th August 2006" (PDF). ARIA. August 28, 2006. p. 27. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 19, 2006. Retrieved October 26, 2021.