"Smooth" is a song performed by Americanrock bandSantana andRob Thomas ofMatchbox Twenty, who sings the lead vocals. It was released to radio on June 15, 1999, as thelead single from Santana's 1999 studio album,Supernatural. It was physically released as a single in August. It was written byItaal Shur and Thomas, who re-wrote Shur's original melody and lyrics, and produced byMatt Serletic.[1]
The song was an international success, reaching number one on the USBillboard Hot 100 for 12 consecutive weeks. It was the final number-one hit of the 1990s and the first number-one hit of the 2000s, and the only song to appear on two decade-endBillboard charts. "Smooth" was ranked as the second-most-successful song ever onBillboard's Hot 100 60th Anniversary listing. In 2000, the song won aGrammy Award forRecord of the Year,Song of the Year, andBest Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the42nd Annual Grammy Awards. "Smooth" also peaked at number one in Canada and charted within the top 10 in Australia, Austria, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.
"Smooth" was originally conceived byItaal Shur as a song called "Room 17". The lyrics were stripped off and the track was given toRob Thomas, who re-wrote the lyrics and melody and re-titled it "Smooth", then recorded the song as a demo to play forSantana. After hearing the song, Santana decided to have Thomas record the final version.[1][3]Matt Serletic (who producedMatchbox Twenty's debut albumYourself or Someone Like You in 1996) produced the song, and it was released from Santana's 1999 albumSupernatural. Thomas originally hadGeorge Michael in mind to sing the song.[4]
By June 1, 1999, "Smooth" was leaked and played by some radio stations before its official release.[5] The single became a chart-topping hit that summer, spending 12 consecutive weeks at number one on theBillboard Hot 100 beginning with the week of October 23, 1999. It was the first chart-topping hit inCarlos 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 theBillboard Hot 100 for 30 weeks and the top 100 for 58 weeks.[6]
In the United Kingdom, "Smooth" first charted at number 75 on theUK Singles Chart in October 1999. After a full release on March 20, 2000,[7] 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 theIrish 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.
OnBillboard magazine's rankings of the top songs of the first 50 years of theBillboard Hot 100 singles chart, "Smooth" was ranked as the number-two song overall[8] and the number-one rock song in the history of the chart.[9]
In the 21st century, particularly during the summer of 2016, the song became the subject of severalinternet memes.[10] Writing forMTV.com, Sasha Geffen compared the situation to similar resurgences of "All Star" bySmash Mouth and "One Week" by theBarenaked 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 earnestalt-rock croon over Santana's guitar, sweating out lines about how his 'Spanish HarlemMona Lisa' is 'just like the ocean under the moon' without a hint of self-consciousness or irony".[2]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
Junior Lima from Brazilianpop duoSandy & Junior sung a cover version of the song for the duo's live album/DVDAs Quatro Estações - O Show, released in 2000.
The song was featured on two tracks, "Melt Everyone" and "Smooth Flow", fromNeil Cicierega's 2014mash-up albumMouth Sounds, and on two tracks, "Smooth" and "Shit", from the 2017 follow-up albumMouth Moods.
An acoustic version of the song was released byindie-folk artist Kimberly June on albumCovers from Another, recorded at Round Hill Studios in Nashville in 2021.
Funny or Die released a police drama parody trailer with Rob Thomas that recited the song's lyrics.[85]
In 2019, comedian JP Leonard released abit inspired by the song which puts Rob Thomas in various jobs. The track, "Man, It's a Hot One", appears on the comedy albumNO Show Comedy: A Louisiana Album Recording.[86]
^Smooth (US cassette single sleeve). Santana. Arista Records. 1999. 07822-13718-4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Smooth (UK CD single liner notes). Santana. Arista Records,BMG. 1999. 74321 70949 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Smooth (UK CD single liner notes). Santana. Arista Records, BMG. 2000. 74321 74876 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Smooth (UK cassette single sleeve). Santana. Arista Records, BMG. 2000. 74321 74876 4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Smooth (European CD single liner notes). Santana. Arista Records, BMG. 1999. 74321 68406 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Smooth (Australian CD single liner notes). Santana. Arista Records, BMG. 1999. 74321 68405 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Supernatural (US CD album booklet). Santana. Arista Records. 1999. 07822-19080-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
