“Smile“ tackles common Juice WRLD themes like relationships and the struggle with his inner demons, as well as declaring the happiness of his girl as his main goal.

The song, originally titled “Sad,” leaked on July 15, 2018, with an open verse that The Weeknd later would fill. It also featured a different beat, produced by Juice’s frequent producer Nick Mira. The beat was remade several times, but the released version is produced by Mira, with assistance from another Internet Money member, Taz Taylor, and a first time Juice and Weeknd collaborator: Cxdy.

On August 4, 2020, The Weeknd announced with a tweet that the track would be released three days later, on August 7:

XO + 999 Thursday Night