Song · Semisonic
“Secret Smile” by Semisonic
From the album Feeling Strangely Fine (1998)
“Secret Smile” by Semisonic appears on 8 radio countdowns from 3 stations between 1999 and 2022. It was first released in 1998 on the album Feeling Strangely Fine. Its best result is #7 on the Virgin Radio Top 10 Songs of 1999. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #288 alternative song of 1999 and #3,346 alternative song of all time.
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"Secret Smile" came from Semisonic's 1998 album Feeling Strangely Fine, and Dan Wilson says half of it arrived while he was asleep: he woke in the small hours with the tune in his head, stumbled to a piano and scribbled down the words and chords before going back to bed. The next day it still sounded so finished he figured he must have heard it somewhere.
What he'd actually dreamed up is a hushed, glowing slice of pop, Wilson's Rhodes and guitar floating over John Munson's bass and Moog and Jacob Slichter's easy drums, with a string section swelling underneath. Nick Launay produced and Bob Clearmountain mixed. Sent to American radio in January 1999, it gave the band a brief run of international fame and turned up in Simply Irresistible, Charmed and Dawson's Creek.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 7 | Virgin Radio United Kingdom | Virgin Radio Top 10 Songs of 1999 | 10 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 228 | Virgin Radio | Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) | 500 |
| 2003 | 58 | Virgin Radio | Virgin Radio VR10x10 (April 2003) | 100 |
| 2004 | 244 | Virgin Radio | Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) | 500 |
| 2005 | 423 | Virgin Radio | Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) | 500 |
| 2006 | 252 | Virgin Radio | Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2006) | 500 |
| 2021 | 230 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s | 908 |
| 2022 | 303 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s | 900 |
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