{{Infobox song | name = Fake Happy | cover = | alt = | type = single | artist = Paramore | album = After Laughter | released = {{start date|2017|08|29}} | recorded = | studio = RCA Studio B (Nashville, Tennessee) | genre = * New wave * pop rock * {{nowrap|power pop}} | length = 3:55 | label = Fueled by Ramen | writer = * Hayley Williams * Taylor York | producer = * Justin Meldal-Johnsen * {{nowrap|Taylor York}} | prev_title = Told You So | prev_year = 2017 | next_title = Rose-Colored Boy | next_year = 2018 | misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|w8vsuOXZBXc|"Fake Happy"}}}} }} "'''Fake Happy'''" is a song by American rock band Paramore. It was released on August 29, 2017, through Fueled by Ramen as the third single off their fifth studio album ''After Laughter'' (2017).<ref name="AllAccess">{{cite web|url=https://www.allaccess.com/alternative/future-releases|title=Future Releases on Alternative Radio Stations|work=allaccess.com|accessdate=August 29, 2017}}</ref> Written by lead vocalist Hayley Williams and guitarist Taylor York and produced by Justin Meldal-Johnsen and York, the song was recorded in the band's hometown, Nashville, Tennessee.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/paramore-announce-new-lp-after-laughter-with-hard-times-w477586|title=Paramore Ready New LP 'After Laughter,' Drop First Single 'Hard Times'|magazine=Rolling Stone|accessdate=August 29, 2017}}</ref>
==Background== Discussing the inspiration behind the song, Williams stated: "Well, I mean, the title is pretty self-explanatory. I think there's a lot of time we go out or we do things and we don't feel the way that we project, you know, that we wanna look like we feel..."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_ONBzmPEOw |title=Paramore - Fake Happy (Live GMA 2017) HD |website=YouTube |date=August 25, 2017 |accessdate=August 29, 2017}}</ref> In a Beats 1 interview with Zane Lowe, Williams also said regarding the song: "I hate phoniness. It's not fun to be around, it's not fun to do yourself. But then there are these moments in your life where you're professional and you have to have grace with yourself, you have to have grace with other people and work hard, but it's that self-preservation thing."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OrHcukLLyY |title=Paramore and Zane Lowe on Beats 1 [Part 2 Interview] |website=YouTube |date=May 11, 2017 |accessdate=August 29, 2017}}</ref>
==Composition== Stylistically, "Fake Happy" has been labeled as new wave,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.killyourstereo.com/reviews/1092504/paramore-after-laughter|title=Album Review: Paramore - 'After Laughter' - Killyourstereo.com|publisher=|accessdate=August 29, 2017}}</ref> pop rock,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stereogum.com/1959355/watch-paramore-play-an-after-laughter-mini-concert-on-gma/video/|title=Watch Paramore Play An After Laughter Mini-Concert On GMA|date=August 25, 2017|publisher=|accessdate=August 29, 2017}}</ref> and power pop.<ref>{{cite web |title=NME's Albums of The Year 2017 |url=https://www.nme.com/list/nmes-albums-of-the-year-2017-2161481 |website=NME |access-date=April 27, 2022 |date=December 27, 2017}}</ref> According to NPR, "Fake Happy" is "a song that directly asserts a collective hopelessness with "We're all so fake happy / And I know fake happy," later complicating the emotion with the embarrassment not often explored in depression dialogue, the shame of feeling bad and the shame of feeling bad for feeling bad: "Don't ask me how I've been / Don't make me play pretend.""<ref name="NPR">{{cite web |last=Sherman |first=Mariah |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2017/05/20/527988670/paramores-after-laughter-is-something-new-built-from-pieces-of-the-past |title=Paramore's 'After Laughter' Is Something New, Built From Pieces Of The Past |work=NPR |date=May 20, 2017 |accessdate=August 29, 2017}}</ref> The song begins with "a hushed acoustic intro, with Williams' voice filtered through a kind of telephone effect," which then transforms with "a simple and effective synth riff" into an "ambitious, funky anthem about everyone masking their sadness."<ref name="CoS">{{cite web |last=Ezell |first=Brice |url=https://consequence.net/2017/05/album-review-paramore-after-laughter |title=Paramore – After Laughter |work=Consequence of Sound |date=May 16, 2017 |accessdate=August 29, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Gamboa |first=Glenn |url=http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/music/after-laughter-review-paramore-delivers-potential-pop-hits-1.13602607 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170515025146/http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/music/after-laughter-review-paramore-delivers-potential-pop-hits-1.13602607 |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 15, 2017 |title='After Laughter' review: Paramore delivers potential pop hits |work=Newsday |date=May 12, 2017 |accessdate=August 29, 2017}}</ref> Brice Ezell of ''Consequence of Sound'' noted that while the song contains "bouncy synths" and a "sugary" hook, it "still echoes the angsty band that made ''Riot!''."<ref name="CoS"/> Similarly, ''Spin''{{'}}s Brad Nelson said the song's chorus "opens up a wormhole in the record, through which the band step and emerge sounding uncannily like the one that made 2009's ''Brand New Eyes''."<ref name="Spin">{{cite web |last=Nelson |first=Brad |url=https://www.spin.com/2017/05/paramore-after-laughter-album-review/ |title=Paramore's Excellent After Laughter Is All Emo Bleakness Under Its New Wave Brightness |work=Spin |date=May 12, 2017 |accessdate=August 29, 2017}}</ref>
==Release and live performances== "Fake Happy" was sent to alternative radio on August 29, 2017, serving as ''After Laughter''{{'}}s third single.<ref name="AllAccess"/> The band had previously released a radio edit of the song on June 2, 2017, cutting the song's intro.<ref name="Edit">{{cite web |url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/fake-happy-edit-single/1241502841 |title=Fake Happy (Edit) - Single by Paramore on Apple Music |work=Apple Music |date=2 June 2017 |access-date=August 29, 2017}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=April 2019}} The song was performed live for the first time on June 15, 2017, at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin, Ireland, as part of the band's ''After Laughter'' tour.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/paramore/2017/olympia-theatre-dublin-ireland-43e4b7b7.html |title=Paramore Concert Setlist at Olympia Theatre, Dublin on June 15, 2017 |website=setlist.fm |accessdate=August 28, 2017}}</ref> The band also performed the song at ''Good Morning America'' on August 25, 2017, along with four other tracks from ''After Laughter'', where it was announced as the latest single from the album.<ref>{{cite web |last=Gracie |first=Bianca |url=http://www.fuse.tv/2017/08/paramore-hard-times-good-morning-america-performance |title=Paramore Bring 'Hard Times' To 'Good Morning America': Watch Their Bubbly Performance |work=Fuse |date=August 25, 2017 |accessdate=August 29, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/paramore-jams-hit-song-fake-happy-live-gma-49409861 |title=Paramore jams out to their hit song 'Fake Happy' live on 'GMA' |work=ABC News |accessdate=August 29, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829061308/https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/paramore-jams-hit-song-fake-happy-live-gma-49409861 |archive-date=August 29, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Music video== The music video for "Fake Happy" was released on November 17, 2017. It was directed by the band's drummer Zac Farro, and features Hayley Williams in a sequined bodysuit strolling through New York City, full of crowds with animated upside-down smiley faces pasted on their faces.<ref>{{cite web |last=Darville |first=Jordan |url=http://www.thefader.com/2017/11/17/paramore-fake-happy-music-video |title=Watch Hayley Williams search for sincerity in Paramore's "Fake Happy" music video |work=The Fader |date=November 17, 2017 |accessdate=November 17, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=yelyahwilliams |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BbmlvHZHTFt |title=Hayley from Paramore (@yelyahwilliams) |work=Instagram |date=November 17, 2017 |accessdate=November 17, 2017}}</ref>
==Personnel== Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.<ref name="booklet">{{cite AV media notes |title=After Laughter |others=Paramore |year=2017 |publisher=Fueled by Ramen}}</ref>
{{div col}} * Kevin "K-Bo" Boettger – assistant engineer * Dave Cooley – mastering engineer * Carlos de la Garza – mixer, engineer * Zac Farro – drums, bells, keyboards, percussion, background vocals * Justin Meldal-Johnsen – producer, engineer, bass guitar, keyboards, programming * Mike Schuppan – engineer, additional mixer * Hayley Williams – vocals, keyboards, percussion, background vocals * Taylor York – producer, additional mixer, engineer, guitar, keyboards, marimba, percussion, programming, background vocals {{div col end}}
==Charts== {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |+Chart performance for "Fake Happy" |- !scope="col"| Chart (2017) !scope="col"| Peak<br>position |-<!-- Do not add the Alternative Airplay peak if the song made the Hot Rock Songs chart per WP:USCHARTS --> {{single chart|Billboardrocksongs|33|artist=Paramore|rowheader=true|access-date=August 29, 2017}} |}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{YouTube|kBmlbzW1-yc|"Fake Happy" (Audio)}}
{{Paramore}}
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Category:2017 singles Category:2017 songs Category:Fueled by Ramen singles Category:Paramore songs Category:Songs written by Hayley Williams Category:Songs written by Taylor York Category:American new wave songs Category:Power pop songs