Smile Kid

Background

Travis Clark said "Everything had an anthemic sound to it." The lyrics Clark wrote for Smile Kid "were just so in-depth and meaningful to me personally". Smile Kid was "more experimental [compared to the first album] with piano, horns, strings and even a whistle."

Release

"Heaven Can Wait" was released as a single on October 13, 2009 and charted at number 18 on the Billboard Heatseekers Songs chart and at number 32 on the Pop Songs chart. Actress and singer Demi Lovato was also announced to be contributing guest vocals on album's song "We'll Be a Dream" which is the second single off the album. The band undertook a tour of the United States to support the album.

The artwork for the album was released on November 8, 2009. Following the release of a false track listing in October, the official track listing was announced on November 17, 2009. The album was also originally scheduled to be released on November 17, but was corrected to be released on December 8, 2009. Pre-orders of Smile Kid were available in two different packages. The album was available for streaming via MySpace on December 8, 2009. "We'll Be a Dream" was released to mainstream radio on March 2, 2010, and released as a single on July 16.

Reception

Alternative Press reviewer Scott Heisel rated the album 3/5, saying that "Fans of We the Kings' debut will undoubtedly find something to hold on to with Smile Kid, but for those who were less than enamored with the band's pop-punk blend will likely stay that way." He said although the band "have expanded their previously narrow sound", he was still dissuaded by the band's failure to branch out musically; "Until the band are willing to step outside further outside the musical box and Clark is willing to belt it out, We the Kings will remain good, not great--and still on the verge of pop-punk royalty."

Track listing

All lyrics written by Travis Clark; all music composed by Clark, except where noted.