Fake Smiles By Nevv

There’s a quiet exhaustion that comes from pretending you’re fine when you’re not. Not the loud kind of pain that demands attention—but the kind that lives behind polite nods, forced laughter, and a smile you’ve perfected so no one asks questions.

Fake Smile captures that feeling with haunting accuracy.

This song isn’t about drama or spectacle. It’s about survival. About getting through the day without letting the cracks show. About smiling for the sake of keeping the peace, protecting others, or simply because explaining the truth feels heavier than pretending everything’s okay.

There was a time in my life when I wore that fake smile daily. I smiled to avoid conflict. I smiled to keep things calm. I smiled because being honest about how I felt would have opened doors I wasn’t ready—or safe—to walk through yet. And the world around me accepted that smile at face value, never questioning what it cost me to keep it there.

Nevv’s lyrics feel like an inner monologue—the thoughts you don’t say out loud because you’ve learned that your pain makes other people uncomfortable. The song acknowledges how isolating it can be to feel unseen while being constantly visible. To show up, function, and perform “okay” while quietly unraveling inside.

What hits hardest for me is how Some Fake Smile doesn’t shame the mask. It understands it. That smile wasn’t weakness—it was armor. It was how I got through a season where honesty felt dangerous and vulnerability felt like too much to carry.

But here’s the shift.

At some point, survival turns into suffocation. The smile that once protected you starts costing too much. And slowly—sometimes painfully—you begin to realize that you don’t want to be known for how well you hide. You want to be known for how honestly you live.

This song reminds me of the version of myself who was doing her best with what she had. And it honors her without asking me to stay there.

I don’t need the fake smile anymore.

Now, I choose truth. I choose softness without pretending. I choose being real—even when it’s messy—over being palatable. And that choice feels like freedom.

If you’ve ever smiled through pain, this song will find you.
And if you’re learning how to take the smile off, it will sit with you while you do.