Sweet About Me its own, rather than stiffly wearing its '60s influences like a pair of slightly-too-small cuban heeled boots [similar to that of Duffy]." Mark Reid of "The New Zealand Herald" described the track as "incredibly catchy". The song was classed as an obvious highlight on "Lessons to Be Learned" by Colin Polonowski of The Digital Fix. Andrew Cock of The Dwarf said that "Sweet About Me" is as catchy as ever and will continue to receive wide public acclaim. Cock noted, "At times this song seems so sweet it oozes honey, feeling deliberately boppy." Cilmi's vocal performance on the song was
Sweet, Sweet Smile demo of "Sweet, Sweet Smile" at his home while Karen Carpenter was visiting. Karen Carpenter liked the song and brought it to the attention of her brother Richard Carpenter who'd recall: "I liked it immediately...now there's one that, to me, should have done better than it did" referring to the track's January 1978 release as the third single from "Passage". Acknowledging the Carpenters' career decline, Richard Carpenter would add: "I think if someone else had done ['Sweet, Sweet Smile'] at that time, it would have been a bigger hit." "Sweet, Sweet Smile" fell short of the Top 40 with a