I Love The Smiths is a TikTok meme built on one short scene from (500) Days of Summer (2009), and since November 5, 2026 the I Love The Smiths AI versions have been putting other people in it. A young man in big headphones rides an office elevator. The woman beside him can hear his music and says "I love the Smiths." The headphones come off, they talk for a few seconds, and she sings a line of the song before the doors open.
What is the I Love The Smiths meme?
In the film, Tom writes greeting cards for a living, and Summer has just started at his office as the boss's new assistant. The elevator is the first time they really talk. She hears The Smiths coming out of his headphones and says "I love the Smiths." He pulls the headphones off with a "Sorry?", and she says it again: "I said I love the Smiths. You have good taste in music." He can barely get out "You like the Smiths?" She sings along for a moment, says "I love 'em", and walks out when the bell dings.
That is the whole scene, and it has stuck around because the line works for anything you love that the people around you have never heard of. On TikTok, people repeat "I said I love the Smiths" with Summer's flat look whenever someone misses the first time. Clips of the scene have been reposted for years: one with the film's subtitles passed 9 million plays in August 2024.
What song is playing in the elevator?
It is There Is a Light That Never Goes Out by The Smiths, from their 1986 album The Queen Is Dead. It is the song in Tom's headphones, and the line Summer sings is from it. The AI versions we watched keep the film's own sound, so the lines and the song come through just as they are in the scene.
What happens in the scene
- Headphones on. Two people stand side by side in a wood-panelled elevator. The one on the left is listening to The Smiths; the one on the right can hear it.
- "I love the Smiths." The headphones come off and hang around the neck.
- The talk. They turn to each other for a couple of lines about the band.
- Singing along. The one on the right looks ahead and sings a line of the song, and gets a grin back.
The camera never moves and there is no cut until the doors open, which is why the scene is so easy to recognise with anyone in it.
The I Love The Smiths trend on TikTok
The scene was a TikTok favourite long before the AI versions. In 2021 Zooey Deschanel, who plays Summer, made it again on TikTok with Jonathan Scott. On October 29, 2023 a couple acted out the line on a street, one of them in earphones, and passed 4 million plays.
The I Love The Smiths AI trend started on November 5, 2026. The first version to take off put a K-pop idol in the headphones and was cut down to him alone, and it passed 800,000 plays. On November 6 a racing driver and his partner took the elevator and passed 370,000, with other famous couples close behind. On November 7 two kittens played it, one in headphones and one in glasses, and passed 290,000. Under that one, "How is this effect made? Can anyone tell me?" has 55 likes.
Google shows the same jump. Searches for "i love the smiths" were near zero until November 5 and have climbed every day since, and "i love the smiths ai" now shows up in Google's suggestions in the US.
What every version keeps
- The same shot. Two people side by side, the one in headphones on the left, the wooden walls behind them.
- The same moves in the same order. Headphones on, headphones off, the turn, the line sung.
- The film's sound. The lines and the song are the scene's own.
What changes is who is in the elevator: idols, famous couples, kittens. Longer versions end on the wide shot, with the doors opening and one of them walking out.
I Love The Smiths meme FAQ
What movie is the I Love The Smiths scene from? (500) Days of Summer, from 2009. It is the elevator scene where Tom and Summer first talk.
What song is in the I Love The Smiths meme? There Is a Light That Never Goes Out by The Smiths, from The Queen Is Dead (1986).
What does Summer say in the elevator? "I love the Smiths." When Tom says "Sorry?", she says "I said I love the Smiths. You have good taste in music."
Is there an I Love The Smiths template? Yes. The I Love The Smiths AI page has the elevator scene as a template: a photo of each of you, or one photo of you both.
Do I need an app? No. It all happens in the browser, on a phone or a computer.
Is this official?
No. It is a fan-made meme, and nothing connects it to the film's makers or to the band. Copy That Video is an independent tool, not affiliated with (500) Days of Summer, its makers or its cast, The Smiths, or the TikTok creators in the trend.
How to make an I Love The Smiths AI video
"What app do you use to make this" is one of the most liked questions under these videos. You need no film clip and no editing: on the I Love The Smiths AI page you make it from photos.
- Add a photo of each of you, the first for the one in headphones, or pick one photo of you both.
- Keep landscape, the scene's own frame, or pick portrait to fill a phone screen.
- Tick the box to confirm you have the right to use the photos, then press the button.
- When the video is ready, download it and post it with TikTok's AI-generated content label on.