Avril Lavigne is the fifth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne. It was released on November 1, 2013, through Epic Records in North America and Sony Music Entertainment worldwide. Lavigne collaborated with numerous producers including Martin Johnson, Peter Svensson, David Hodges, Matt Squire, and Chad Kroeger. In both musical and lyrical aspects, the album represents a departure from the acoustic-oriented production of her previous album Goodbye Lullaby (2011), featuring a more uptempo pop sound juxtaposed with power and piano ballads. Avril Lavigne also incorporates electronic music, industrial and punk rock. The album features two vocal collaborations: Kroeger and American industrial metal singer Marilyn Manson, making Avril Lavigne Lavigne's first album to contain featured vocalists. The album marks her first sole release through Epic Records.
Avril Lavigne received mixed reviews from music critics, with many criticizing its "rebellious" attitude in some tracks, calling it forced and unnatural, with others praised its carefree, feel-good vibe. The album debuted at number five on the Billboard 200, selling 44,000 copies in its first week, this became her fifth consecutive top-five album on the chart. It also peaked at number two in Japan, selling 47,873 copies in its first week, the highest opening for the album in a particular country. Worldwide, the album impacted moderately on the charts, reaching the top-ten in over twelve countries, while peaking at number one in China and Taiwan.
Five singles were released from Avril Lavigne worldwide. "Here's to Never Growing Up" was released as the lead single in April 2013 and was an international success, reaching number one on the Taiwan and Philippines charts, while reaching the top ten in China, Ireland, Japan, and Russia among others. The second, "Rock n Roll", had less impact, while the third, "Let Me Go", performed well internationally, reaching the top 20 in Czech Republic, South Korea, and Canada. Lavigne also generated publicity with a controversial music video for the Japan-only fourth single "Hello Kitty". To further promote the album, Lavigne embarked on her fifth concert tour, The Avril Lavigne Tour.
Background, development and release Three months after the release of Goodbye Lullaby, Lavigne announced that work on her fifth studio album had already begun, with eight songs written so far. Lavigne stated that the album would musically be the opposite of Goodbye Lullaby, with a release date rumored for sometime in 2012. Lavigne explained, "Goodbye Lullaby was more mellow, [but] the next one will be pop and more fun again. I already have a song that I know is going to be a single, I just need to re-record it!" In late 2011, Lavigne confirmed that she had moved to Epic Records, which is now headed by L.A. Reid, who signed Lavigne to Arista Records in 2000. In August 2012, it was reported that Lavigne had completed work on the album, stating on her Twitter, "That's a wrap boyz @hodgesmusic and chad @Nickelback !!! Woo hoo. Super stoked for this record."
In September 2012, Epic Records chairman L.A. Reid told Billboard that Lavigne "just completed" the album and that she enlisted her then-fiancée Chad Kroeger for a song. "She worked with Chad Kroeger, who is now her fiance, and they did a really good record," says Reid. He also revealed, "We're in the mixing process now and I expect to release it very soon. I'd like to get it out this year, but time seems to be flying. If we don't, it will be top of the new year." The same month, French website Charts in France announced that the album would be released in March, however, in April 2013, the singer announced that she was still working on the album, stating, "I've been working on this record for a year, so it's been quite a while," she said. "As soon as I played [producer LA Reid] the song, he wanted to put it out right away. So I'm actually still in the studio - I'm still making my record. I still have one more song left to write that I'm going to do by myself, because I love to do that. It's important for me. But it's just - it's all happened so fast, and I'm so excited."
On August 8, 2013, Lavigne announced that the album would be a self-titled released and also revealed the cover art for the album via her Instagram account. The cover features a closeup of her face against an all-black background, with her eyes ringed in smeared eyeliner, while her hair is pulled back tight on her head. In an interview on Extra in September 2013, Lavigne said of the artwork: "I like it because I always wear my hair down, so I put my hair up and it's a little more fashion, I guess. I went nuts with the eye make-up, just a ton of black eye oil." In an interview at the radio station WRVE, Lavigne confirmed that the album would be available to pre-order on September 24, 2013, and would be released later on November 5, 2013. The official track listing was later revealed on September 5, while the entire album streamed on iTunes and her official website on October 29.
Recording
Recording sessions began in November 2011, and took place over a period of almost two years, concluding in July 2013. One of the first confirmed producers and writers for the album was Nickelback's frontman Chad Kroeger. The first song they wrote was "Let Me Go", a breakup ballad. "We started off [in March 2012] just getting to know each other, and then we really bonded through music," Lavigne said. Eventually, Lavigne and Kroeger became romantically involved in July 2012, and a month later they got engaged. Kroeger co-wrote 10 songs on the album, being the producer of three, and co-producer of four. They promised power ballads, piano ballads, string arrangements and a duet. Lavigne also worked with Evanescence former member David Hodges, commenting, "I’ve just spent 17 days working with Chad Kroeger and David Hodges. And the three of us have been writing a lot of songs together. A lot. And recording and having a really good time, having a really great time. They’re very talented musicians and it feels good for me to be around people like that."
Boys Like Girls frontman Martin Johnson also worked with Lavigne on the album, co-producing five songs, including the lead-single "Here's to Never Growing Up". In a Billboard interview, Lavigne revealed that she worked with Marilyn Manson on a track called "Bad Girl". She said about the collaboration, "It's a heavier tune and I thought his voice would be perfect on it, so I hit him up. I called him and he came over to the studio and he really liked the track and he just put some vocals down on it. He was a pro and he did an amazing job. I really appreciate him as an artist and I love his style and I really respect him and his art, and I thought it was really cool to have him on this record."
In an interview for 4Music, Lavigne teased a female collaboration, but it didn't make to the album. Because Lavigne had written so many songs for her fifth album, she was considering releasing two back-to-back albums. This is the second time that Lavigne has mentioned writing enough material for more than one record, the first during the production of Goodbye Lullaby. "I kinda wanna do the back-to-back records because I've worked so hard on writing a ton of songs and I just wanna make it perfect. And then because there were so many it was like, 'OK well what makes sense?'," she commented.
Composition and themes
In an interview for Nylon, Lavigne stated that the album was "more artistic" than her previous efforts, explaining, "This time it's not just all songs about relationships and dudes. I just wanted to write songs and make something that was a little more artistic. I wanted to go down that road, I wasn't trying to write a big radio record." While discussing the album's style for Entertainmentwise, Lavigne opined, "The album is really all over the place. There's piano songs which are just piano and vocals, some very raw, emotional pieces. There's a few summer songs, it's nostalgic." Regarding the album's lyrical meaning, she commented, "Lyrically I pushed myself to talk about different subjects I haven't talked about before. I didn't want to be so simple. I tried to really express myself and go deeper." [...] "There's a bunch of summer songs then a couple of songs which are pretty nostalgic, about looking back like ‘17’. I guess I didn't mean for it to turn out like that but it's good."
While discussing the songs on the album, Lavigne revealed, "I'm really excited about the song 'Hello Kitty' that I've written for this record, because I'm obsessed with Hello Kitty and it's really fun and the sound is different," she said. "It sounds like nothing I've done before, and I even throw a little bit of Japanese in it." She also described the song called "Rock n Roll" as "LOUD, impressive and it stands for so many other things than just music – that's really what it comes down to - and it's a song that I’m just putting the final touches to now." She also called her duet with Marilyn Manson as "heavier" and "rock". While responding what was her favourite song on the album, Lavigne answered, "'Give You What You Like,' 'Hush Hush' and 'Bad Girl.'"
Songs
The album's opening track "Rock n Roll" is an upbeat, pop punk song, about a boisterous declaration of rebellion on which Lavigne puts up her "middle finger to the sky" to "let 'em know that we're still rock and roll." The second track and lead single, "Here's to Never Growing Up", is a celebration of being forever young. The third track "17" was considered a "fizzy, buzzing look back on adolescence," over a "steady" beat, "long acoustic" strums and "yelping" vocals that refract the mischievous glow of youth. It also stays the course, recalling her high school days of "learning how to break the rules". The fourth track, "Bitchin' Summer", is a mid-tempo song where she and the object of her affection are like "high school lovebirds" and she's picking him up at the liquor store. "Let Me Go", the fifth track, is a duet with Lavigne's husband and Nickelback's frontman Chad Kroeger, and was described by Lavigne as "the journey of love through one's life, going from one stage in one love into finding the right one." The sixth track "Give You What You Like" is a sensual-sounding ballad about the exchange of physical pleasures to combat loneliness.
The seventh track "Bad Girl" finds Lavigne teaming up with Marilyn Manson in a rock, industrial and nu metal arrangement, with Manson singing about his perverted "daddy" fantasies while Lavigne invites him to "do whatever" and more. "Hello Kitty" sees Lavigne flirting with electronic music and techno pop, while also featuring a dubstep breakdown. Lyrically, Lavigne pointed out that the song "is about her love of the Japanese brand" but also has a "flirtatious" meaning. The ninth track, the pop rock "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet", finds its protagonist rounding "third base and headed for a home run," while the bouncy "Sippin' on Sunshine" with lyrics about the sunshine being delivered by way of a kiss. The breakup track "Hello Heartache" has a background vocal hook crawling "la-la-la" and a skittering backbeat, which amplify Lavigne's pain. The twelfth track "Falling Fast" is a country pop influenced song. The song's guardedly celebrates new love with "hushed" rock elements and "crystallized" melody, which was described by Jason Lipshutz of Billboard as "at home on a Taylor Swift album". "Hush Hush", the last track on the album's standard edition, is a piano-driven ballad which emits a rush of feelings - regret, anger, desperation, nakedness, and finally, faint hopefulness.
It has been described as of merging pop with rock. It has also been described as dance-pop.
Promotion