Under My Skin

Under My Skin
Album by Avril Lavigne
Release date	May 25 2004
Recorded	?
Genre	Pop-Punk
Length	43 min 31 sec
Record label	Arista Records
Producers	Butch Walker, Raine Maida and Don Gilmore
Professional reviews
Metacritic	metascore: 61	link (http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/lavigneavril/undermyskin/)
E! Online	B+	link (http://www.eonline.com/Reviews/Facts/Music/RevID/0,1107,3217,00.html)
Q	4/5
EW	B	link (http://www.ew.com/ew/article/review/music/0,6115,640572_4_0_,00.html)
Billboard Magazine	n/a	link (http://www.billboard.com/bb/reviews/album_article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000516526)
Rolling Stone	4/5	link (http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album?id=6041348&pageid=rs.Reviews&pageregion=double1)
AMG	3/5	link (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=A5q62mpzk9f5o)
Launch UK	6/10	link (http://uk.launch.yahoo.com/040602/33/1wp8w.html)
Avril Lavigne Chronology
Let Go (2002)	Under My Skin (2004)

For the 1950 movie, see Under My Skin (movie).

Under My Skin is the second album by pop punk singer Avril Lavigne, released on May 25, 2004 by Arista Records. In its first week of release, it reached #1 on the album charts on both sides of the Atlantic.

Contents

1 Track listing 2 Making of the album 3 Singles 4 Chart success 5 Critical response 6 Shopping Mall Tour 7 External links

Track listing

1. "Take Me Away" (2:57)
2. "Together" (3:14)
3. "Don't Tell Me" (3:21)
4. "He Wasn't" (2:59)
5. "How Does It Feel" (3:44)
6. "My Happy Ending" (4:02)
7. "Nobody's Home" (3:33)
8. "Forgotten" (3:16)
9. "Who Knows" (3:30)
10. "Fall to Pieces" (3:28)
11. "Freak Out" (3:13)
12. "Slipped Away" (3:33)
13. "I Always Get What I Want" (2:33) - Internationally released only

Making of the album

Lavigne wrote much of the album with Canadian singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk. She also co-wrote one track, "Nobody's Home", with Ben Moody, formerly of Evanescence, and the rest with her guitarist Evan Taubenfeld. Lavigne used three producers for Under My Skin, notably:

• Butch Walker from Marvelous 3;
• Raine Maida of Our Lady Peace; and
• Don Gilmore, who has produced Good Charlotte and Linkin Park.

Much of the album was recorded in Raine Maida's Malibu studios as Maida is Kreviazuk's husband and the rest was recorded nearby. On her website, Lavigne states that she has learned a lot since her debut record Let Go: "I was involved in every aspect of making this record. I'm very hands-on. I knew how I wanted the drums, the guitar tones, and the structures to be. I understand the whole process so much better this time because I've been through it. I'm really picky with my sound."

The track, "Slipped Away", is about the death of Lavigne's grandfather.

Singles

• "Don't Tell Me" was the first single. It deals with a girl rejecting a boy's attempts to pressure her into sex when she is not ready. The song shot Lavigne back to the charts, reaching number one in several countries around the world, and number twenty-two on the Billboard Hot 100. The single was certified gold in late October 2004. [1] (http://www.billboard.com/bb/riaa/archive/0410.jsp)
• "My Happy Ending" was the second single from the album. It was released to radio in June 2004 and to retail stores on August 2 2004. The song returned Under My Skin to number one again in Canada for several weeks, and to the top five in the USA, Germany, the UK, Australia, and other European countries. The song peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100. The single was certified gold by the RIAA in mid-November 2004 [2] (http://www.billboard.com/bb/riaa/archive/0411.jsp) and then platinum in late January 2005. [3] (http://www.billboard.com/bb/riaa/archive/0501.jsp)
• "Nobody's Home" was the third single. It hit number one in several countries, and received a significant amount of airplay, but failed to reach the top thirty on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number forty-one. "Nobody's Home" remains one of Lavigne's biggest songs.
• "He Wasn't" is the fourth single from the album. It peaked at number twenty-three in the UK, and at number one in Canada, making eight straight number ones for Lavigne in her home nation.

Chart success

Under My Skin was released on May 25 2004 in the United States and went to number one around the world, notably in the U.K., USA, Canada, Australia, and Taiwan, and on the Billboard Internet charts. The first single, "Don't Tell Me", was released early, and by June 2004 had gone to number one in Argentina, into the top five in the U.K. and Canada, and into the top ten in Australia, Brazil, and a European composite chart. The second single, "My Happy Ending", was released to radio in June 2004 and to retail stores on August 2 2004. It returned Under My Skin to number one again in Canada for several weeks, and the album to the top five in the USA, Germany, the U.K., Australia, and other European countries. The third single, "Nobody's Home", did not return the album to number one, but did improve its sales once again. "He Wasn't" is the fourth single. The album was certified platinum by the RIAA in July 2004 [4] (http://www.billboard.biz/bb/riaa/archive/0407.jsp) and double platinum in November 2004. [5] (http://www.billboard.biz/bb/riaa/archive/0411.jsp) It was eventually certified triple platinum in early 2005.

Critical response

According to Metacritic.com, Under My Skin received an average rating of 60 reflecting a mixed reception from critics. [6] (http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/lavigneavril/undermyskin/1). The reviews included:

• E! Online rated the album a B+ saying it featured "delightfully dour melodies, heartfelt lyrics and a still-solid pop sensibility" [7] (http://www.eonline.com/Reviews/Facts/Music/RevID/0,1107,3217,00.html/2) Picks "Don't Tell Me", "My Happy Ending", "How Does It Feel", "Freak Out";

• Q Magazine rated it as 4 out of 5 saying it was "an altogether more satisfying, suppy of air punching, stadium sized choruses. (June 2004, page 103);

• Entertainment Weekly rated it as a 75 saying: "As contrived as the results can be, there's no denying the level of craft at work" (May 28 2004, page 121)

• Billboard Magazine said: "the end result is a one-two punch of radio-ready rock-tinged riffs and Lavigne's defiant yet introspective vocals". [8] (http://www.billboard.com/bb/reviews/album_article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000516526/3)

• Rolling Stone rated it as four stars out of five saying it was "both more satisfying and formulaic" [9] (http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album?id=6041348&pageid=rs.Reviews&pageregion=double1/4) Best tracks: "Don't Tell Me", "He Wasn't".

• Stylus Magazine said: Under My Skin is a far more balanced album than Let Go and a far stonger statement". [10] (http://www.stylusmagazine.com/review.php?ID=2008&PHPSESSID=2899af38368126e99bce390147de572c/5) Best tracks: "Don't Tell Me", "Take Me Away", "Together", "Slipped Away".

• Allmusic.com rated it three stars out of five, saying: Under My Skin is a bit awkward, sometimes sounding tentative and unsure, sometimes clicking and surging on Lavigne's attitude and ambition" [11] (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=UIDMISS70311071654390588&sql=A5q62mpzk9f5o/6). Best Tracks: "Don't Tell Me", "He Wasn't", "My Happy Ending".

• Launch UK (formerly Dot Music) gave it six stars out of ten, saying: "sonically, the album sounds great" but that it "[struggles] to find any stories worth telling save for boyfriend trouble and dead grandparents". [12] (http://uk.launch.yahoo.com/040602/33/1wp8w.html/7) Best tracks: "How Does It Feel", "Fall To Pieces", "Slipped Away".

• The New York Times gave it a mixed review, saying: "There's little subtlety in Under My Skin and [...] absolutely no fear of cliches" (16 May 2004).

• The Los Angeles Times also gave it a mixed review, saying that it sounded genre-bound.

• The Onion AV Club said that Lavigne sounded "out of her class" on the album [13] (http://www.theonionavclub.com/review.php?review_id=7515/8).

Shopping Mall Tour

Lavigne went on a "Live and by Surprise" twenty-one-city mall-tour in the U.S., starting on March 4 2004 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to promote "Under My Skin". Each performance consisted of a short live acoustic set of songs from the new album. She was accompanied by her guitarist, Evan Taubenfeld. The venue in each city was not announced until 48 hours before the show. The set at Indianapolis included "He Wasn't", "My Happy Ending", "Don't Tell Me", "Take Me Away", "Nobody's Home", "Sk8er Boi", and "Complicated".

External links

• 'Under My Skin' (http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playlistId=7574208&originStoreFront=143441) — the iTunes Music Store]
• Avril Lavigne home page (http://www.avril-lavigne.com/)
• Metacritics Avril Lavigne Home Page (http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/lavigneavril/undermyskin/)
• Avril Lavigne Bandaids (http://www.avrilbandaids.com/) — fan-siteid:Under My Skin