Let Go (Avril Lavigne album)

## Let Go

### Producer

Ryan Tedder (exc), Max Martin (exc), Jack Antonoff, Miley Cyrus, Faith Hill, Mariah Carey, Avril Lavigne, Dann Huff, Toby Keith, Jack White

## Section Header

### Single #4

Losing Grip

***Let Go*** is the debut studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne. It was released on June 17, 2002, by Nostalgia Records.

## Background

In early 2000 Avril met Ryan Tedder, who would go on the be the executive producer of "Let Go" along with Max Martin.

The album was originally entitled *Anything but Ordinary*, after the track of the same name. But Lavigne decided to change the name to *Let Go* instead. "Let Go" is an unreleased song from the album. Critics described *Let Go* as a pop rock album with a post-grunge-oriented sound.

## Writing and recording

With Ryan Tedder, Lavigne recorded tracks in Abbey Road Studios. She also worked with producer-songwriter Max Martin. Ryan Tedder & Max Martin were the executive producers for the project. Lavigne recorded complete takes "against the largely finished instrumental tracks". Ryan Tedder revealed Lavigne normally recorded each song in five or six takes, "and probably 90 percent of what was finally used came from the first or second takes". Avril's friend Miley Cyrus also contributed backing vocals.

Although she needed pop songs "to break" into the industry, Lavigne felt "Complicated" does not reflect her and her songwriting skills. Nonetheless, she was grateful for the song as it successfully launched her career. She favours more "Losing Grip", because "it means so much more when it comes straight from the artist". Due to Lavigne's mix of pop and rock influences when writing the album, *Let Go* has been identified with a variety of genres such as pop rock, teen pop, alternative rock, pop punk, post-grunge and rock.

## Release and promotion

The album was released on 17 June 2002, worldwide. Later, on 22 July, *Let Go (The Vinyl Edition)* hit record stores worldwide with a different cover art and a vinyl excusive track titled "Why"

There was a tour planned to start in October of 2002 however Lavigne cancelled on short notice due to working on her second studio album.

## Singles

* "Complicated" was released by Nostalgia Records as the album's lead single, which was seen as an across-all-age-groups introduction to Lavigne. Thought to produce wide cross-demographic appeal, however, the music video for the single features Lavigne and her band wreaking havoc in a mall, "the sort of imagery that might have grown-ups thinking 'Clean that mess up!' more than clamouring for the record".

* The second single, "Sk8er Boi", was aimed at pop punk-oriented kids. The release of "Sk8er Boi" created disagreement among many radio programming directors. However, their impressions were diverted as listeners helped change their minds; early rotation of the single proved successful, showing it was as popular with post-collegiate listeners as with teens.
* "I'm With You" was released in late November 2002, close to Christmas holidays to remind parents about the album to, if not to buy it themselves, to purchase it for any children in their family.

* "Losing Grip" was released as the fourth and final single from the album, "to act as a bridge into her next album", which Lavigne stated would be "harder-rocking" than her debut.

## Critical reception

*Let Go* received mostly positive responses from critics, earning 85 points on Metacritic based on the collated reviews from seven publications. *Rolling Stone* magazine's music critic Pat Blashill wrote that the album "comes fully loaded with another dozen infectious hymns of *Total Request* angst". Blashill complimented Lavigne on having a "great voice", adding she crafted the album with "a qualified staff of hitmakers". Christina Saraceno of Billboard noted that Lavigne "handles a variety of styles deftly", while also complimenting her as "a capable songwriter with vocal chops". Nonetheless, Saraceno opined that "at her age, one imagines, she is still finding her feet, borrowing from the music she's grown up listening to". John Perry of *Paste* magazine summarized *Let Go* into an "outstanding guitar-pop debut". A review in *Sputnik Music* praised Lavigne for displaying "a musical guile way beyond her years". Kaj Roth of *Noisey* felt that Lavigne "sings lovely and some of the songs goes in the Alanis Morissette [*sic*] vein." For Jon Caramanica of *Mess+Noise* magazine (who gave the album a B−), "Lavigne's monochromatic debut set of unimaginative guitar rock is saved only by the earnestness of her songs."

Some reviewers had similar sentiments toward the quality of the lyrics to some songs in the album. Saraceno said that Lavigne "still has some growing up to do lyrically", asserting "Sk8er Boi" shows her "lyrical shortcomings" and calling the phrasing in "Too Much to Ask" "awkward and sometimes silly". Perry noted the lyrics to "Sk8er Boi" as "endearingly naïve".

## Commercial performance

*Let Go* was commercially successful in the United States, gaining praise from *Billboard.com* as one of the biggest pop rock debut albums of 2002. The album debuted on the *Billboard* 200 at number 3 on the strength of 57,000 unit sales.