What the Hell
What the Hell is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne. The song was written by Lavigne, Max Martin and Shellback for Lavigne's fourth studio album, Goodbye Lullaby. The single was released in the United States and Canada on 11 January 2011 as the lead single from the album. Vorlage:R
Background and release
In November 2010, Lavigne announced, via a blog on her official website, that her fourth album, Goodbye Lullaby, had been completed for a year and cited her record company as the reason for the album's delays. She revealed in the blog that "What the Hell" would be the first single from the album.Vorlage:R The song premiered on 31 December 2010 on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' EveVorlage:R during a pre-taped segment along with a performance of "Girlfriend".Vorlage:R Lavigne described "What the Hell" as "a really fun, upbeat party song, so it worked out really well to play it for the first time on 'New Year's Rockin' Eve."Vorlage:R The following day, "What the Hell" was available as a free download for 48 hours from Lavigne's official Facebook page.Vorlage:R
Composition and meaning
"What the Hell" opens with a "retro keyboard riff" and hand-claps.Vorlage:R The inclusion of the keyboard has drawn comparisons to the garage rock genre and the band The Hives.Vorlage:R The song features guitars during the chorus.Vorlage:R
Although Lavigne simply described the song as "a broad message about personal freedom",Vorlage:R critics have interpreted the song in a number of different ways; Gil Kaufman of MTV.com suggests that the song is a "declaration of independence from a former teen star who is storming back onto the scene". Kaufman suggests Lavigne's public divorce from Sum 41 singer Deryck Whibley and friction between her and her record company are also possible themes within the song.Vorlage:R Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone magazine calls "What the Hell", "an anthem about a good girl who goes on a crazy-bender, staying out late, swapping boys and exacting psychological revenge."Vorlage:R Bill Lamb of About.com also suggests that the song is about Lavigne and Whibley's divorce, but goes on to say "the song leaves significant room for interpretation which does add to its intrigue."Vorlage:R Heather McDaid of Stereoboard.com was critical of the song's theme being about Whibley, stating "with such an upbeat song it’s hard to envisage divorce as the underlying subject matter as you listen."Vorlage:R Holly Thomas of Frost Magazine suggested that the lyrics are about being "starved of affection from the one she truly loves."Vorlage:R
Lavigne describes the song as "more reminiscent of some of my old pop rock stuff"Vorlage:R and calls it her "most pop track on the record" and the least personal song from the album.Vorlage:R
Critical reception
Critics have noted similarities between "What the Hell" and Lavigne's previous single, "Girlfriend".Vorlage:R
Gil Kaufman of MTV.com stated "What the Hell" has "rousing cheerleader energy" and "infectious groove and peppy vibe".Vorlage:R Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone magazine gave the song a rating of 3.5 stars out of 5, stating "the music is easily some of Avril's catchiest yet" and describing "What the Hell" as "Avril in a nutshell".Vorlage:R Idolator describes the song as a "guilty pleasure" and called it "the kind of track we only select after double-checking no one’s eyeing our iPod."Vorlage:R Nick Levine of Digital Spy gave the song 5 stars out of 5, stating Lavigne is "snottier than a tissue tossed in the bin down the flu clinic" but goes on to say "what's more, she's pulling it off." Levine stated that "What the Hell" was not "quite as undeniable" as "Girlfriend" but praised the chorus of the song.Vorlage:R. Bill Lamb from About.com praised the song, saying that it is "animated with a typically irresistible Max Martin melody, and, in a similar fashion to her #1 smash hit "Girlfriend," the song pulls you into singing along whether you want to or not."Vorlage:R Heather McDaid of Stereoboard.com states it "isn’t a revolutionary piece musically but it encompasses the pop-rock sound Avril has been creating over the years". McDaid goes on to say that it is "definitely a song that reflects the older, more fun loving Avril Lavigne."Vorlage:R Holly Thomas of Frost Magazine noted that the song lacked maturity and described it as "irritating" but praised the song for its lyrics and theme.Vorlage:R Kirsten Coachman of Blogcritics praised the song, stating that people could easily relate to it.Vorlage:R
Lamb, McDaid and Thomas noted that some might find the song annoying.Vorlage:R Lamb states this could be because of the song's melody.Vorlage:R
Music video
The video for the single was shot in December 2010 and was directed by Marcus Raboy.Vorlage:R
The video begins with Lavigne lying in bed with her love interest. She walks over to a mirror, and applies her two fragrances, Black Star and Forbidden Rose. Lavigne locks her love interest in a walk-in closet, and leaves the house. She walks down the road, and steals a taxi. As Lavigne's love interest chases her on a bike, she gets out of the taxi, which crashes into another vehicle. As Lavigne plays in a basketball court, her love interest is still chasing her. She runs into a Abbey Dawn store, which leads to a venue. Lavigne climbs on stage and begins performing with her band. She stage dives, and the video ends with Lavigne and her love interest again lying in bed.
A behind the scenes video revealed the video was shot in 3D, and was a 3 day video shoot.
It will make it's television debut on 23 January 2011,Vorlage:R during the Mean Girls 2 premiere on ABC Family and on UK music channel 4Music.
Track listing
Release history
| Region | Date | Label | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| FranceVorlage:R | 10 January 2011 | RCA Records | Digital download |
| Mexico | |||
| United StatesVorlage:R | 11 January 2011 | ||
| United KingdomVorlage:R | 16 January 2011 | ||
| JapanVorlage:R | 2 February 2011 | Sony Music Japan | CD single |
| GermanyVorlage:R | 25 February 2011 | RCA Records |
Chart performance
On January 19, 2011 "What the Hell" made its debut on the US Billboard Hot 100 at number thirteen and on the US Billboard Hot Digital Songs at number six, with digital sales of over 163,000 units.Vorlage:R
The song debuted at number eight on the Canadian Hot 100. "What the Hell" also debuted at number four of Canada's Digital Songs chart, with 16,000 downloads. The single becoming Lavigne's third best debut to date, following Girlfriend and Keep Holding On.Vorlage:R
The single also debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 29 on 23 January 2011; marking her twelfth Top 40 hit; the first being "Complicated", which peaked at number 3 during May 2002.
Charts
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100)Vorlage:R | 8 |
| Japan Adult Contemporary Airplay (Billboard)[1] | 1 |
| Japan Hot 100 (Billboard)[1] | 2 |
| South Korea (GAON)[2] | 1 |
| US Billboard Hot 100Vorlage:R | 13 |
| US Billboard Hot Digital SongsVorlage:R | 6 |
| US Adult Pop Songs (Billboard)[1] | 32 |
| US Pop Songs (Billboard)[1] | 38 |
References
- ↑ a b c d http://www.billboard-japan.com/system/jp_charts/adult_airplay/&date=2011-01-19 Referenzfehler: Ungültiges
<ref>-Tag. Der Name „highlights“ wurde mehrere Male mit einem unterschiedlichen Inhalt definiert. - ↑ 가온차트와 함께하세요. GAON, abgerufen am 23. Januar 2011 (koreanisch).