“Unwanted” delves further into rock territory returning to “Losing Grip’s” packed punch. “Mobile”, our pick for the album’s most underappreciated track, contains one of the best rock choruses in the history of music, not to mention a perfect bridge. It is deep, emotional, and when Lavigne, after her Rihanna-sampled yeah-yeahs and softening of her vocal touch, belts out sky-scraping “I don’t know who you are, but I … I’M WITH YOU” it literally makes goosebumps appear all over your body. Soaring anthem “I’m with You” is arguably the best cut. The punky power piece “Sk8er Boi” helped define one of the genre streams of the decade, influencing a number of acts. “Complicated”, a juggernaut hit owing perhaps to its likeable sing-song melody, convinces the listener that Lavigne can straddle both pop and rock realms with ease. The album opens with “Losing Grip” that flutters around playfully before exploding into an ear-splitting rock chorus. Released on June 4, 2002, Avril Lavigne’s Let Go turns 15 years old tomorrow.
The album was certified diamond in Canada. Let Go, her first album, sold 20 million copies around the world and was voted by a Rolling Stone readers’ poll as the fourth best album of the 2000s. She was the real deal, a talented songwriter with a beautiful, wholesome, and powerful voice.
A record deal signed in the States, the Napanee native teamed up with production team The Matrix and sat on the grass in Los Angeles writing songs and convincing the team that the sound she wanted was something unusual for the demographic she represented.Įxactly one week before the debut of American Idol Season 1 came the release of album Let Go from a female teen rock star who was anything but manufactured. She had joined country superstar Shania Twain on stage in Ottawa. The call was answered by a small-town Ontario girl who grew up playing hockey with the boys. Throughout history, the teen stars who topped the charts had done so with dance pop songs and love ballads, and perhaps the new kind of star the masses longed for would be a teen who would shatter the mould. Even Santana returned from the Twilight Zone thanks to someone named Maria.īritney Spears had carried the torch for the teens into the 21st century and was briefly joined by a turning-20 Christina Aguilera. The first two years were largely dominated by well established acts: U2, Madonna, Backstreet Boys, ‘N Sync, and Janet Jackson. The British shoegaze movement, American grunge experiment, and standard alternative rock that defined the 90s had run out of steam, and audiophiles were eager for a new vibe to kick off the new millennium. Seventeen years ago, a new millennium was upon us, but fears over the Y2K bug somewhat spoiled the end-of-1999 party to which Prince had alluded.