Terra Nova Blogs: Avril Lavigne - Goodbye Lullaby (Album)

Avril Ramona Lavigne (pronounced /ˈævrɨl ləˈviːn/; born 27 September 1984) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, fashion designer, actress, and philanthropist. She was born in Belleville, Ontario, but spent the majority of her youth in the small town of Napanee. By the age of 15, she had appeared on stage with Shania Twain; by 16, she had signed a two-album recording contract with Arista (now RCA Records) worth more than $2 million. When she was 17 years old, Lavigne broke onto the music scene with her debut album, Let Go, released in 2002.Lavigne branched out from recording music, pursuing careers in feature film acting and designing clothes and perfumes. She voiced a character in the animated film, Over the Hedge, in 2006. That same year, she made her on-screen feature film debut in Fast Food Nation. In 2008, Lavigne introduced her clothing line, Abbey Dawn, and in 2009, she released her first perfume, Black Star, which was followed by her second perfume, Forbidden Rose, in 2010. In July 2006, Lavigne married her boyfriend of two years, Deryck Whibley, lead singer and guitarist for Sum 41. The marriage lasted a little over three years, and in October 2009, Lavigne filed for divorce. Whibley and Lavigne continued to work together, with Whibley producing her upcoming fourth album, as well as Lavigne's single, "Alice", written for Tim Burton's film Alice in Wonderland.Themes in Lavigne's music include messages of self-empowerment from a female or adolescent point of view. Lavigne believes her "songs are about being yourself no matter what and going after your dreams even if your dreams are crazy and even if people tell you they're never going to come true." On her debut album, Let Go, Lavigne preferred the less mainstream songs, such as "Losing Grip", instead of her more radio-friendly singles, such as "Complicated", saying that "the songs I did with the Matrix... were good for my first record, but I don't want to be that pop anymore." Lavigne's second album, Under My Skin, had more personal themes underlying each song. Lavigne explained, "I've gone through so much, so that's what I talk about.... Like boys, like dating or relationships". In contrast, her third album, The Best Damn Thing, was not very personal to her. "Some of the songs I wrote didn't even mean that much to me. It's not like some personal thing I'm going through." Her objective in writing the album was simply to "make it fun". Goodbye Lullaby, Lavigne's fourth album, is expected to be much more personal than her earlier records, with Lavigne describing the album as "more stripped down, deeper. All the songs are very emotional".

Goodbye Lullaby is the upcoming fourth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne. The album is set to be released on 2 March 2011 through RCA Records (Sony Music. Lavigne described the album as being about "life". She stated, "It's so easy for me to do a boy-bashing pop song, but to sit down and write honestly about something that's really close to me, something I've been through, it's a totally different thing." The album is expected to be a return to Lavigne's older musical style and may be largely acoustic. With the exception of the album's lead single, Lavigne describes the songs on the album as different from her earlier material, "I'm older now, so I think that comes across in my music, it's not as pop-rock and it's a little more mellow and it's deep". She said, "[For] this record, I just really, really wanted to sing.... I just wanna have silence around me, and have these acoustic songs and really deliver." In November 2010, British producer Alex Da Kid, who worked with Lavigne as of August 2010, stated that some songs on the album will have a hip-hop sound. "We've got some things that are hip-hop leaning, and we've got some things that are more pop/rock leaning". In December 2010, it was announced that the songs produced by Alex Da Kid would not be on the album but Lavigne stated, regarding the songs he worked on, "we’re gonna do something with that stuff, I’m just not sure what yet". Lavigne described the first single off the album, "What the Hell", as "a broad message about personal freedom", calling it her "most pop track on the record", the least personal song from the album and the song most reminiscent of her previous work. Another track, "Stop Standing There", has been described as having an "early- '50s girl-group feel" and "Smile" is about Lavigne's gratitude for special people in her life. "Push" is about relationships and "Wish You Were Here" shows Lavigne's vulnerable side. Lavigne described the track "Everybody Hurts" as "different…but not different to stray away from who I am and what I am." "Goodbye", one of the two songs Lavigne wrote and produced on her own, is about moving on in life. Lavigne stated that "Goodbye" is the most personal song on the album and was the inspiration for the album's title.
The album's and lead single's release dates have been pushed back several times. The album was originally scheduled for release on 17 November 2009. Later, in January 2010, Lavigne stated that the album cover had been photographed and the first single would be released in April, followed by the album in June. In May, Lavigne said that she considered the album too serious and "mellow" and would return to the studio to balance the album out. "With an album, I don't want to rush it out.... I have a very serious record, so I think I need to put a couple upbeat, fun songs on it."In August 2010, Lavigne returned to Henson Recording Studios with producer Alex Da Kid. During these sessions, Lavigne had strep throat, and the people involved were required to wear surgical masks. Despite her doctor's warning, Lavigne recorded vocals. "I wasn't able to sing for the last forty-eight hours because I could do permanent damage to the vocal cords. My doctor told me not to, but I sang today." She revealed that she had been "trying new stuff" and that she was "exploring." Lavigne also added that she had enough material for two records.[Lavigne premiered the lead single, "What the Hell", on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve on 31 December during a pre-taped segment along with a performance of "Girlfriend". "["What the Hell" is] 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." The following day, "What the Hell" was available as a free download for 48 hours from Lavigne's official Facebook page. The video for the single was released in January 2011. Goodbye Lullaby is scheduled to be released on 8 March. Album's International Promotion was started with Lavigne's Japanese tour from 23rd january where she performed "What The Hell" On NHK.