Avril Lavigne: Fighting to stay afloat
Image Credit: Press, Head Above Water
Josh Kinghorn,
24th May 2021
Tags:
Music
Blog
Avril Lavigne
Pop
Rock
There are many times in the music industry where artists change their sound, and most of the time it isn’t received well, no matter what the reason behind it is. Trust me it happens, I myself have been very guilty of this with the likes of Good Charlotte, Panic! at the Disco and Linkin Park.
There’s almost a sense of betrayal especially in the Alt scene when artists go more electronic and mainstream with people crying “Sell-Out!” at the slightest whiff of change in an artist’s sound or method. I understand it, but I’ve also been reminded that musicians are still people, and people change.
They experience more things, new things, and evolve as they progress. What they want to do in their life changes and the audience has to learn to deal with that. There is one track that in particular that taught me this lesson in such a smooth manner that I would like to talk about now.
Avril Lavigne released her 6th studio album “Head Above Water”.
On the 15th February 2019 Avril Lavigne released her 6th studio album “Head Above Water” six years after her previous eponymous (self-titled) album. The album’s headline track (featured on the xRhythms playlist) was dropped in September 2018.
The track was written in the midst of a long battle with Lyme disease where she felt like she was drowning. When talking to the Guardian in 2019 Avril states that “It just felt really good to be singing” after being exhausted and ill.
The song hit number 5 on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart, debuted at number 13 on Billboard top 200 with the album release in the US, peaked at number 10 in the UK album charts and to date the video has over 110 million views on Youtube, which also has a website for the Avril Lavigne Foundation, a charity that was set up by the Canadian to help raise money for research into Lyme disease.
When I first heard this song I had no context of it whatsoever. All I had was an album I hadn’t heard from for years, so I figured I’d give it a listen. The opening piano chords immediately piqued my interest and was blown away by the raw, unadulterated emotion bleeding through the music. I ended up listening to the entire album and just sitting there thinking in silence at how immature my approach to new music by old bands was. Just one track and one album had completely altered my thinking.
I can’t imagine how intense her struggle was.
I can’t imagine how intense her struggle was, but I will be forever grateful that she released this soulful prayer. For me it has meant I have listened to music and appreciated it that I may not have otherwise. To other people it has been a relatable outcry for help from someone who wholly understands those feelings of drowning due to illness. But I think all of us have had a time where this prayer is relevant to us.
Avril Lavigne: thank you.
