Complicated (Avril Lavigne song)


"Complicated" is the debut single by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne, it was released on 23 April 2002 as the lead single from her debut album, Let Go. It was written by Lavigne and The Matrix, and produced by The Matrix. The single peaked at number one in Australia, New Zealand and Mexico, number two on the Billboard Hot 100, behind Nelly's "Hot in Herre" and "Dilemma" featuring Kelly Rowland and number three in the United Kingdom. Based on its chart performance, the song is Lavigne's second most successful single and was one of the most successful releases of 2002 with sales of over 3 million copies sold worldwide. Lavigne broke a record set by Natalie Imbruglia's "Torn" when "Complicated" held the number one spot on the Adult Top 40 chart for 16 weeks in a row. "Complicated" was the fourth-most played song on radio in Canada in 2002, and the most played song of the year by a Canadian artist. "Complicated" was nominated for two Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Background and release

After being signed to Arista Records in November 2000 upon the authorization of the label's CEO, Antonio "L.A." Reid, Lavigne moved to New York with the assistance of Reid. There, she began working on her debut album, Let Go, collaborating with a host of prime songwriters and producers. For six months, the label set up Lavigne with two co-writers, who worked with her upon Arista's instructions. Reid expected Lavigne to record folk songs because she auditioned to them in a "balladic, 'new country'" type. However, the collective failed to click "with a girl who'd just discovered guitar-based rock". For a year, nothing was working for Lavigne and was on the verge of getting dropped off Arista. The management pitched her songs written by other songwriters, but she declined, insisting she wanted to write songs herself. Lavigne relocated to Los Angeles, where she collaborated with songwriter-producer Clif Magness, who gave her ample creative control in the writing process. Lavigne and Magness wrote "Losing Grip" and "Unwanted", songs that she deemed reflective of her vision for the entire album. However, Arista was not thrilled with the heavy-guitar laden songs that Lavigne was writing, prompting the label to look for other producers to match their demands.
Two years since she signed the deal, Lavigne came to the attention of the three-piece production team The Matrix. Arista could not find the right direction for Lavigne, so the team's manager, Sandy Roberton, suggested that they work together. According to member Lauren Christy, they had been listening to Lavigne's early songs and felt they contained "a Faith Hill kind of vibe". As soon as they saw Lavigne coming into their studio, The Matrix felt that her musical direction was incongruous to her image and attitude. After talking to Lavigne for an hour, the singer said she wanted songs with punk rock inclinations. They told her to come back the following day, and in the afternoon during that day, they wrote a song that evolved into "Complicated" and another song called "Falling Down". They played it to Lavigne when she came back the following day, inspiring her what path she should take.
When Josh Sarubin, the A&R executive who signed Lavigne to the imprint, heard the song, he knew it was right for her. Lavigne presented the song to Reid, who agreed the musical direction Lavigne and The Matrix were taking, and set "Complicated" as the album's lead single.

Composition and lyrics

Composed in the key of F major, "Complicated" is a song about how people can feign or pretend in front of others. Lavigne said about the song: "People sometimes bother me how they're not real and how they're just, like, putting on a face and being two-faced". Lavigne stated that she experienced this with both boyfriends and female friends.

Music video

The video, directed by The Malloys, starts with Lavigne asking her bandmates if they want to "crash" the mall. They respond with enthusiasm, and skateboard there. The video features Lavigne and the band harassing shoppers and employees, generally causing havoc around the mall; for example, Lavigne watches her bandmates try on humorous clothing which is fittingly shown as Lavigne sings the line "You come over unannounced, dressed up like you're something else".
This is intercut with footage of Lavigne performing the song at a skatepark while playing the guitar, with her band performing with her. People can be seen skateboarding around Lavigne as she and her band perform the song. As the line "You fall and you crawl..." is sung, a skateboarder can be seen falling over.
The video was shot at Eagle Rock Plaza, Los Angeles, in 2 days. During the shooting, the mall remained open.
As of June 2020, the video has over 351 million views on YouTube.

Reception

Critical reception

The song received generally positive reviews from critics. In 2009, Rolling Stone readers voted "Complicated" as the eighth Top single of the decade. "Complicated" also ranked at #197 in Blender magazine's "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born". In an AOL Radio listener's poll, "Complicated" was voted Lavigne's sixth best song.
David Browne of Entertainment Weekly gave the song a B- and said "Avril Lavigne's not kidding about that title, she's the epitome of the blossoming anti-Britney movement". Christina Saraceno of Allmusic described 'Complicated' as "a gem of a pop/rock tune with a killer chorus" and noted similarities between it and the Pink song "Don't Let Me Get Me". Saraceno highlighted the song as a "track pick" in a review of the album, Let Go.
On a more negative note, Sal Cinquemani of Slant magazine described 'Complicated' as "infectious" and "more poser than punk". In a review of Lavigne's second album, Under My Skin, David Browne of Entertainment Weekly noted that "Complicated felt like strung-together bits of Morissette songs".

Commercial performance

As of September 2015 "Complicated" has sold 1.1 million digital copies in the US and over 3 million copies worldwide. Billboard ranked it at No. 83 of the 'Top 100 Singles of the Decade'.
The Canadian single of "Complicated" has shipped over 100,000 copies in Canada, where the song has been awarded the gold and platinum single certifications by the CRIA for, respectively, shipments of at least 50,000 and 100,000 singles shipped.The single was certified 2× Platinum in Australia.

Accolades

Lavigne won Best New Artist in a Video at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards for "Complicated". "Complicated" won in the Single of the Year category at the 2003 Juno Awards. In the United States, the song was nominated at the 2003 Grammy Awards for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Song of the Year; it lost both awards to Norah Jones's "Don't Know Why". In Brazil it was nominated in the category of best international video at the 2003 MTV Video Music Brazil.
Indicates non-competitive categories

Award/PublisherYearCategoryResult
ASCAP Pop Music Awards2003Most Performed Song
ASCAP Pop Music Awards2004Most Performed Song
Billboard Music Awards2002Top 40 Track of the Year
BMI Pop Music Awards2003Award-Winning Song
BMI Pop Music Awards2004Award-Winning Song
Canadian Radio Music Awards2003Best New "Mainstream AC / Hot AC"
Canadian Radio Music Awards2003Best New CHR Solo
Channel V Thailand Music Video Awards2003Popular International Music Video By A New Artist
Grammy Award2003Song of the Year
Grammy Award2003Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
Ivor Novello Awards2003International Hit Of The Year
Juno Award2003Single of the Year
MTV Video Music Award2002Best New Artist in a Video
MTV Video Music Awards Japan2003Video of the Year
MTV Video Music Awards Japan2003Best Female Video
MTV Video Music Awards Japan2003Best New Artist in a Video
MTV Video Music Brazil2003Best International Video
Radio Disney Music Awards2002Best Song
Radio Disney Music Awards2002Best Homework Song
Radio Music Awards2003Song of the Year/Modern Adult Contemporary Radio
Rolling Stone2009Readers' Top Singles of the Decade
SOCAN Awards2003International Achievement
SOCAN Awards2003Pop/Rock Music Award
TMF Awards 2002Best Clip: International
VH1 Big Awards2002Can't Get You Out of My Head

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Complicated CD single liner notes.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Release history