Let Go (Avril Lavigne album)
Encyclopedia
Let Go is the debut album by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne
, released on June 4, 2002. For a year after signing a record deal with Arista
, Lavigne struggled due to conflicts in musical direction. Lavigne relocated to Los Angeles
, California
, and recorded there her earlier materials for the album, the kind of sound of which the label was not amenable. She was paired to the production team The Matrix, who understood her vision for the album.
The album was credited as the biggest pop debut of 2002. It was released to generally positive critical reviews, although Lavigne's songwriting received some negative comments. Let Go was 6x platinum in the United States. It also did extremely well in Canada, receiving a diamond certification from the Canadian Recording Industry Association
, as well as reaching multi-platinum in many countries around the world, including the UK in which she became the youngest female solo artist to have a number-one album in the region.
As of May 2008, Let Go had sold over 17 million copies worldwide, becoming Lavigne's highest-selling album to date. According to Billboard Magazine the album was the number 21 top-selling album of the decade. A Rolling Stone
readers poll named Let Go as the fourth best album of the 2000s.
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, California
, 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.
Now two years since she signed the deal, Lavigne, who was then unknown, 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: "Why don't you put her together with The Matrix for a couple of days?" 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, "we cottoned on that she wasn't happy but couldn't quite figure out where to go". The Matrix played her songs with Faith Hill influences, because it was those kind of songs the label wanted Lavigne to sing. But Lavigne dismissed it, saying she wanted songs with punk rock
inclinations. Lavigne played The Matrix a song that she had recorded and really loved, a track with sounds in the likes of the rock band System of a Down
. Fortunately, prior to forming The Matrix, its members' early projects were in the pop-rock type, so they readily figured out what Lavigne wanted to record and knew exactly what to do with her. 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" (Falling Down appears on the Sweet Home Alabama
Soundtrack). 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
. Reid sent Lavigne back to The Matrix to work with them, initially for a month. Arista gave the team carte blanche to write and produce 10 songs, which took them two months. Reid suggested Lavigne to name the album Anything But Ordinary, after the track of the same name that The Matrix produced, but she refused.
, whose Manhattan studio Lavigne was checked in prior to securing a record deal with Arista, and where Lavigne also recorded some of the tracks. The Matrix member Scott Spock was their principal engineer
for the project, while Tom Lord-Alge
was assigned to mix
the tracks. Lavigne recorded complete takes "against the largely finished instrumental
tracks". Spocks revealed Lavigne normally recorded each song in five or six takes, "and probably 90 percent of what was finally used came from the first or second takes". The Matrix also contributed backing vocals
.
Introduced as a singer-songwriter, Lavigne's involvement produced significant issues. Lavigne has implied that she is the primary author of the album. In an article published in Rolling Stone
magazine, Lavigne stated that while working with The Matrix, one member would be in the recording studio while they were writing, but did not write the guitar parts, lyrics, or the melody
. According to Lavigne, she and Christy wrote all the lyrics together. Graham would come up with some guitar parts, "and I'd be like, 'Yeah, I like that,' or 'No, I don't like that.' None of those songs aren't from me."
The Matrix, who produced six songs for Lavigne, five of which appear in the album, had another explanation of how the collaboration went. According to them, they wrote much of the portions in the three singles: "Complicated", "Sk8er Boi
", and "I'm with You", which were conceived using a guitar and piano. Christy said, "Avril would come in and sing a few melodies, change a word here or there." Reid complemented the issue over the credits: "If I'm looking for a single for an artist, I don't care who writes it. Avril had the freedom to do as she really pleased, and the songs show her point of view. ... Avril has always been confident about her ideas."
Although she needed pop songs "to break" into the industry, Lavigne felt "Complicated" does not reflect her and her songwriting skills. Nonetheless, she was grateful for the song as it successfully launched her career. She favors more "Losing Grip
", because "it means so much more when it comes straight from the artist". Due to Lavigne's mix of pop
and rock
influences when writing the album, Let Go has been identified with a variety of genres such as Alternative rock
, pop punk
, pop rock
, post-grunge
and rock.
. A DataPlay
version of the album was released in September 2002. Arista had established a deal with DataPlay earlier in 2002, and included Let Go alongside albums by rock singer Santana
and singer Whitney Houston
in the release.
Although Lavigne was targeted to the teen audience, a marketing strategy attributed to the successful launch of her career; Lavigne performed on a host of radio-sponsored multi-artist holiday shows throughout the United States, a marketing strategy that induced higher sales of the album during the season. She embarked on her first headlining tour, Try To Shut Me Up Tour, which took place on January 23, 2003, and ended on June 4, 2003. Lavigne toured with her band—drummer Matthew Brann, bassist Mark Spicoluk, and guitarists Jesse Colburn and Evan Taubenfeld
—which she had grouped after signing the deal. In the tour, she included all songs off Let Go, B-sides
, and cover versions of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door
" by Bob Dylan
and "Basket Case
" by Green Day
.
Lavigne filmed her performance in Buffalo, New York
, on May 18, 2003, the final date of her five-week headlining North American tour. The tour DVD My World was released on November 4, 2003, on joint venture by Arista Records and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
. The DVD features the concert, a behind-the-scenes featurette, five music videos and a six-song bonus audio CD that includes four unreleased tracks.
, the 2004 film Wimbledon
, and a brief appearance in the film Just Married
. In 2011, a music video for the song leaked onto the internet made from official footage that was never finished.
"Things I'll Never Say" was released as radio-only single in Italy. "Unwanted" was released as radio-only single in the UK. The song "Tomorrow" was played in one episode of the second season from the Warner Bros.
series
Smallville
and has become popular between its fans.
based on the collated reviews from 7 publications. Rolling Stone
magazine's music critic Pat Blashill wrote that the album "comes fully loaded with another dozen infectious hymns of Total Request
angst". Blashill complimented Lavigne on having a "great voice", adding she crafted the album with "a qualified staff of hitmakers". Christina Saraceno of Allmusic noted that Lavigne "handles a variety of styles deftly", while also complimenting her as "a capable songwriter with vocal chops". Nonetheless, Saraceno opined that "at her age, one imagines, she is still finding her feet, borrowing from the music she's grown up listening to". John Perry of Blender
magazine summarized Let Go into an "outstanding guitar-pop debut". A review in Q
magazine praised Lavigne for displaying "a musical guile way beyond her years". For Jon Caramanica of Entertainment Weekly
magazine, "Lavigne's monochromatic debut set of unimaginative guitar rock is saved only by the earnestness of her songs."
Some reviewers had similar sentiments toward the quality of the lyrics to some songs in the album. Saraceno said that Lavigne "still has some growing up to do lyrically", asserting "Sk8er Boi" shows her "lyrical shortcomings" and calling the phrasing in "Too Much to Ask" "awkward and sometimes silly". Perry noted the lyrics to "Sk8er Boi" as "endearingly naive".
The album earned Lavigne numerous awards from organizations around the world. The success of the album's commercial performance led Lavigne to be named Best New Artist at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards
as well as winning a World Music Award for Best-Selling Canadian Singer. She won three awards—Favorite Female Artist, Favorite Breakthrough Artist, and the Style Award—the most of any performer at the 2003 MTV Asia Awards. She received five nominations for the album at the 2003 Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist
and Best Pop Vocal Album
. The album's singles "Complicated" and "I'm With You" were nominated Song of the Year
at the 2003 and 2004 ceremony, respectively, accumulating eight nominations for the album. Lavigne was nominated for six categories at the 2003 Juno Awards
—which were presented in Ottawa
—winning four including Best Album and Best New Artist.
magazine as one of the biggest pop debut albums of 2002. The album debuted on the Billboard 200
at number 8 on the strength of 62,000 unit sales. Its high debut was fueled by the success of "Complicated", which was in heavy rotation
on MTV
. Increasing weekly sales allowed the album to stay inside the chart's top 10 for 37 weeks. The album sold at least 100,000 copies straight until late 2002, easily accumulating over two million unit sales. In a December 2002 report by Entertainment Weekly magazine, the album had sold 3.9 million copies, becoming the third top-selling album of 2002 in the United States. Year-end figures released by Nielsen SoundScan revealed that Let Go had sold over 4.1 million copies in the United States, sales accumulated in 30 weeks of the album's release. Let Go was certified double platinum
by the Recording Industry Association of America
. This earned Let Go the distinction as the highest-shipped debut of 2002 and best-selling album by a female artist. On April 30, 2003, RIAA certified the album six-time platinum, denoting shipments of over six million units. It remains Lavigne's best-selling album to date, with sales of over 6,724,000 copies sold in the United States, as of July, 2009.
Chartwise, the album reached higher peak positions notably during and after the holidays. Following her show-opening performance at the 2002 Billboard Music Awards, Let Go continued to be one of the holiday's top sellers with sales that week of 272,000. Although it had peaked at number two in September 2002, Let Go rose from 3 to 2 on the Billboard 200 on the issue dated February 1, 2003. The increase of sales was the offshoot to Lavigne's appearance on January 11 at Saturday Night Live
as the show's musical guest. During this time also, Lavigne received much media coverage due to her nominations at the 2003 Grammy Awards and for embarking on first North American tour. In the United Kingdom, the album took longer to reach the summit of the UK Albums Chart
. In its 18th week on the chart year 2003, the album reached number one, rising to the top spot over the holiday. The album's international sales upsurge was attributed to the continuing success of "Sk8er Boi". Let Go is the 12th best-selling album of 2003 in the United Kingdom. The album has been certified five-time platinum by the British Phonographic Industry
.
Let Go was also selling well in Canada, surpassing sales of over one million unit sales in less than a year. The Canadian Recording Industry Association
certified the album diamond
in May 2003. In Australia, Let Go had been certified seven-time platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association
in 2003, based on the sales of over 490,000 units from wholesalers to retailers. The album is the tenth best-selling album of 2002, and the third in the following year.
Standard CD enhanced media content
Japan tour edition bonus DVD
Tour edition bonus VCD
Japan special bonus edition
Performance credits
Technical credits
for Let Go, Song of the Year
& Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
for "Complicated", Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for "Sk8er Boi", Best New Artist
. At the 2004 Grammy Awards received three nominations Song of the Year
& Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
for "I'm with You", Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for "Losing Grip".
Avril Lavigne
Avril Ramona Lavigne is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She was born in Belleville, Ontario, but spent most 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 Records worth more...
, released on June 4, 2002. For a year after signing a record deal with Arista
Arista Records
Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
, Lavigne struggled due to conflicts in musical direction. Lavigne relocated to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and recorded there her earlier materials for the album, the kind of sound of which the label was not amenable. She was paired to the production team The Matrix, who understood her vision for the album.
The album was credited as the biggest pop debut of 2002. It was released to generally positive critical reviews, although Lavigne's songwriting received some negative comments. Let Go was 6x platinum in the United States. It also did extremely well in Canada, receiving a diamond certification from the Canadian Recording Industry Association
Canadian Recording Industry Association
Music Canada is a Toronto-based, non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, artists, manufacture, production, promotion and distribution of music in Canada...
, as well as reaching multi-platinum in many countries around the world, including the UK in which she became the youngest female solo artist to have a number-one album in the region.
As of May 2008, Let Go had sold over 17 million copies worldwide, becoming Lavigne's highest-selling album to date. According to Billboard Magazine the album was the number 21 top-selling album of the decade. A Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
readers poll named Let Go as the fourth best album of the 2000s.
Background
After being signed to Arista RecordsArista Records
Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS 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
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
songs because she auditioned to them in a "balladic, 'new country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
'" 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, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, where she collaborated with songwriter-producer Clif Magness, who gave her ample creative control in the writing process. Lavigne and Magness wrote "Losing Grip
Losing Grip
"Losing Grip" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne released as the fourth and last single from her multiplatinum debut album Let Go . It was released in late spring of 2003 after the success of "I'm with You". The song was written and produced by Avril Lavigne and C. Magness...
" 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.
Now two years since she signed the deal, Lavigne, who was then unknown, 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: "Why don't you put her together with The Matrix for a couple of days?" According to member Lauren Christy
Lauren Christy
Lauren Christy is an English singer-songwriter and music producer.-Early life and education:Christy was born in London, England. She studied at the Bush Davies Ballet School as a child, before she decided to become a musical artist.-Music career:...
, they had been listening to Lavigne's early songs and felt they contained "a Faith Hill
Faith Hill
Faith Hill is an American country singer. She is known both for her commercial success and her marriage to fellow country star Tim McGraw. Hill has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and accumulated eight number-one singles and three number-one albums on the U.S...
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, "we cottoned on that she wasn't happy but couldn't quite figure out where to go". The Matrix played her songs with Faith Hill influences, because it was those kind of songs the label wanted Lavigne to sing. But Lavigne dismissed it, saying she wanted songs with punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
inclinations. Lavigne played The Matrix a song that she had recorded and really loved, a track with sounds in the likes of the rock band System of a Down
System of a Down
System of a Down, also known by the acronym SOAD and often shortened to System, is a rock band from Southern California. The band was formed in 1994. It consists of Serj Tankian , Daron Malakian , Shavo Odadjian and John Dolmayan...
. Fortunately, prior to forming The Matrix, its members' early projects were in the pop-rock type, so they readily figured out what Lavigne wanted to record and knew exactly what to do with her. 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" (Falling Down appears on the Sweet Home Alabama
Sweet Home Alabama (film)
Sweet Home Alabama is a 2002 American romantic comedy film directed by Andy Tennant and stars Reese Witherspoon, Josh Lucas, and Patrick Dempsey. The film was released on September 27, 2002.-Plot:...
Soundtrack). 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
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
. Reid sent Lavigne back to The Matrix to work with them, initially for a month. Arista gave the team carte blanche to write and produce 10 songs, which took them two months. Reid suggested Lavigne to name the album Anything But Ordinary, after the track of the same name that The Matrix produced, but she refused.
Writing and recording
With The Matrix, Lavigne recorded tracks in Decoy Studios, situated in a Los Angeles suburb known as Valley Village. She also worked with producer-songwriter Curt Frasca and Peter ZizzoPeter Zizzo
Peter Eric Zizzo is a music producer, musician and BMI award-winning songwriter. Zizzo has authored hits for artists such as Celine Dion,, Jennifer Lopez, Marit Larsen, O.A.R, Jason Mraz, Donna Summer, Diana Ross, M2M , Sir Cliff Richard, Clay Aiken, and Howie Day...
, whose Manhattan studio Lavigne was checked in prior to securing a record deal with Arista, and where Lavigne also recorded some of the tracks. The Matrix member Scott Spock was their principal engineer
Audio engineering
An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
for the project, while Tom Lord-Alge
Tom Lord-Alge
Tom Lord-Alge is a four-time Grammy Award–winning record producer and mixer. He is the youngest of Vivian Lord's five children, Mark Lord-Alge, Lisa Lord-Alge, Chris Lord-Alge, Jeff Lord-Alge and Tom Lord-Alge...
was assigned to mix
Audio mixing (recorded music)
In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
the tracks. Lavigne recorded complete takes "against the largely finished instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
tracks". Spocks revealed Lavigne normally recorded each song in five or six takes, "and probably 90 percent of what was finally used came from the first or second takes". The Matrix also contributed backing vocals
Backing vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
.
Introduced as a singer-songwriter, Lavigne's involvement produced significant issues. Lavigne has implied that she is the primary author of the album. In an article published in Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine, Lavigne stated that while working with The Matrix, one member would be in the recording studio while they were writing, but did not write the guitar parts, lyrics, or the melody
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
. According to Lavigne, she and Christy wrote all the lyrics together. Graham would come up with some guitar parts, "and I'd be like, 'Yeah, I like that,' or 'No, I don't like that.' None of those songs aren't from me."
The Matrix, who produced six songs for Lavigne, five of which appear in the album, had another explanation of how the collaboration went. According to them, they wrote much of the portions in the three singles: "Complicated", "Sk8er Boi
Sk8er Boi
"Sk8er Boi" is a song by Avril Lavigne, and is the second single from her debut album, Let Go . It was written by Avril Lavigne and The Matrix , and produced by The Matrix...
", and "I'm with You", which were conceived using a guitar and piano. Christy said, "Avril would come in and sing a few melodies, change a word here or there." Reid complemented the issue over the credits: "If I'm looking for a single for an artist, I don't care who writes it. Avril had the freedom to do as she really pleased, and the songs show her point of view. ... Avril has always been confident about her ideas."
Although she needed pop songs "to break" into the industry, Lavigne felt "Complicated" does not reflect her and her songwriting skills. Nonetheless, she was grateful for the song as it successfully launched her career. She favors more "Losing Grip
Losing Grip
"Losing Grip" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne released as the fourth and last single from her multiplatinum debut album Let Go . It was released in late spring of 2003 after the success of "I'm with You". The song was written and produced by Avril Lavigne and C. Magness...
", because "it means so much more when it comes straight from the artist". Due to Lavigne's mix of pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
influences when writing the album, Let Go has been identified with a variety of genres such as Alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
, pop punk
Pop punk
Pop punk is a fusion music genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees. Allmusic describes the genre as a strand of alternative rock, which typically merges pop melodies with speedy punk tempos, chord changes and loud guitars...
, pop rock
Pop rock
Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...
, post-grunge
Post-grunge
Post-grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged in the mid-1990s as a derivative of grunge, using the sounds and aesthetic of grunge, but with a more commercially acceptable tone...
and rock.
Release and promotion
The album was released on June 4, 2002, in Canada and the United States. Later, on July 22, Let Go hit record stores worldwide, and on August 26 in some parts of Europe, including the United Kingdom and IrelandIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. A DataPlay
DataPlay
DataPlay is an optical disc system developed by DataPlay Inc. and released to the consumer market in 2002. Using very small disks enclosed in a protective cartridge storing 250MB per side, DataPlay was intended primarily for portable music playback, including both pre-recorded disks and...
version of the album was released in September 2002. Arista had established a deal with DataPlay earlier in 2002, and included Let Go alongside albums by rock singer Santana
Carlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
and singer Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...
in the release.
Although Lavigne was targeted to the teen audience, a marketing strategy attributed to the successful launch of her career; Lavigne performed on a host of radio-sponsored multi-artist holiday shows throughout the United States, a marketing strategy that induced higher sales of the album during the season. She embarked on her first headlining tour, Try To Shut Me Up Tour, which took place on January 23, 2003, and ended on June 4, 2003. Lavigne toured with her band—drummer Matthew Brann, bassist Mark Spicoluk, and guitarists Jesse Colburn and Evan Taubenfeld
Evan Taubenfeld
Evan David Taubenfeld is an American singer-songwriter, best known for being Avril Lavigne's lead guitarist. Taubenfeld's debut album, Welcome to the Blacklist Club, was released on May 18, 2010.-Early life:...
—which she had grouped after signing the deal. In the tour, she included all songs off Let Go, B-sides
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
, and cover versions of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door
Knockin' on Heaven's Door
"Knockin' on Heaven's Door" is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan for the soundtrack of the 1973 film Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid. It reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.-Story line and song structure:...
" by Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
and "Basket Case
Basket Case (song)
"Basket Case" is a song by American punk rock band Green Day. It was released as the third single from their third album, Dookie. The song spent five weeks at the top of the Modern Rock Tracks chart.Rolling Stone Readers ranked it No...
" by Green Day
Green Day
Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool...
.
Lavigne filmed her performance in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, on May 18, 2003, the final date of her five-week headlining North American tour. The tour DVD My World was released on November 4, 2003, on joint venture by Arista Records and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is the home video distribution arm of the 20th Century Fox film studio. It was established in 1976 as Magnetic Video Corporation, and later as 20th Century Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video and FoxVideo, Inc....
. The DVD features the concert, a behind-the-scenes featurette, five music videos and a six-song bonus audio CD that includes four unreleased tracks.
Singles
- "Complicated" was released by Arista as the album's lead singleLead singleA lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
, which was seen as an across-all-age-groups introduction to Lavigne. Thought to produce wide cross-demographicDemographyDemography is the statistical study of human population. It can be a very general science that can be applied to any kind of dynamic human population, that is, one that changes over time or space...
appeal, however, the music video to the single features Lavigne and her band wreaking havoc in a mall, "the sort of imagery that might have grown-ups thinking 'Clean that mess up!' more than clamoring for the record". the song was a worldwide #1 hit and was nominated for two Grammy Awards for Song of the YearGrammy Award for Song of the YearThe Song of the Year is one of the four most prestigious awards in the Grammy Awards ceremony, if not in all of the American music industry. It has been awarded since 1959 and unlike the Record of the Year award, which goes to the performer and production team of a single song, Song of the Year...
and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. - "Sk8er BoiSk8er Boi"Sk8er Boi" is a song by Avril Lavigne, and is the second single from her debut album, Let Go . It was written by Avril Lavigne and The Matrix , and produced by The Matrix...
" The follow-up single was aimed at pop-punk oriented kids. The release of "Sk8er Boi" created disagreement among many radio programmingRadio programmingRadio programming is the Broadcast programming of a Radio format or content that is organized for Commercial broadcasting and Public broadcasting radio stations....
directors. However, their impressions were diverted as listeners help changed their minds; early rotation of the single proved successful, showing it was as popular with post-collegiate listeners as with teens the song even went to #1 in the U.S. mainstream. - "I'm with You" The adult ballad hit record stores in late November 2002, directed at holidays to remind parents about the album to, if not buy it themselves, purchase it for any children in their family. The song ended up being another hit for Lavigne reaching #4 in the Billboard Hot 100, #1 in mainstream, top 10 in UK and Canada. It was not officially released in Australia but received radio and television airplay, this song was also nominated for two Grammy Awards the same categories as "Complicated". The arrangement of singles, with "I'm With You" as the third, was regarded "controversial choices", given that "I'm With You" was "thought by some to be the biggest potential smash on the album", and could have established Lavigne as a more mature artist if it was released first. According to Reid, "Some people just really didn't get that. And with the first video, there was some concern that maybe because it's so young and so playful, it might alienate more serious music lovers."
- "Losing GripLosing Grip"Losing Grip" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne released as the fourth and last single from her multiplatinum debut album Let Go . It was released in late spring of 2003 after the success of "I'm with You". The song was written and produced by Avril Lavigne and C. Magness...
" was released as the fourth single off the album, "to act as a bridge into her next album”, which Lavigne stated would be “harder-rocking” than her debut. However, it was the least successful single on the album.
Other songs
Other songs were released as regional radio-only singles. "Mobile" was only released in Australia and New Zealand as a radio-only track. It was later used in 2003's The MedallionThe Medallion
The Medallion is a 2003 action-comedy film co-written and directed by Hong Kong filmmaker Gordon Chan, and starring Jackie Chan, Lee Evans, and Claire Forlani...
, the 2004 film Wimbledon
Wimbledon (film)
Wimbledon is a 2004 romantic comedy film directed by Richard Loncraine. The film centers on a washed-up tennis pro named Peter Colt and an up-and-coming tennis star named Lizzie Bradbury during the Wimbledon Championships.The film was dedicated to Mark McCormack, who died on 16 May 2003 after...
, and a brief appearance in the film Just Married
Just Married
Just Married is a 2003 American romantic comedy film directed by Shawn Levy and written by Sam Harper starring Ashton Kutcher and the late Brittany Murphy. In its opening week, the film was number one, making $17 million at the box office. It stayed in the Top 10 for 4 weeks.-Plot:The film starts...
. In 2011, a music video for the song leaked onto the internet made from official footage that was never finished.
"Things I'll Never Say" was released as radio-only single in Italy. "Unwanted" was released as radio-only single in the UK. The song "Tomorrow" was played in one episode of the second season from the Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
Smallville
Smallville (TV series)
Smallville is an American television series developed by writers/producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar based on the DC Comics character Superman, originally created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The television series was initially broadcast by The WB Television Network , premiering on October...
and has become popular between its fans.
Reception
Critical reaction
Let Go received generally favorable reaction from critics, earning 68 points on metacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
based on the collated reviews from 7 publications. Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's music critic Pat Blashill wrote that the album "comes fully loaded with another dozen infectious hymns of Total Request
Total Request Live
Total Request Live is a television series on MTV that featured popular music videos. TRL was MTV's prime outlet for music videos as the network continues to concentrate on reality-based programming. In addition to music videos, TRL featured daily guests...
angst". Blashill complimented Lavigne on having a "great voice", adding she crafted the album with "a qualified staff of hitmakers". Christina Saraceno of Allmusic noted that Lavigne "handles a variety of styles deftly", while also complimenting her as "a capable songwriter with vocal chops". Nonetheless, Saraceno opined that "at her age, one imagines, she is still finding her feet, borrowing from the music she's grown up listening to". John Perry of Blender
Blender (magazine)
Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....
magazine summarized Let Go into an "outstanding guitar-pop debut". A review in Q
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
magazine praised Lavigne for displaying "a musical guile way beyond her years". For Jon Caramanica of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
magazine, "Lavigne's monochromatic debut set of unimaginative guitar rock is saved only by the earnestness of her songs."
Some reviewers had similar sentiments toward the quality of the lyrics to some songs in the album. Saraceno said that Lavigne "still has some growing up to do lyrically", asserting "Sk8er Boi" shows her "lyrical shortcomings" and calling the phrasing in "Too Much to Ask" "awkward and sometimes silly". Perry noted the lyrics to "Sk8er Boi" as "endearingly naive".
The album earned Lavigne numerous awards from organizations around the world. The success of the album's commercial performance led Lavigne to be named Best New Artist at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards
2002 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2002 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on August 29, 2002, honoring the best music videos from June 9, 2001, to May 31, 2002. The show was hosted by Jimmy Fallon at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. It is most remembered for Michael Jackson's acceptance of a birthday statue, which he...
as well as winning a World Music Award for Best-Selling Canadian Singer. She won three awards—Favorite Female Artist, Favorite Breakthrough Artist, and the Style Award—the most of any performer at the 2003 MTV Asia Awards. She received five nominations for the album at the 2003 Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist
Grammy Award for Best New Artist
The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967...
and Best Pop Vocal Album
Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album
The Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality pop music albums...
. The album's singles "Complicated" and "I'm With You" were nominated Song of the Year
Grammy Award for Song of the Year
The Song of the Year is one of the four most prestigious awards in the Grammy Awards ceremony, if not in all of the American music industry. It has been awarded since 1959 and unlike the Record of the Year award, which goes to the performer and production team of a single song, Song of the Year...
at the 2003 and 2004 ceremony, respectively, accumulating eight nominations for the album. Lavigne was nominated for six categories at the 2003 Juno Awards
Juno Awards of 2003
The Juno Awards of 2003 were presented in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on 6 April 2003. The primary awards ceremony was hosted that evening by Shania Twain at the Corel Centre and televised on CTV.- Ceremony highlights :...
—which were presented in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
—winning four including Best Album and Best New Artist.
Commercial performance
Let Go was commercially successful in the United States, gaining praise from Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
magazine as one of the biggest pop debut albums of 2002. The album debuted on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
at number 8 on the strength of 62,000 unit sales. Its high debut was fueled by the success of "Complicated", which was in heavy rotation
Heavy rotation
In broadcasting, rotation is the repeated airing of a limited playlist of songs on a radio station or satellite radio channel, or music videos on a TV network. They are usually in a different order each time, however they are not completely shuffled, so as to avoid playing the same song again too...
on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
. Increasing weekly sales allowed the album to stay inside the chart's top 10 for 37 weeks. The album sold at least 100,000 copies straight until late 2002, easily accumulating over two million unit sales. In a December 2002 report by Entertainment Weekly magazine, the album had sold 3.9 million copies, becoming the third top-selling album of 2002 in the United States. Year-end figures released by Nielsen SoundScan revealed that Let Go had sold over 4.1 million copies in the United States, sales accumulated in 30 weeks of the album's release. Let Go was certified double platinum
Double Platinum
Double Platinum is a 1999 musical telefilm starring Diana Ross and Brandy.-Plot:The story begins with a scene featuring star singer Olivia King leaving her daughter Kayla, who was an infant at the time. It is revealed that Kayla was born in Atlanta, Georgia, but in her later years, she would move...
by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
. This earned Let Go the distinction as the highest-shipped debut of 2002 and best-selling album by a female artist. On April 30, 2003, RIAA certified the album six-time platinum, denoting shipments of over six million units. It remains Lavigne's best-selling album to date, with sales of over 6,724,000 copies sold in the United States, as of July, 2009.
Chartwise, the album reached higher peak positions notably during and after the holidays. Following her show-opening performance at the 2002 Billboard Music Awards, Let Go continued to be one of the holiday's top sellers with sales that week of 272,000. Although it had peaked at number two in September 2002, Let Go rose from 3 to 2 on the Billboard 200 on the issue dated February 1, 2003. The increase of sales was the offshoot to Lavigne's appearance on January 11 at Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
as the show's musical guest. During this time also, Lavigne received much media coverage due to her nominations at the 2003 Grammy Awards and for embarking on first North American tour. In the United Kingdom, the album took longer to reach the summit of the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
. In its 18th week on the chart year 2003, the album reached number one, rising to the top spot over the holiday. The album's international sales upsurge was attributed to the continuing success of "Sk8er Boi". Let Go is the 12th best-selling album of 2003 in the United Kingdom. The album has been certified five-time platinum by the British Phonographic Industry
British Phonographic Industry
The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...
.
Let Go was also selling well in Canada, surpassing sales of over one million unit sales in less than a year. The Canadian Recording Industry Association
Canadian Recording Industry Association
Music Canada is a Toronto-based, non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, artists, manufacture, production, promotion and distribution of music in Canada...
certified the album diamond
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
in May 2003. In Australia, Let Go had been certified seven-time platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
in 2003, based on the sales of over 490,000 units from wholesalers to retailers. The album is the tenth best-selling album of 2002, and the third in the following year.
Track listing
(*) Additional productionStandard CD enhanced media content
- BiographyBiographyA biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
- "Complicated" (music video)
- EPKElectronic Press KitAn electronic press kit is a press kit equivalent in electronic form. An EPK usually takes the form of a website or e-mail, though they are also known to exist in CD and DVD form....
- "I Don't Give" (bonus track)
- Lyrics (songs playing in the background)
- "Complicated"
- "Sk8er Boi"
- "Mobile"
- "Unwanted"
Japan tour edition bonus DVD
- "Complicated" (video)
- "Sk8er Boi" (video)
- "I'm With You" (video)
- "A Day in the Life" (video)
Tour edition bonus VCD
- "Get Over It"
- "Why"
- "Unwanted" (live)
- "I'm With You" (live)
- "Nobody's Fool" (live)
- "Day in the Life" (NYCNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
EPK) - "Footage"
- "Complicated" (music video)
- "Sk8er Boi" (music video)
- "I'm With You" (music video)
- "Losing Grip" (music video)
Japan special bonus edition
- "Complicated" TV track version – 4:05
- "Sk8er Boi" TV track version – 3:34
- "I'm With You" TV track version – 3:46
- "Losing Grip" TV track version – 3:53
Personnel
This list of credits is based on barnesandnoble.com.Performance credits
- Avril Lavigne: Primary artist, Guitar, Background vocals
- Sabelle Breer: Backings vocals
- The Matrix: Backings vocals
- Clif Magness: Bass, Guitar, Electric guitar, Keyboards, Drum loop
- Dennis Johnson: Beats & Scratching
- Jeff Allen: Bass
- Suzie Katayama: Cello
- Joe Bonadio: Drums
- Josh Freese: Drums
- Alex Elena: Drums
- Curt Frasca: Guitar, Multi instruments
- Gerry Leonard: Guitar
- Peter Zizzo: Guitar
- Corky James: Guitar
Technical credits
- Clif Magness: Programming, Producer, Engineer
- L.A. Reid: Executive Producer
- Rick Kerr: Engineer
- Leon Zervos: Mastering
- Curt Frasca: Programming, Producer, Engineer
- Peter Zizzo: Arranger, Producer, Engineer, Pro-Tools
- Jon Berman: Engineer
- Avril Lavigne: Art direction
- Jen Scaturro: Programming, Pro-Tools
Charts
| Chart (2002) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
1 |
| Austrian Albums Chart | 2 |
| Argentina Argentina Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires... CAPIF Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers The Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers is an Argentine organization member of the IFPI, which represents the music industry in the country. It is a nonprofit organization integrated by multinational and independent record labels.... |
1 |
| Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
1 |
| Colombia Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the... |
1 |
| Dutch Albums Chart MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
4 |
| French Albums Chart Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
13 |
| German Albums Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
2 |
| Italian Albums Chart Federation of the Italian Music Industry The Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy.... |
6 |
| Japanese Oricon Albums Chart Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... |
6 |
| New Zealand RIANZ Albums Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
1 |
| Norwegian Albums Chart VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
3 |
| Swedish Albums Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
6 |
| Swiss Albums Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
2 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
1 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
2 |
Sales and certifications
| Chart | Certification Threshold |
Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956... |
7x Platinum | 500,000+ |
| Brazil Brazil Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people... (ABPD Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos The Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos is an official representative body of the record labels in the Brazilian phonographic market.- About :... ) |
3x Platinum | 375,000+ |
| Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
Diamond | 1,000,000+ |
| Colombia Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the... |
5x Platinum | 100,000+ |
| Europe | 2x Platinum | 3,670,000+ |
| French Albums Chart Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
2x Platinum | 450,000+ |
| German Albums Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
3x Gold | 450,000+ |
| Greek International Albums Chart | Gold | 15,000 |
| Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... |
Platinum | 40,000+ |
| Finland Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside... |
Platinum | 30,000+ |
| Norway Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million... |
Platinum | 30,000+ |
| Denmark Denmark Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark... (Hitlisten) |
Platinum | 30,000+ |
| Austria Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... |
Platinum | 20,000+ |
| Portugal Portugal Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the... (AFP Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa The Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa is currently the only recording industry association in Portugal. Created in 1989, it succeeded GPPFV and UNEVA .... ) |
Platinum | 20,000+ |
| Belgium Belgium Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many... (Ultratop Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... ) |
Gold | 15,000+ |
| Poland Poland Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north... |
Gold | 15,000+ |
| Hungary Hungary Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The... |
Gold | 3,000+ |
| Hong Kong Hong Kong Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour... |
Gold | 10,000+ |
| Indonesia Indonesia Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an... |
Gold | 200,000+ |
| Ireland Ireland Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth... |
9x Platinum | 140,000+ |
| Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... (RIAJ Recording Industry Association of Japan The Recording Industry Association of Japan is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved the music industry... ) |
Diamond | 1,000,000+ |
| Mexican Albums Chart | Gold | 75,000+ |
| Netherlands Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... |
Gold | 80,000+ |
| New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga... (RIANZ) Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
5x Platinum | 75,000+ |
| Italian Albums Chart Federation of the Italian Music Industry The Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy.... |
Diamond | 500,000+ |
| Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... |
Platinum | 200,000+ |
| Philippines Philippines The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam... (PARI) |
6x Platinum | 100,000+ |
| Russia Russia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects... |
Gold | 50,000+ |
| Singapore Singapore Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the... |
Platinum | 100,000+ |
| South Africa South Africa The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans... |
Platinum | 100,000+ |
| South Korea South Korea The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south... |
6x Platinum | 300,000+ |
| Switzerland | 2x Platinum | 80,000+ |
| Taiwan Taiwan Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following... |
Platinum | 50,000+ |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
5x Platinum | 1,500,000+ |
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
6x Platinum | 6,761,000+ |
Chart procession and succession
Awards
At the 2003 Grammy Award, received five nominations Best Pop Vocal AlbumGrammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album
The Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality pop music albums...
for Let Go, Song of the Year
Grammy Award for Song of the Year
The Song of the Year is one of the four most prestigious awards in the Grammy Awards ceremony, if not in all of the American music industry. It has been awarded since 1959 and unlike the Record of the Year award, which goes to the performer and production team of a single song, Song of the Year...
& Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance is the latest in a series of awards recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. The award goes to the artist...
for "Complicated", Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for "Sk8er Boi", Best New Artist
Grammy Award for Best New Artist
The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967...
. At the 2004 Grammy Awards received three nominations Song of the Year
Grammy Award for Song of the Year
The Song of the Year is one of the four most prestigious awards in the Grammy Awards ceremony, if not in all of the American music industry. It has been awarded since 1959 and unlike the Record of the Year award, which goes to the performer and production team of a single song, Song of the Year...
& Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance is the latest in a series of awards recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. The award goes to the artist...
for "I'm with You", Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for "Losing Grip".
| Year | Awards ceremony | Award | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Billboard Music Awards | Best Album | |
| 2003 | Juno Awards | Best Pop Album | |
| Best Album of The Year | |||
| Gold Disc Award Hong Kong | Best 10 Albums | ||
| Japan Golden Disc Awards | Rock&Pop Album of the Year | ||
| Brasil Music Awards | Best Album | ||
| Teen Choice Awards Teen Choice Awards The Teen Choice Awards, are an annual awards show that air on the Fox cable channel, that honor the year's biggest biggest achievements in music, movies, sports, television, fashion and more, voted by teen viewers aged 14 through 17. Winners receive an authentic full size surfboard designed with... |
Choice Music Album | ||
| Premios Oye! Premios Oye! Premios Oye! are presented annually by the Academia Nacional de la Música en México for outstanding achievements in the Mexican record industry... |
Main English Female | ||
| Grammy Awards | Best Pop Vocal Album Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album The Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality pop music albums... |