Under My Skin is the second studio album by Canadian<!-- DO NOT CHANGE NATIONALITY TO FRENCH-CANADIAN, it's not the same thing as Canadian and French--> singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne, released in Europe on May 21, 2004, and the rest of the world on May 25, 2004, by Arista Records. Lavigne wrote most of the album with singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk, who invited her to a Malibu in-house recording studio she shared with her husband Raine Maida, where Lavigne recorded many of the songs. The album was produced by Maida, Don Gilmore, and Butch Walker. It was Lavigne's second and final studio album to be released by Arista, following 'Let Go' (2002).
Under My Skin debuted at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart and on the US Billboard 200. It sold three million copies in the United States, ranking the album number 149 on the Billboard 200 decade-end chart. Because of the album's darker, heavier and more aggressive post-grunge sound, it received mixed to positive reviews, with critics now seeing the album as a classic that defined pop-punk in the early 2000s (despite it not being usually classified as such), and as anticipating the emotional intensity and theatrical aesthetics of emo pop later in the decade. On March 18, 2013, Under My Skin was re-released as a double-disc set paired with her debut studio album, Let Go, and released under Arista Records.
To promote the album, Lavigne went on a promotional tour for malls in the United States and Canada. Furthermore, Lavigne embarked on a concert tour, entitled the Bonez Tour, starting on September 26, 2004, and ending one year later on September 26, 2005. The concert at the Budokan arena in Japan was filmed and released on a DVD only available in Japan, entitled Bonez Tour 2005: Live at Budokan. Under My Skin has sold over 10 million copies worldwide and is the fifth best selling album of the 21st century by a Canadian artist.
Background
Having no plans of working with producers or professional writers, Lavigne wrote much of the album with Canadian singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk, with whom she had developed a friendship in the summer of 2003. Kreviazuk, whose husband Raine Maida's band Our Lady Peace opened for Lavigne's concert in Europe, introduced herself at an after-party for the SARS benefit concerts held in Toronto in June 2003. The following day, Lavigne and Kreviazuk ate lunch together, during which Lavigne shared how she wanted the development of the album to be. They wrote songs for almost three weeks at Maida's warehouse in Toronto. Kreviazuk invited Lavigne to continue working in a Malibu, California house she shared with Maida, which contained a recording studio. Many of the tracks on the album were recorded in Malibu.
Kreviazuk suggested Maida produce songs for the album, an ability Lavigne did not possess. Maida produced five songs, including "Fall to Pieces", which he co-wrote with Lavigne. Lavigne also invited two other producers: Don Gilmore, who produced three songs, two of which were written by Lavigne and Kreviazuk, and Butch Walker who also produced three songs in three days. Lavigne also co-wrote one track, "Nobody's Home", with Ben Moody, formerly of Evanescence, and the rest with her guitarist Evan Taubenfeld.
On her website, Lavigne states that she had learned a lot since her first record, Let Go: "I was involved in every aspect of making this record. I'm very hands-on. I knew how I wanted the drums, the guitar tones, and the structures to be. I understand the whole process so much better this time because I've been through it. I'm really picky with my sound." Regarding the album's theme, Lavigne stated, "I've gone through so much, so that's what I talk about....Like boys, like dating or relationships".
Composition and lyrics
thumb|Under My Skin has been compared to Dutch rock band [[The Gathering (band)|the Gathering]]
Under My Skin is a departure from the upbeat pop-punk of Lavigne's debut studio album, Let Go, and most of her discography. The album has more melodic rock songs and a darker post-grunge, alternative rock, and nu metal sound, with elements of emo, gothic rock, grunge and pop metal. Matt Cibula of Music Critic compared the album to Dutch rock band the Gathering and Swedish heavy metal. Other reviewers noted similarities with Evanescence, Limp Bizkit and Nickelback. The album also anticipated the emotional intensity and theatrical aesthetics of emo pop, allowing bands, such as Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance, to see mainstream success later in the decade. The lyrics discuss how pressured girls can be, especially in high school, to have sex with men, often after a date. The second and most successful single, "My Happy Ending", is seen as a counter to "Sk8er Boi", from Let Go, depicting a relationship that ended badly after a happy beginning. "Nobody's Home" has a darker topic, as the song describes a young girl who ran away from home, living rough, and couldn’t return to her broken family.
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| rev9Score = 6/10
According to Metacritic, Under My Skin received an average rating of 65, reflecting a positive reception from critics.. David Browne of Entertainment Weekly suggested that in the album, "Lavigne has become even more, well, complicated", noting she "sounds more burdened". Browne adds, "As contrived as the results can be, there's no denying the level of craft at work." Sal Cinquemani of Slant magazine noted that Lavigne's sound was now much heavier and darker and compared her to Amy Lee of Evanescence, as did Browne. Carly Carioli of Blender magazine also agreed, stating "she has deepened and darkened her sound without sacrificing her platinum-plated melodies". Kelefa Sanneh of Rolling Stone praised Lavigne's vocals, "blankness is what makes her best songs so irresistible. Whether it's a fit of faux punk or a maudlin ballad, she sings it all absolutely straight". Musically the album's sound is compared to "that of crunching punk guitars playing mighty power chords, all mixed with the same flawless elan that has characterized pop-punk ever since Green Day dropped Dookie" says Tim O'Neil of PopMatters. Andrew Strickland of Yahoo! Music agreed, "the girl can use those tiny lungs to great effect...she knows when to croon and when to yell".
On a more mixed note, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote that the album is "a bit awkward, sometimes sounding tentative and unsure, sometimes clicking and surging on Avril's attitude and ambition." Erlewine compared Lavigne to Canadian singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette. Cinquemani cited Lavigne's lyrics as her "biggest weakness" and Strickland agreed, stating, "we have a maturing Ms Lavigne, distancing herself from the teen antics of her "Let Go" debut, but struggling to find any stories worth telling". Tim O'Neil of PopMatters stated "Lavigne's songwriting on the bulk of Under My Skin just seems rote" and goes on to call Under My Skin "a good, if slightly disappointing, follow-up". The Guardians Alexis Petridis lambasted the album, calling it a "flesh-eating virus" and criticised the lyrics, stating "the music is so anodyne that you don't pay much attention to Lavigne's lyrics. This proves to be a small mercy". Under My Skin is included in an article about Petridis' worst reviewed albums of modern times.
Accolades
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable collapsible" style="text-align:center"
|+Awards for Under My Skin
|-
!scope=col class="sortable"| Year
!scope=col class="sortable"| Organization
!scope=col class="sortable"| Award
!scope=col class="sortable"| Result
!scope=col class="unsortable"|
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="2"|
| scope="row" rowspan="1"| Hong Kong Top Sales Music Awards
| Top Ten Best Selling Foreign Albums
|
| rowspan="1" style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| scope="row" rowspan="1"| Premios Oye!
| Main English Record of the Year
|
| rowspan="1" style="text-align:center;"|
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="5"|
| scope="row" rowspan="1"| Hungarian Music Awards
| Foreign Modern Rock Album of the Year
|
| align=center |
|-
| scope="row" rowspan="1"|Japan Gold Disc Awards
| Rock & Pop Album of the Year
|
| align=center |
|-
| scope="row" rowspan="2"|Juno Awards
| Album of the Year
|
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| Pop Album of the Year
|
|-
| scope="row" rowspan="1"|RTHK International Pop Poll Awards
| The Best Selling English Album
|
| align=center |
|}
Commercial performance
Under My Skin debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling 381,000 copies in its first week. This feat marked Lavigne's highest first-week sales of her career and also her first number-one album, It also topped the US Billboard Internet Albums chart, it spent 66 weeks on the US Billboard 200 chart. The album was certified double Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in November 2004; by January 2006 it was certified triple Platinum. It was certified 2× Platinum in the UK with sales of 600,000 copies sold.
| extra_column = Production
| title13 = I Always Get What I Want
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| extra13 = Magness
| length13 = 2:31
| total_length = 43:18
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Under My Skin.
Musicians
- Avril Lavigne – lead vocals, background vocals, guitar (12)
- Kenny Aronoff – percussion (6, 10), drums (6, 10)
- Josh Freese – drums (1, 8)
- Victor Lawrence – cello (5, 12)
- Butch Walker – acoustic guitar (6), bass (3, 6, 11), percussion (3, 11), piano (6), electric guitar (3, 6, 11), keyboards (3), background vocals (3)
- Michael Ward – guitar (1–2, 8)
- Patrick Warren – strings (6), keyboards (6), Chamberlin (6)
- Phil X – guitar (4–5, 9–10)
- Brooks Wackerman – drums (2, 7)
- Raine Maida – keyboards (5, 9), guitar (10, 12)
- Chantal Kreviazuk – piano (2), keyboards (5)
- Mike Elizondo – bass (4)
- Brian Garcia – percussion (4–5, 10, 12)
- Sam Fisher – violin (5)
- Samuel Formicola – violin (12)
- Mark Robertson – violin (5, 12)
- Kenny Cresswell – drums (3)
- Shanti Randall – viola (5)
- Jason Lader – bass (5, 9–10, 12)
- Bill Lefler – drums (4–5, 9, 12)
- Static – keyboards (2)
- Jon O'Brien – keyboards (1, 7–8)
- Nick Lashley – guitar (10)
- Evan Taubenfeld – acoustic guitar (3, 11), drums (11), electric guitar (3, 11), background vocals (3, 11)
- Ben Moody – guitar (7)
- Alma Fernandez – viola (12)
Production
- Avril Lavigne – string arrangements (5)
- David Campbell – string arrangements (7)
- Don Gilmore – production (1–2, 7–8)
- Tom Lord-Alge – mixing (3–7, 9–12)
- Randy Staub – mixing (1–2, 8)
- Butch Walker – programming (3, 6, 11), producer (3, 6, 11)
- Raine Maida – producer (4–5, 9–10, 12), digital editing (5, 9, 12), string arrangements (5, 12)
- Chantal Kreviazuk – string arrangements (5, 12)
- John Rummen – art direction, design
- Leon Zervos – mastering
- Brian Garcia – digital editing (4–5, 9–10, 12)
- Dan Certa – additional engineering (1–2, 7–8), editing (1–2, 7–8)
- Kim Kinakin – art direction, design
- Jason Lader – programming (5, 9–10, 12), digital editing (4–5, 9–10, 12)
- Dan Chase – Pro Tools engineering (6)
- Jon O'Brien – programming (1–2, 7–8)
- Static – programming (2)
- Christie Priode – production coordinator (6, 11)
Charts
Weekly charts
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{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Weekly chart performance for Under My Skin
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (2004)
! scope="col"| Peak<br>position
|-
! scope="row"| Argentine Albums (CAPIF)
| 1
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)
| 11
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"| European Albums (Billboard)
| 1
|-
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Greek Albums (IFPI)
| 1
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Singaporean Albums (RIAS)
| 1
|-
!scope="row"|South African Albums (RISA)
| 2
|-
! scope="row"| Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)
| 1
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"|Taiwanese Albums (Five Music)
| 2
|-
|-
|}
Year-end charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+2004 year-end chart performance for Under My Skin
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (2004)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums (ARIA)
| 36
|-
! scope="row"| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)
| 13
|-
! scope="row"| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
| 51
|-
! scope="row"| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)
| 34
|-
! scope="row"| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)
| 80
|-
! scope="row"| European Albums (Billboard)
| 8
|-
! scope="row"| French Albums (SNEP)
| 57
|-
! scope="row"| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)
| 14
|-
! scope="row"| Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)
| 72
|-
! scope="row"| Italian Albums (FIMI)
| 30
|-
! scope="row"| Japanese Albums (Oricon)
| 8
|-
!scope="row"| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)
| 48
|-
! scope="row"| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)
| 79
|-
! scope="row"| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)
| 13
|-
! scope="row"| UK Albums (OCC)
| 31
|-
!scope="row"|US Billboard 200
| 22
|-
! scope="row"| Worldwide Albums (IFPI)
| 5
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+2005 year-end chart performance for Under My Skin
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (2005)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)
| 92
|-
! scope="row"| Italian Albums (FIMI)
| 87
|-
! scope="row"| US Billboard 200
| 68
|}
Decade-end charts
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Decade-end chart performance for Under My Skin
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (2000–2009)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| Japanese Albums (Oricon)
| 92
|-
! scope="row"| US Billboard 200
| 149
|}