"Complicated" | ||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Avril Lavigne | ||||||||||||||||||
from the album Let Go | ||||||||||||||||||
B-side | "I Don't Give", "Why" [1][2] | |||||||||||||||||
Released | 14 May 2002 (see release history) |
|||||||||||||||||
Format | CD single, digital download | |||||||||||||||||
Genre | Pop rock[3][4] | |||||||||||||||||
Length | 4:04 (The Matrix Mix) 4:08 (Tom Lord-Alge Mix) |
|||||||||||||||||
Label | Arista | |||||||||||||||||
Writer(s) | Avril Lavigne, Lauren Christy, Scott Spock, Graham Edwards | |||||||||||||||||
Producer | The Matrix | |||||||||||||||||
Certification | 2× Multi-Platinum[5] (ARIA Charts) Platinum[6](ABPD - Brazil) |
|||||||||||||||||
Avril Lavigne singles chronology | ||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
"Complicated" is a song by Avril Lavigne and was her debut single, released in 2002 from her debut album, Let Go. It was written by Lavigne and The Matrix (Scott Spock, Lauren Christy, and Graham Edwards), and produced by The Matrix. The single reached number one in Australia (for six weeks), New Zealand and Mexico (for nine weeks), number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and number three in the United Kingdom. Based on its chart performance, the song is Lavigne's second most successful single (only behind her 2007 single "Girlfriend") and was one of the most successful releases of 2002. Lavigne tied a record set by Natalie Imbruglia's "Torn" when "Complicated" held the number one spot on the contemporary hit radio chart (which tracks air play on the radio) for eleven weeks in a row.[7] "Complicated" was nominated for two Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. "Weird Al" Yankovic's parody of the song "Constipated " overlaid lyrics abour the American singer laments some mishaps resulting from everyday circumstances.
Contents |
"Complicated" is a song about how people can be fake. 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.[8]
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 band 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.[9]
Rolling Stone Magazine readers voted "Complicated" as the 8th Top single of the decade.[10] "Complicated" also ranked at #197 in Blender magazine's "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born".[11] Billboard Magazine ranked it at #83 of the 'Top 100 Singles of the Decade'.[12] In an AOL Radio listener's poll, "Complicated" was voted Lavigne's sixth best song.[13]
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".[14] 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.[4] Saraceno highlighted the song as a "track pick" in a review of the album, Let Go.[4]
On a more negative note, Sal Cinquemani of Slant magazine described 'Complicated' as "infectious" and "more poser than punk".[15] 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".[16]
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.[5] Lavigne won Best New Artist at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards for "Complicated".[17] "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;[18] 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 .[19]
Year | Awards ceremony | Award | Results |
---|---|---|---|
2002 | MTV Video Music Awards | Best New Artist in a Video | Won |
2003 | Grammy Awards[13] | Best Female Pop Vocal Performance | Nominated |
Song Of The Year | Nominated | ||
Juno Awards | Single Of The Year | Won | |
BMI Awards | Best Pop Song | Won | |
ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards | Best Pop Song | Won | |
Radio Music Awards | Song of the Year (Modern Adult Contemporary Radio) | Won | |
Ivor Novello Awards | International Hit Of The Year | Won | |
MTV Video Music Awards Japan | Best New Artist in a Video | Won | |
Canadian Radio Music Awards | Best New «CHR» Solo | Won | |
Best New Solo «Mainstream AC / Hot AC» | Won | ||
Socan Awards | Pop Music Award | Won | |
MTV Video Music Brasil | Best International Video | Nominated | |
2011 | EVMA 2011 | Video of the Decade | Pending |
Australia CD single | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length | |||||||
1. | "Complicated" | 4:03 | |||||||
2. | "I Don't Give" | 3:39 | |||||||
3. | "Why" | 4:00 |
Canada, Mexico and United Kingdom CD single | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length | |||||||
1. | "Complicated" | 4:03 | |||||||
2. | "I Don't Give" | 3:39 | |||||||
3. | "Why" | 4:00 | |||||||
4. | "Complicated" (music video) | 4:00 |
Japan, France, Italy and Netherlands CD single | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length | |||||||
1. | "Complicated" (the Matrix Mix) | 4:08 | |||||||
2. | "I Don't Give" | 3:39 |
United States CD single | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length | |||||||
1. | "Complicated" (Tom Lord-Alge Mix) | 4:08 | |||||||
2. | "Complicated" (the Matrix Mix) | 4:03 |
|
Certifications
Year-end charts
|
Region | Date | Label | Format |
---|---|---|---|
United States | 14 May 2002 | Arista Records | CD, digital download |
Europe | 8 July 2002 | Sony BMG | |
United Kingdom | 23 September 2002 | Arista Records |
Preceded by "A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton |
Australia ARIA Singles Chart number-one single August 18, 2002 – September 22, 2002 |
Succeeded by "The Logical Song" by Scoooter |
Preceded by "Two Wrongs" by Wyclef Jean featuring Claudette Ortiz |
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart number-one single August 18, 2002 – October 13, 2002 |
Succeeded by "The Tide Is High (Get the Feeling)" by Atomic Kitten |
|