He Wasn't

"He Wasn't"
Single by Avril Lavigne
from the album Under My Skin
Released 28 March 2005 (2005-03-28)
8 April 2005 (2005-04-08)
18 April 2005 (2005-04-18)
Format CD single
Recorded 2003-2004
Whitecoat Sound,
(Malibu, California);
The Boat,
(Los Angeles, California)
Genre Rock,[1] pop punk[2]
Length 3:00 (Original Delay)
2:52 (Music Video/Music Duration)
Label Arista
Writer(s) Avril Lavigne, Chantal Kreviazuk
Producer Raine Maida
Avril Lavigne singles chronology
"Nobody's Home"
(2004)
"He Wasn't"
(2005)
"Keep Holding On"
(2006)
Under My Skin track listing
Music video
"He Wasn't" on YouTube

"He Wasn't" is the fourth single from Avril Lavigne's second album Under My Skin. It was not released in the United States, instead "Fall to Pieces" was released but only as a radio single. The song was released in Germany, Australia and the United Kingdom. Beforehand, it was a released as a third single in Japan in June 2004. It was written and produced by Avril Lavigne and Chantal Kreviazuk.

Contents

[hide]

Song meaning

"He Wasn't" is about an unsuccessful relationship between Lavigne and a man who appears to be treating her badly, such as not even opening the door to her. The song is a fast and up-beat take on the boyfriend "not being good enough" as opposed to Lavigne's slower paced songs from "Under My Skin" on the same matter. On a documentary of the making of the "My Happy Ending" music video, "He Wasn't" plays in the background and Lavigne jokes, "'He wasn't what I wanted'...is that a theme on my record?".

Critical reception

"He Wasn't" was criticized for the shallowness of the lyrics. Sal Cinquemani of Slant magazine described the song as a "crappy faux-punk tune", mostly because of the lyrical content.[3] David Browne of Entertainment Weekly described the song as a "bratty kiss-off" and labelled it "boardroom-approved mall punk" noting that it sounded similar to songs on Lavigne's first album, Let Go.[4]

However, "He Wasn't" has also been praised for its loud, pop punk nature; Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic describes the song as "the fastest, loudest, catchiest, and best song here, and the one closest to the spirit and sound of Let Go".[5] He also highlighted the song as a 'track pick' in a review of the album, Under My Skin.[5]

Music video

The video features Avril singing and her band playing instruments in the background. There are scenes where she dances around wearing white gloves, a pink skirt, and holding a magic wand (she is portraying a fairy), and other scenes where she is wearing devil horns on her head (she is portraying the devil). It turns out that Avril and her band are at a video shoot, and later get into a food fight, much to the dismay of the directors - who are played by Avril and the band, all dressed up in wigs and suits. Avril then rebels and smashes her guitar into the camera lens, and then into the paper wall, where pink paint splashes out. The video ends with the band dancing and Avril doing the splits.

Also, during the shooting of the music video when the pink slime came out, Avril tells that days later her hair was still pink and she needed to redye it because during the next days she was scheduled to have a photoshoot with 'Cosmopolitan' and her hair was looking really messy and all pink.[6]

Track listing

Australia
(82876690742; Released April 8, 2005)

  1. "He Wasn't" (Album version)
  2. "He Wasn't" (Live full band performance)
  3. "He Wasn't" (Live and acoustic)
  4. "He Wasn't" (Music video)
UK
  1. "He Wasn't" (Album version)
  2. "He Wasn't" (Live version)
  3. "He Wasn't" (Music video)
  4. Plus exclusive video diary and other stuff.
French single
  1. "He Wasn't" (Album version)
  2. "He Wasn't" (Live version)
UK promo / AU promo
  1. He Wasn't (Album version)

Chart positions

"He Wasn't" wasn't released in the U.S. but the song gained success in the UK charting at #23, #25 in Australia and #35 in Ireland. In some countries it did poorly on the charts, such as Canada, where it peaked at #92, However, "He Wasn't" was successful, becoming a top 5 hit in Belgium, and a top 10 Hit in Japan.

Chart (2005) Peak
Position
Australia (ARIA)[7] 25
Austria (Γ–3 Austria Top 75)[8] 35
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[9] 2
Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[10] 2
Canadian BDS Airplay Chart 92
European Hot 100 Singles[11] 68
Germany (Media Control AG)[12] 29
Ireland (IRMA)[13] 35
Netherlands (Mega Single Top 100)[14] 99
New Zealand (RIANZ)[15] 38
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[16] 43
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[17] 23

Awards

Year Awards ceremony Award Results
2005 MTV Video Music Brasil Best International Video Nominated

References

  1. ^ http://www.discogs.com/Avril-Lavigne-He-Wasnt/master/193961
  2. ^ Sterdan, Darryl (21 May 2004). "Album Review: Avril Lavigne". JAM!. http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/L/Lavigne_Avril/AlbumReviews/2004/05/21/771252.html. Retrieved 19 August 2010. "....like on the boys-suck pop-punk of He Wasn't...." 
  3. ^ Cinquemani, Sal (20 May 2004). "Avril Lavigne: Under My Skin". Slant Magazine. http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/avril-lavigne-under-my-skin/438. Retrieved 20 June 2010. 
  4. ^ Browne, David (24 May 2004). "Under My Skin (2004)". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,640572,00.html. Retrieved 13 August 2010. 
  5. ^ a b Thomas Erlewine, Stephen. "Under My Skin: Avril Lavigne". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r688178. Retrieved 18 March 2009. 
  6. ^ "Avril talking about the "He Wasn't" video incident". youtube.com. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdl64fVCs_8. Retrieved 2009-04-08. 
  7. ^ "Australian-charts.com – Avril Lavigne – He Wasn't". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Hung Medien. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
  8. ^ "Avril Lavigne – He Wasn't – Austriancharts.at" (in German). Γ–3 Austria Top 40. Hung Medien. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
  9. ^ "Ultratop.be – Avril Lavigne – He Wasn't" (in Dutch). Ultratip. ULTRATOP & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
  10. ^ "Ultratop.be – Avril Lavigne – He Wasn't" (in French). Ultratip. ULTRATOP & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
  11. ^ "Avril Lavigne Album & Song Chart History" European Hot 100 for Avril Lavigne. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
  12. ^ "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, KΓΌnstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche - musicline.de" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
  13. ^ "Chart Track". Irish Singles Chart. Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
  14. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Avril Lavigne – He Wasn't" (in Dutch). Mega Single Top 100. Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
  15. ^ "Charts.org.nz – Avril Lavigne – He Wasn't". Top 40 Singles. Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
  16. ^ "Avril Lavigne – He Wasn't – swisscharts.com". Swiss Singles Chart. Hung Medien. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
  17. ^ "Archive Chart" UK Singles Chart. The Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 29, 2011.

External links