While being on the verge of getting dropped off Arista, after an unsuccessful year of writing, Lavigne came to the attention of the three-piece production team the Matrix, who later discovered that she wanted songs with punk rock inclinations. There, she began working on her debut album, Let Go, collaborating with a host of prime songwriters and producers.
12 Cover versions and appearances in other mediaĪfter being signed to Arista Records in November 2000 upon the authorization of the label's CEO, Antonio "L.A." Reid, Lavigne moved to New York with the assistance of Reid.The song has been performed in all of Lavigne's concert tours to date. It was a success on Total Request Live and was voted one of the best music videos of the decade by BT TV. The music video for the song, directed by Francis Lawrence, features a concert on a city street with Lavigne singing on the hood of a car with a crowd rocking out around her. According to Spin, "Sk8er Boi" has the fifth best pop-punk chorus of the 21st century. Commercially, "Sk8er Boi" was a success, reaching the top 10 in more than ten countries, such as Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States (becoming Lavigne's second top 10 single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart) and sold over 1.8 million copies worldwide. It also received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance at the 2003 edition. The song was well-received by critics, with most commending its hook, calling the song "funny" and "clever". The song combines punk rock, pop-punk, skate punk, power pop, and alternative pop styles, which lyrically tells a story told from the singer's viewpoint about her rocker boyfriend and a girl he knew in high school who rejected him because he was a skateboarder and she was a snob. It was written by Lavigne and the Matrix (Scott Spock, Lauren Christy, and Graham Edwards), and produced by the Matrix. " Sk8er Boi" (pronounced "skater boy") is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne, released as the second single from her debut album, Let Go (2002).