Avril Lavigne- Goodbye Lullaby

Goodbye Lullaby is the fourth studio album by Canadian singersongwriter Avril Lavigne. The album was first released on 2 March 2011. Recording sessions began in November 2008, and took place over a period of almost two years, concluding in October 2010. The album's songs contain mainly stripped down instruments, such as the piano and acoustic guitar. Every song on the album was written by Lavigne, with half of the album being written with co-writers. The album debuted inside the top five in over 15 countries such as the United States and Canada, topping the charts in Japan, Australia, Greece, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Czech Republic. The lead single of the album, "What the Hell", was released on 7 January 2011, and achieved worldwide chart success; reaching the top twenty in the United States and United Kingdom, the top ten in Europe and Australia and the top five in Asia. The following singles, "Smile" and "Wish You Were Here", had moderate chart success worldwide. The album also includes an extended version of the soundtrack single for the 2010 film Alice in Wonderland, titled "Alice". The album and lead single's release dates had been pushed back several times. The album was originally scheduled for release on 17 November 2009. Later, in January 2010, Lavigne stated that the album cover had been photographed and the first single would be released in April followed by the album in June. In May, Lavigne said that she considered the album too serious and "mellow" and would return to the studio to balance the album out, "With an album, I don't want to rush it out.... I have a very serious record, so I think I need to put a couple upbeat, fun songs on it." In August 2010, Lavigne returned to Henson Recording Studios with producer Alex da Kid. During these sessions, Lavigne had strep throat, and the people involved were required to wearsurgical masks. Despite her doctor's warning, Lavigne recorded vocals, "I wasn't able to sing for the last forty-eight hours because I could do permanent damage to the vocal cords." She revealed that she had been "trying new stuff" and that she was "exploring". Lavigne added that she had enough material for two records. In October 2010, Lavigne was featured in Maxim for the November issue. During the interview she revealed that she had finished Goodbye Lullaby after two and a half years. However, in November, Lavigne announced that her album had been completed for a year, citing her record company as the reason for the album's delays. Lavigne stated that her record company wanted something more upbeat to keep up with mainstream radio, "Radio's very rhythmic and urban and dance today. I think they wanted me to do something more like that, but that's not what my vision was for this album".

The entire track listing for the album was revealed on 21 December 2010, after some were announced in early December. It was also announced that two songs on the album, "4 Real" and "Goodbye", were both written and produced solely by Lavigne herself. The remaining tracks were either written by Lavigne or co-written with longtime collaborators Evan Taubenfeld, Butch Walker, and Max Martin. Lavigne stated that her vocals were the most important instrument to her during the album's recording, "Typically the lead vocal gets buried in the track and you cant always hear the quality, character, or emotion after a certain point. I wanted my voice to be the main instrument." avigne described the album as being about "life". She stated, "It's so easy for me to do a boy-bashing pop song, but to sit down and write honestly about something that's really close to me, something I've been through, it's a totally different thing." The album serves as a return to Lavigne's older musical style and is largely acoustic. With the exception of the album's lead single, Lavigne describes the songs on the album as different from her earlier material, "I'm older now, so I think that comes across in my music, it's not as pop-rock and it's a little more mellow and it's deep". She said, "[For] this record, I just really, really wanted to sing.... I just wanna have silence around me, and have these acoustic songs and really deliver." In November 2010, British producer Alex da Kid, who worked with Lavigne beginning in August 2010, stated that some songs on the album will have a hip-hop sound, "We've got some things that are hip-hop leaning, and we've got some things that are more pop/rock leaning". In December, it was announced that the songs produced by Alex da Kid would not be on the album but Lavigne stated, "were gonna do something with that stuff, Im just not sure what yet". Lavigne described the first single off the album, "What the Hell", as "a broad message about personal freedom", calling it her "most pop track on the record", the least personal song from the album and the song most reminiscent of her previous work. Another song, "Stop Standing There", has been described as having an "early- '50s girl-group feel" and "Smile" is about Lavigne's gratitude for special people in her life. "Push" is about relationships and "Wish You Were Here" shows Lavigne's vulnerable side. Lavigne described the song "Everybody Hurts" as "different...but not different to stray away from who I am and what I am. "Goodbye" is one of the two songs Lavigne wrote and produced on her own. She says it's about moving on in life, and leaving something secure.Lavigne stated that "Goodbye" is the most personal song she has ever wrote and was the inspiration for the album's title.

Track listing No. Title 1. "Black Star" 2. "What the Hell" Writer(s) Avril Lavigne Lavigne, Max Martin, Shellback Lavigne, Evan Taubenfeld Lavigne, Martin, Shellback Lavigne, Martin, Shellback Lavigne Lavigne, Martin, Shellback Lavigne, Taubenfeld Lavigne, Taubenfeld Lavigne Lavigne Lavigne Lavigne Lavigne Producer(s) Deryck Whibley Max Martin, Shellback Whibley Length 1:34 3:40

3. "Push"

3:01

4. "Wish You Were Here"

Martin, Shellback

3:45

5. "Smile"

Martin, Shellback

3:29

6. "Stop Standing There" 7. "I Love You"

Butch Walker Martin, Shellback

3:27 4:01

8. "Everybody Hurts" 9. "Not Enough" 10. "4 Real" 11. "Darlin" 12. "Remember When" 13. "Goodbye" 14. "Alice" (hidden track)

Whibley Whibley Avril Lavigne Whibley Whibley Lavigne Walker

3:41 4:18 3:28 3:50 3:29 4:29 5:00