Avril! Where are thou?

The Avril Lavigne of “Sk8r Boi” and “Nobody Home” has vanished into a sea of pink ruffles and teeth-rotting candy-coated pop fluff. The once edgy punk-rock singer has joined the leagues of countless others in the world of pop. She once stood out among young female singers, now she’s just about to get lost in the crowd.

A while back I sat down, for the first time, and listened to the whole of “Under My Skin”. I had been a fan of Avril for a while, but had never gotten the chance to listen to her entire album. When I did, I found myself falling in-love again with her unique musical styles and unforgettable lyrics. After finishing the album, I was extremely excited to listen to “The Best Thing”…my excitement lasted for about three songs.

“Girlfriend”, the first track and #1 hit single from the album, is a high-energy dance-happy song but is drowned out by ditzy bobble-head diva lyrics and over-run with cuss words.

Through-out the album, song after song, it seems Avril is trying to make a point. What point that is I haven’t a clue. She may be trying to show that she’s grown-up by adding curse words and songs about sex, but to me, “Under My Skin” and “Let Go” sound more mature than this sugary-pop album. In my personal opinion, Avril Lavigne has gone from strong female role model to ditzy blonde diva. Only two songs on the album (“Innocence” and “Keep Holding On”) show that this is even the same girl who once sang “My Happy Ending” and the ever popular “Complicated”, but even these songs are incredibly shallow compared to her earlier work.

This album has caused me to lose my respect for the “new and improved” Avril Lavigne. Hopefully her next album, which she says will sound more like her first two albums, will renew my fandom.

Two stars, Ms. Lavigne.