Based on previous hits like Sk8er Boi, it's been difficult to agree with the amount of success that Avril Lavigne has achieved, although she does seem to be a bit like Marmite - you either love her or hate her.
However, with new album Under My Skin, Avril can finally shock the most cynical of critics because she's developed something of which most artists require, and that's substance. My Happy Ending, to those over the age of 12, can be viewed as the high point of her escalating career with remotely meaningful lyrics and a darker, less commercially acceptable sound that reveal her true feelings rather than act as means to prove that Avril Lavigne likes rock music.
"Don't leave me hanging, in a city so dead / Held up so high, on such a breakable thread," are just some of the lyrics that can give Ms Lavigne a reason to be happier with her songwriting. My Happy Ending has punchy guitars and an experimental moment with a piano - with the removal of Sk8er Bois and a new grown-up persona, it could just be the beginning of her departure from hated teen star to well-respected star, full stop.
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