Single Review: Avril Lavigne – ‘Here’s To Never Growing Up’

Having forged a career as an international pop-starlet over the past decade, it transpires that Avril Lavigne does not age, an observation which is testified via her upcoming single, Here’s To Never Growing Up.

An ode to eternal youth, the song – which is the first to be revealed from her forthcoming fifth album – is a lighthearted affair with an feel-good vibe that manages to bear resemblance to the country-pop music that 23 year old singer-songwriter Taylor Swift has to offer. With Lavigne now 28 herself, it is a somewhat unexpected U-Turn from the Canadian native, following her previous fourth album, Goodbye Lullaby, which was perceived by many as her most mature and personal effort to date as – What The Hell aside – Lavigne had intended the songs to speak about subject matters that were really close to her, instead of simply writing just another ‘boy-bashing pop song’¹.

Here’s To Never Growing Up manages to follow in this vein. Co-written with David Hodges, J,Kash, Martin Johnson and her fiance, Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger, the song is devoid of the adolescent angst that has typified most of Lavigne’s career, yet hearkens back to the sound of her earliest album Let Go; it is an upbeat 2013 incarnation of her debut single ‘Complicated‘, capturing the euphoria of carefree teenage years. The video for the single sees Lavigne performing with her band at her high school senior prom, proceeding to party through the entire building, and even managing to throw in a cheeky cameo of her Complicated era outfits to boot!

With her as-of-yet untitled fifth album almost upon us, it can be considered that – despite whatever the song may claim – perhaps Lavigne is indeed growing up, refining her sound to appeal to all ages. Alongside her music, Lavigne designs for her own lifestyle and apparel brand, Abbey Dawn, and has released three fragrances – Forbidden Rose, Black Star and Wild Rose – whilst also running The Avril Lavigne Foundation, which supports children and youth living with disabilities and illnesses by partnering with charitable organisations to generate support.

Kayleigh Watson

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