Avril Lavigne shows that one crap album can easily sink a career
Hey guys. Interference is the only place where I’ve been comfortable in saying that Avril Lavigne is one of my favorite female artists. I really liked her first two albums, Let Go and Under My Skin. I always thought that she would have a bright future.
But I must now concede that Avril’s career has gone downhill.
It all started with her third album, The Best Damn Thing, which was merely one big display of irritating brattiness that only stupid little kids lapped up. She quickly became everything that she had originally claimed not to be. Ultimately, she lost tons of fans, especially her casual ones. Worse, she damaged any credibility that she had managed to establish up to that point.
Then she disappeared for four years. And during that time, her record label refused to release a fourth album from her, unless she agreed to work with Max Martin.
Meanwhile, Avril’s four-year absence left the door open for Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Ke$ha, Paramore, Rihanna, and Adele to make a huge impact on the pop music world. That is a shitload of competition for an artist who is no longer fresh-faced.
Avril’s fourth and most recent album, Goodbye Lullaby, was designed to be a stripped-down ‘return to form’ -- similar to what ATYCLB was for U2. The effort was intended to win back her old fans. But that never happened. Also, the album’s lead single, What The Hell, was supposed to appeal to teens and tweens. But the song never caught on. Plus, she was unable to capture an older audience with the more mature, introspective songs that she had otherwise recorded for the album.
So now- Her new album has been tanking on the charts, and her world tour has been canned.
I have reason to believe that Avril has painted herself in a corner. A majority of her fans seem to have moved on. Teens and tweens these days don’t seem to care for her, and are most likely preoccupied with Justin Bieber. And adult listeners will never take her seriously- thus illustrating that the stigma of Girlfriend still lingers.
Oh yeah- Her sagging public image, her questionable personal life, her lackluster live performances, her habit of contradicting herself, and her record label’s lack of promotion haven’t helped out her in the slightest bit.
I’m afraid that Avril is facing a steady decline in relevance in the pop music market. It isn’t bad enough that her fanbase has greatly dwindled. But what is most disconcerting is that the whole world has simply forgotten about her.
At the same time- Britney is still going strong.
Do you think that Avril is well on her way to fading into obscurity? Do you think that it would be possible for an artist like Avril to make a comeback from this commercial slump?
Thanks for listening, guys.