complicated

mix by dave jackson / ultimix

"Complicated" is Avril Lavigne's first single, released in 2002 from her debut album, Let Go. The single reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Lavigne's first top-ten single. The single also reached number three in the United Kingdom and number one in Australia and Mexico. Based on its chart performance, the song is also Lavigne's most successful single, and was also one of the most successful releases of 2002. Not surprisingly, the song is also considered to be her signature song. The song also has a parody by "Weird Al" Yankovic called "A Complicated Song (Constipated/Related/Decapitated)".

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The song was written by Avril Lavigne and The Matrix (Scott Spock, Lauren Christy, and Graham Edwards), and produced by The Matrix. In this pop-rock anthem, Lavigne finds herself in a complicated situation with a boy in her life. She enjoys his company when they're driving in his car, but around everyone else, he becomes somebody else, and can't relax as if he's always paranoid and watching his back. She also feels that he is trying too hard to fit in by wearing preppy clothes. Although she does like him, his actions disturb her to denounce, "Why'd you have to go and make things so complicated? I see the way you're acting like you're somebody else, gets me frustrated..."

The song has also met some controversy over its songwriting. In several interviews given while promoting her debut album, Lavigne claimed that "Complicated" was inspired by her life, that she was a singer-songwriter who was very much involved in the creative process of making music, and that she had written most of "Complicated" with The Matrix. However, The Matrix revealed that they had written most of "Complicated", and that Lavigne had only added a few minor melodic or lyrical changes to the song. When confronted with the truth of the matter, Lavigne claimed she did not have much choice in the matter, as her boss, L.A. Reid, had pressured her to put the songs with The Matrix on the album, and she had feared that she might be dropped from her label if she did not comply. Lavigne's claim to be a singer-songwriter was also brought up, but she defended her actions saying that she is always involved with her music.

This text is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Complicated".

complicated

let go