He Wasn't

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"He Wasn't"
Single by Avril Lavigne
from the album Under My Skin
ReleasedMarch 28, 2005 (2005-03-28)
Studio
  • Whitecoat Sound (Malibu)
  • The Boat (Los Angeles)
Genre
Length2:59
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Raine Maida
Avril Lavigne singles chronology
"Nobody's Home"
(2004) 		"He Wasn't"
(2005) 		"Fall to Pieces"
(2005)
Music video
"He Wasn't" on YouTube

"He Wasn't" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne, released as the fourth and final single from her second studio album, Under My Skin (2004). The song was written and produced by Lavigne and Chantal Kreviazuk. It was not released in the United States; instead, "Fall to Pieces" was released. "He Wasn't" was issued in Australia, Europe, and the United Kingdom and received airplay on Canadian radio. AllMusic highlighted the song as one of the most significant post-grunge songs of all time.[1]

Song meaning[edit]

"He Wasn't" is about an unsuccessful relationship between Lavigne and a man who appears to be treating her badly, such as not even opening the door to her. The song is a fast and up-beat take on the boyfriend "not being good enough" as opposed to Lavigne's slower paced songs from Under My Skin on the same matter. On a documentary of the making of the "My Happy Ending" music video, "He Wasn't" plays in the background and Lavigne jokes, "'He wasn't what I wanted'...is that a theme on my record?".[citation needed] Chantal Kreviazuk described the song as "a super-fun, punk, screw-you-to-boys song".[2]

Critical reception[edit]

"He Wasn't" was criticized for the shallowness of the lyrics. Sal Cinquemani of Slant magazine described the song as a "crappy faux-punk tune", mostly because of the lyrical content.[3] David Browne of Entertainment Weekly described the song as a "bratty kiss-off" and labelled it "boardroom-approved mall punk" noting that it sounded similar to songs on Lavigne's first album, Let Go.[4]

However, "He Wasn't" has also been praised for its loud, catchy nature; Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic describes the song as "the fastest, loudest, catchiest, and best song here, and the one closest to the spirit and sound of Let Go".[5] He also highlighted the song as a 'track pick' in a review of the album, Under My Skin.[5] Rolling Stone was positive "The album's best song, a raucous three-minute sprint called "He Wasn't," has a pretty vacant opening line ("There's not much going on today/I'm really bored") and a simple yet ambiguous chorus: "He wouldn't even open up the door/He never made me feel like I was special." but "The words are full of contempt and self-pity, but she sings them like she doesn't really care."[6] Yahoo Music! wrote: ""He Wasn't" maintains this theme (broken relationship) with a dashing, Clash-style chorus that chastises this young man for not opening doors. Jeez, young women these days - one minute they're wearing stack-heeled DMs and fairy queen ra-ra skirts and the next they give you hell for not acting like your dad."[7]

Accolades[edit]

Award/Publisher Year Category Result Ref.
AllMusic 2012 Most Significant Post-grunge Songs of All Time † Longlisted [1]
MTV Video Music Brazil 2005 Best International Video Nominated [8]

Commercial performance[edit]

In the United Kingdom, "He Wasn't" debuted at number 23 and spent four weeks on the chart.[9] In Australia, it debuted at number 25 and spent six weeks on the chart.[10]

Music video[edit]

Background[edit]

The music video was directed by American duo the Malloys in New York on December 13, 2004.[11][12] The production duo previously worked on the music video for Lavigne's "Complicated" (2002). Members of Lavigne's backing band, including Evan Taubenfeld, are featured in the music video.

During the shooting of the music video when the pink slime came out, Lavigne tells that days later her hair was still pink and she needed to redye it because during the next days she was scheduled to have a photoshoot with Cosmopolitan and her hair was looking really messy and all pink.[13]

Synopsis[edit]

Lavigne and her band destroy the instruments while pink paint is poured on them by several holes in the studio.

The video features Lavigne singing and her band playing instruments in the background. There are scenes where she dances around wearing white gloves, a pink skirt, and holding a magic wand (she is portraying a fairy), and other scenes where she is wearing devil horns on her head (she is portraying the devil). It turns out that Lavigne and her band are at a video shoot, and later get into a food fight, much to the dismay of the directors - who are played by Lavigne and the band, all dressed up in wigs and suits. Avril then rebels and smashes her guitar into the camera lens, and then into the paper wall, where pink paint splashes out. The video ends with the band dancing and Lavigne doing the splits.

Live performances[edit]

The song was performed during the Bonez Tour (2004-2005) as the opening song of the concert tour. "He Wasn't" has subsequently been included on Lavigne's the Best Damn World Tour (2008), Black Star Tour (2011-2012), the Avril Lavigne Tour (2013-2014), and Head Above Water Tour (2019).

Track listings and formats[edit]

  1. "He Wasn't" – 2:59
  2. "He Wasn't" (live version) – 3:16
  3. "He Wasn't" (video) 
  4. "Video Diary"
  1. "He Wasn't" – 2:59
  2. "He Wasn't" (live full band performance) – 3:13
  3. "He Wasn't" (live acoustic version) – 3:16
  4. "He Wasn't" (video)
  1. "He Wasn't" – 2:59
  2. "He Wasn't" (live acoustic version) – 3:16

Credits and personnel[edit]

Credits and personnel are adapted from the "He Wasn't" CD single liner notes.[14]

Studios

  • Recorded at Whitecoat Sound (Malibu) and The Boat (Los Angeles)

Personnel

Charts[edit]

Weekly chart performance for "He Wasn't"
Chart (2005) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[10] 25
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[17] 35
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[18] 2
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[19] 2
Canada CHR/Pop Top 30 (Radio & Records)[20] 17
Germany (Official German Charts)[21] 29
Ireland (IRMA)[22] 35
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[23] 9
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[24] 99
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[25] 38
Scotland (OCC)[26] 25
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[27] 43
UK Singles (OCC)[9] 23

Release history[edit]

Release dates and formats for "He Wasn't"
Region Date Format Label Ref.
United Kingdom March 28, 2005 CD Arista [28]
Australia April 4, 2005 [29]
Germany April 18, 2005 [30]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b https://web.archive.org/web/20120928060426/http://www.allmusic.com/subgenre/post-grunge-ma0000005020/songs Significant Post-Grunge songs
  2. ^ Bliss, Karen (April 2004). "Avril Lavigne's Dark Side". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  3. ^ Cinquemani, Sal (May 20, 2004). "Avril Lavigne: Under My Skin". Slant Magazine. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
  4. ^ Browne, David (May 24, 2004). "Under My Skin (2004)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
  5. ^ a b Thomas Erlewine, Stephen. "Under My Skin: Avril Lavigne". Allmusic. Retrieved March 18, 2009.
  6. ^ "Under My Skin". Rolling Stone. June 10, 2004.
  7. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 18, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ^ "MTV anuncia a lista de indicados ao VMB". UOL (in Portuguese). May 18, 2005. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
  9. ^ a b "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
  10. ^ a b "Avril Lavigne – He Wasn't". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
  11. ^ "Avril Lavigne 'He Wasn't' Video". popdirt.com. January 28, 2005. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  12. ^ "ONLY AVRIL | avril-l.org // #1 fansite for Avril Lavigne". Avril-l.org. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  13. ^ "Avril talking about the "He Wasn't" video incident". Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2009 – via YouTube.
  14. ^ a b He Wasn't (UK CD Single liner notes). Avril Lavigne. RCA Records. 2005. 82876 68305 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  15. ^ He Wasn't (AUS CD Single liner notes). Avril Lavigne. RCA Records. 2005. 82876 69074 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. ^ He Wasn't (FRA CD Single liner notes). Avril Lavigne. RCA Records. 2005. 82876 687732.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. ^ "Avril Lavigne – He Wasn't" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
  18. ^ "Avril Lavigne – He Wasn't" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
  19. ^ "Avril Lavigne – He Wasn't" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
  20. ^ "R&R Canada CHR/Pop Top 30" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1602. April 15, 2005. p. 32. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  21. ^ "Avril Lavigne – He Wasn't" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  22. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Avril Lavigne". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  23. ^ "Top 40 Tipparade week 20 van 2005". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  24. ^ "Avril Lavigne – He Wasn't" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
  25. ^ "Avril Lavigne – He Wasn't". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
  26. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  27. ^ "Avril Lavigne – He Wasn't". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
  28. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. March 26, 2005. p. 35.
  29. ^ "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 04/04/2005" (PDF). ARIA. April 4, 2005. p. 29. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 19, 2005. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  30. ^ "He Wasn't". Amazon Germany.
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