Here's to Never Growing Up
"Here's to Never Growing Up" | |||||||
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Single by Avril Lavigne | |||||||
from the album Avril Lavigne | |||||||
Released | 9 April 2013 | ||||||
Format | |||||||
Recorded | 2013 | ||||||
Genre | Pop rock | ||||||
Length | 3:35 | ||||||
Label | Epic | ||||||
Writer(s) |
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Producer(s) | Martin Johnson | ||||||
Avril Lavigne singles chronology | |||||||
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"Here's to Never Growing Up" is a song recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne for her self-titled fifth studio album in 2013. The song was written by Lavigne, David Hodges, Chad Kroeger, Jacob Kasher, and its producer Martin Johnson. It was released as the lead single from the album on 9 April 2013, by Epic Records. "Here's to Never Growing Up" is a midtempo pop rock song that talks about a "celebration of being forever young" and features a reference to English alternative rock band Radiohead.
Music critics provided mixed reviews to "Here's to Never Growing Up" and drew comparisons between the song and songs by Lavigne's contemporaries such as Katy Perry, Kesha, and Taylor Swift. The single was an international success, reaching number one on the Taiwan and Philippines charts, while reaching the top ten in Belgium, China, Ireland, Japan, Russia, Scotland, South Korea, South Africa and Ukraine, also reaching the top twenty in Australia, Canada, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States despite the lack of initial exposure. It achieved certifications by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) due to the chart success.
An accompanying music video for "Here's to Never Growing Up" was directed by Robert Hales. It features Lavigne and her band performing at the school's prom, and resembles to the music video for her 2002 single "Complicated". The video gained positive feedback from critics, who praised Lavigne's look in the clip. Due to the song's success, Lavigne performed "Here's to Never Growing Up" on a number of shows, including Dancing with the Stars, The Today Show and The Voice UK.
Background
"When I was writing it, I was thinking about being younger – I’m still in my 20s, but you know, like high school - and with my 20s being in music and everything, I love the concept of ‘simply prom’ for the video".
"Here's to Never Growing Up" was written by Lavigne, David Hodges, Chad Kroeger, Jacob Kasher, and producer of the song Martin Johnson. The song was recorded in early 2013 at Henson Recording Studios.[2] During an interview with Ryan Seacrest for 102.7 KIIS-FM show, Lavigne said, "I wanted to write something fun and summery. It's about being young, wanting to be young forever, living in the moment and having a blast".[2] Talking about the song's conception to 4Music, Lavigne revealed that she missed her high school prom so much, and that was the reason why she wrote "Here's to Never Growing Up".[1] She said, "When I was writing it, I was thinking about being younger – I’m still in my 20s, but you know, like high school - and with my 20s being in music and everything, I love the concept of ‘simply prom’ for the video".[1] Lavigne announced the song would be released as the first single from her fifth studio album on 8 February 2013 via Twitter.[3] Lavigne later revealed the single's official artwork as well as its release date via Twitter on 3 April 2013.[4] Epic Records premiered "Here's to Never Growing Up" on On Air with Ryan Seacrest (KIIS-FM) radio show, on iTunes Stores and eventually sent the single to US contemporary hit radio station on 9 April 2013.[2][5][6]
Composition
"Here's to Never Growing Up" (2013)
A 21 second sample of "Here's to Never Growing Up"'s chorus. A midtempo pop rock song,[7] it discusses a "celebration of being forever young".[8] Critics draw comparisons between the track and songs such as "22", "We Are Young", and "Teenage Dream".[9] | |
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"Here's to Never Growing Up" is a midtempo pop rock song, with a moderate tempo of 82 beats per minute.[7][10][11][12] It is composed in the key of F major.[12] Lavigne's vocal range in the track spans from the low-note of A3 to the high-note of C6.[12] The "punchy" song is built around a "big, kick-drum" stomp, acoustic-guitar-strumming, and simple-minded tunes.[1][13] Digital Spy editor Robert Cospey wrote the song has a "pumping guitars 'n drums melody".[8] Melinda Newman from HitFix thought that "Here's to Never Growing Up" is a "throwback" to Kesha's "Tik Tok" (2009) and Lavigne's "Girlfriend" (2007) for the same musical structure.[13]
Lyrically, the song talks about a "celebration of being forever young".[8] In the song, Lavigne sings about the things she’s going to do that she believes will keep her forever young, such as getting drunk and dancing on a bar, running down the street screaming profanities, blasting music and staying up all night.[9] At the beginning, Lavigne sings "Singing Radiohead at the top of our lungs", referencing rock band Radiohead, which is also features in the chorus.[8] At the chorus, she continues "We'll be running down the street yelling kiss my ass", followed by and "ear-snagging chant" of "oh-woah-oh".[8] Lavigne declares her celebration at the second verse, "This is who we are/ I don't think we'll ever change/ They say 'Just grow up,' but they don't know us/ We don't give a f-ck!".[10]
Critical reception
"Here's to Never Growing Up" received mixed reviews from contemporary critics. Idolator praised the song, stating that it was different than the typical dance-pop songs and named it the Song of the Summer 2013. Digital Spy critic Robert Cospey gave the song a three stars out of five rating, writing "The result is nothing she hasn't given us before, but there's no harm in having one last hurrah".[8] Amy Sciarretto from PopCrush provided the track a score of two and a half stars, commenting that the song sounds too similar to Lavigne's previous single "Complicated".[15] Melinda Newman of HitFix provided a mixed review, writing that "You may find yourself begrudgingly clapping your hands and swaying to the generic "Here’s To Never Growing Up", but you won’t like yourself for doing so. It feels like it was crafted in some pop lab as "the song" that will get Lavigne back on the charts".[13] Tris McCall from New Jersey On-Line was more positive, commenting that the song "likely to be a summertime anthem" and compared its theme to songs by Lavigne's contemporaries such as "22" by Taylor Swift, "We Are Young" by fun., and "Teenage Dream" by Katy Perry.[9] Entertainment Weekly's Kyle Anderson deemed "Here's to Never Growing Up" "a classic drinking tune" and compared the song's theme to Kesha's "Die Young" and Pink's "Raise Your Glass".[14] A reviewer from The Huffington Post also thought that the track was similar to works by Kesha and Taylor Swift, calling it "a bouncy anthem".[16]
Chart performance
On the chart dated 27 April 2013, the song debuted at number 52 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking Lavigne's 16th entry in the chart.[17] The song reached a peak at number 20 in the week of 29 June, becoming her 10th top 40 in United States and causing the song to surge from 23rd to 7th on the Digital Songs chart with more than 131,000 downloads sold that week.[18][19] As of September 2015, "Here's to Never Growing Up" has sold 1.3 million copies in the United States and more than 2.5 million copies worldwide.[20]
"Here's to Never Growing Up" debuted on ARIA Singles Chart at number 16 and one week later peaked at number 15. The song peaked at number 7 in Ireland, 8 in Scotland and 14 in the United Kingdom. The song was well received in Asia where in most of the countries it stood atop the charts. It did extremely well in China, where it grabbed the 2nd Most played song of the year 2013 before Rock n' Roll.
Music video
The music video was directed by Robert Hales, with photography by Ketil Dietrichson[21] and art direction by Lenny Tso. On 8 April 2013, Lavigne began shooting the video for the song, the second day of the shooting was on 19 April, confirmed by Lavigne on Twitter and the official premiere was on 9 May. The video shows Lavigne playing with her band, which included Lavigne's original guitarist, Evan Taubenfeld, who returned for the music video, at a school during the senior prom. It also features scenes of Lavigne and her friends having a fun time at the school, eventually causing chaos. It also shows scenes of Lavigne singing in an empty classroom, that eventually shows all her friends dancing and having fun. The video makes allusions to Lavigne's first music video "Complicated", wearing the same outfit and skateboarding.
Live performances
Lavigne performed the song live for the first time on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on 26 April 2013. She also performed it on the semi-final results on Dancing with the Stars on 14 May, and on The Today Show on 17 May 2013. Lavigne sang the song on the Wango Tango on 11 May 2013. She also performed it on 14 June on Live! with Kelly and Michael, on 15 June on The Voice UK, and on 16 June on the 2013 MuchMusic Video Awards.
Track listing
- Digital download
- "Here's to Never Growing Up" – 3:35
- CD single
- "Here's to Never Growing Up" – 3:35
- "Here's to Never Growing Up" (Instrumental) – 3:35
Credits and personnel
- Lead vocals, drums - Avril Lavigne
- Songwriting, drums – Avril Lavigne, Martin Johnson, Chad Kroeger, David Hodges, J. Kash
- Production, drums – Martin Johnson, additional by Kyle Moorman and Brandon Paddock
- Mixing – Serban Ghenea
- Engineering – Kyle Moorman, Brandon Paddock
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
Certifications
|
Release history
Region | Date | Format | Label | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Various | 9 April 2013 | Digital download | Epic | [57][58][59][60][61] |
Germany | Sony Music | [62] | ||
Philippines | [63] | |||
United States | Contemporary hit radio | Epic | [64] | |
Italy | 12 April 2013 | Sony Music | [65] | |
United States | 15 April 2013 | Hot/Modern/AC radio | Epic | [66] |
Taiwan | 17 May 2013 | CD single | Sony Music | [67] |
United Kingdom | 14 July 2013 | Digital download | Epic | [68] |
China | 1 August 2013 | CD single | Sony Music | [69] |
Awards
Year | Awards ceremony | Award | Results |
---|---|---|---|
2013 | MuchMusic Video Awards | International Video Of The Year By A Canadian | Won |
Billboard Mid-Year Music Awards | Best Music Video | Nominated | |
World Music Awards | World's Best Song | Nominated | |
World's Best Video | Nominated | ||
2014 | Radio Disney Music Awards | That's My Jam | Nominated |
2015 | VEVOCertified Awards | 100.000.000 views | Won |
References
- 1 2 3 4 Maynard, Trent (3 May 2013). "News: Avril Lavigne On Never Growing Up, Living In The Moment And Scrapbooking". 4Music. Channel 4. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
- 1 2 3 Ryan Seacrest (host) (9 April 2013). Avril Lavigne Debuts "Here's To Never Growing Up": Interview, On Air with Ryan Seacrest, Part 1 (radio show). United States: KISS-FM.
- ↑ Corner, Lewis (8 February 2013). "Avril Lavigne announces new single 'Here's To Never Growing Up'". Digital Spy. Hearst Corporation. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
- ↑ Lansky, Sam (3 April 2013). "Avril Lavigne Unveils "Here's To Never Growing Up" Single Artwork & Release Date". Idolator. Buzz Media. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
- ↑ "Available for Airplay". FMQB. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
- ↑ "Here's to Never Growing Up – Single by Avril Lavigne". iTunes Store (US). Apple Inc. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
- 1 2 Lipshutz, Jason (9 May 2013). "Avril Lavigne Refuses To Age in 'Here's To Never Growing Up' Video". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Cospey, Robert (23 June 2013). "Avril Lavigne: 'Here's To Never Growing Up': Single Review". Digital Spy. Hearst Corporation. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
- 1 2 3 4 McCall, Tris (2 June 2013). "Song of the Week: 'Here's to Never Growing Up', Avril Lavigne". New Jersey On-Line. Limited Liability Company. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
- 1 2 Benjamin, Jeff (8 April 2013). "Listen: Avril Lavigne's New Single "Here's To Never Growing Up"". Fuse. The Madison Square Garden Company. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
- ↑ Vena, Jocelyn (9 April 2013). "Avril Lavigne Toasts New Song With Chad Kroeger: 'Here's To Never Growing Up'". MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
- 1 2 3 "Avril Lavigne's "Here's to Never Growing Up" Sheet Music". Musicnotes.com. EMI Music Publishing. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
- 1 2 3 4 Newman, Melinda (9 April 2013). "Avril Lavigne's new song: Here's To Never Growing Up: Review". HitFix. HitFix Inc. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
- 1 2 Anderson, Kyle (8 April 2013). "Avril Lavigne releases new single 'Here's to Never Growing Up': Hear It Here". The Music-Mix Blog. Entertainment Weekly. Time Warner. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
- ↑ Sciarretto, Amy (8 April 2013). "Avril Lavigne, 'Here's to Never Growing Up'". PopCrush. Townsquare Media. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
- ↑ Rosen, Christopher (4 April 2013). "Avril Lavigne's 'Here's To Never Growing Up': It's Complicated (AUDIO)". The Huffington Post. AOL. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
- ↑ "US Singles Top 100 (April 27, 2013)". aCharts.co via Billboard. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
- ↑ "The Hot 100" (The Week Of June 29, 2013). Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
- ↑ "Digital Songs" (The Week Of June 29, 2013). Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
- 1 2 Trust, Gary (6 September 2015). "Ask Billboard: Avril Lavigne's Best-Selling Songs & Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
- ↑ "Avril Lavigne "Here's To Never Growing Up" (Robert Hales, dir.)". VideoStatic. 2013-05-09. Retrieved 2013-07-20.
- ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Avril Lavigne – Here's To Never Growing Up". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
- ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Avril Lavigne – Here's To Never Growing Up" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Avril Lavigne – Here's To Never Growing Up" (in Dutch). Ultratip.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Avril Lavigne – Here's To Never Growing Up" (in French). Ultratip.
- ↑ "Avril Lavigne – Chart history" Canadian Hot 100 for Avril Lavigne.
- ↑ "Avril Lavigne – Chart history" Billboard Canada AC for Avril Lavigne.
- ↑ "Avril Lavigne – Chart history" Billboard Canada CHR/Top 40 for Avril Lavigne.
- ↑ "Avril Lavigne – Chart history" Billboard Canada Hot AC for Avril Lavigne.
- ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201325 into search.
- ↑ "综合榜 2013年 第32周". Sino Chart.
- ↑ "Lescharts.com – Avril Lavigne – Here's To Never Growing Up" (in French). Les classement single.
- ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Avril Lavigne – Here's To Never Growing Up". GfK Entertainment Charts.
- ↑ "Chart Track: Week 23, 2013". Irish Singles Chart.
- ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Avril Lavigne – Here's To Never Growing Up". Top Digital Download.
- ↑ "Avril Lavigne – Chart history" Japan Hot 100 for Avril Lavigne.
- ↑ "Billboard Japan Hot Overseas│Charts│Billboard JAPAN". Billboard-japan.com. Retrieved 2013-12-15.
- ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Avril Lavigne – Here's To Never Growing Up" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Avril Lavigne search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
- ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Avril Lavigne – Here's To Never Growing Up". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
- ↑ "Archive Chart: 2013-07-21". Scottish Singles Top 40. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
- ↑ ":: 가온차트와 함께하세요 ::". Gaonchart.co.kr. Retrieved 2013-07-20.
- ↑ "SNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201324 into search.
- ↑ "EMA Top 10 Airplay: Week Ending 2013-06-11". Entertainment Monitoring Africa. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
- ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Avril Lavigne – Here's To Never Growing Up" Canciones Top 50.
- ↑ "Taiwan Five Music Western Chart Top 20 (Week 21, 2013)". Retrieved 21 June 2013.
- ↑ "Archive Chart: 2013-07-27" UK Singles Chart.
- ↑ "Avril Lavigne – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Avril Lavigne.
- ↑ "Avril Lavigne – Chart history" Billboard Adult Pop Songs for Avril Lavigne.
- ↑ "Avril Lavigne – Chart history" Billboard Pop Songs for Avril Lavigne.
- ↑ "Best of 2013 - Canadian Hot 100 Songs". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2013-12-15.
- ↑ "South Korea Year End Chart 2013". GAONCHART. Retrieved 2014-01-22.
- ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2013 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association.
- ↑ "Canadian single certifications – Avril Lavigne – Here's To Never Growing Up". Music Canada.
- ↑ "American single certifications – Avril Lavigne – Here's To Never Growing Up". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
- ↑ APFV (30 November 2013). "Certificaciones De Venezuela Del 2013" (PDF) (in Spanish). APFV. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
- ↑ "Get Avril Lavigne's "Here's To Never Growing Up" at iTunes 4/9!". Epic Records. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
- ↑ "Here's To Never Growing Up - Single". itunes.apple.com/ru. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
- ↑ "Here's To Never Growing Up - Single". itunes.apple.com/nl. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
- ↑ "Here's To Never Growing Up: Avril Lavigne: Amazon.it: Music". Amazon.it. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
- ↑ "Here's To Never Growing Up: Avril Lavigne: Amazon.es: Tienda MP3". Amazon.es. 1 January 1970. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
- ↑ "Avril Lavigne - Downloads - Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH". Sonymusic.de. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
- ↑ "Avril Lavigne - Downloads - iTunes Philippines". iTunesph. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
- ↑ "Radio Industry News, Music Industry Updates, Arbitron Ratings, Music News and more!". FMQB. Archived from the original on April 15, 2013. Retrieved 2013-07-20.
- ↑ "AVRIL LAVIGNE - Heres To Never Growing Up (Sony) | Radio Date 12/04/2013". Radioairplay.fm. Retrieved 2013-12-15.
- ↑ "Hot/Modern/AC Future Releases". All Access Media Group. Archived from the original on April 12, 2013.
- ↑ "五大唱片". 5music.com.tw. 2013-05-17. Retrieved 2013-07-20.
- ↑ "iTunes - Music - Here's To Never Growing Up - Single by Avril Lavigne". Itunes.apple.com. 2013-06-30. Retrieved 2013-07-20.
- ↑ "艾薇儿 Avril Lavigne:拒绝长大 Here's To Never Growing Up". Amazon.