Avril Lavigne - Head Above Water - Single / Tell Me It's Over - Single / Dumb Blonde - Single [Review]

Due primarily to personal strife such as a prolonged battle with Lyme disease and divorce from Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger, French Canadian pop-rock musician Avril Lavigne took an extended break from releasing music, going six years without releasing an album (her most recent being the self-titled album of 2013) and three years without releasing a single (her most recent being the standalone single "Fly" of 2015). September of last year, however, saw Lavigne finally making a comeback with the emotional power ballad "Head Above Water" (the title track of her upcoming sixth studio album), a song that combines elements of pop, rock, country, and gospel and is lush with piano and strings. The song is written about the singer's aforementioned battle with Lyme disease (definitely making it one of the most personal songs that she has released to date, its reflective nature reminding me a great deal of Andrew McMahon's "The Resolution"), asking God to keep her alive: "God, keep my head above water," she pleads. "I lose my breath at the bottom. Come rescue me; I'll be waiting. I'm too young to fall asleep." The part about being too young to fall asleep is the most impactful line of the song in my opinion and really drives home how scary and life-threatening that the disease can be. Although "Head Above Water" offers some of Lavigne's most powerful and impressive vocals to date (something that I immediately recognized upon first listen), I was initially quite disappointed when I first heard the song back in September. I felt that the melody was weak and rather flat, never really going anywhere interesting, and I also did not like the religious references, as the song is really more of a gospel song than it is a secular one, hearkening back to Lavigne's very early days when she recorded songs like "Temple of Life." Ever since releasing her debut album Let Go in 2002, Lavigne has asserted herself as a rebel in more ways than one, so I initially found (and, to an extent, still do find) the fact that she was hitting Contemporary Christian charts to be a bit jarring. I am not Christian myself and therefore find the song difficult to relate to, but I have warmed up to its powerful message of hope, and I have come to love the melody. It's far from being Lavigne's best work to date, but I appreciate it much more than I did upon first listen.

Unlike the title track, the second single released from Head Above Water, titled "Tell Me It's Over," really did not take much time to grow on me, as I pretty much liked it upon first listen. The lyrics of "Tell Me It's Over" aren't as meaningful as those of "Head Above Water," as the song is ultimately just about a failing relationship nearing its end (probably written about her divorce from Chad Kroeger); Avril wants closure, pleading for her lover to "tell me it's over if it's really over." Despite the lyrics being relatively average (I mean, not only is the music industry inundated with breakup songs, but Avril's catalogue itself is - with songs such as "Together," "My Happy Ending," "I Can Do Better," "Everything Back but You," "Goodbye," and "Let Me Go" serving as just a few examples.), I still prefer "Tell Me It's Over" to "Head Above Water" because I, overall, find the melody to be more interesting, and I love the beat heard in the verses - a slow and waltzy beat reminiscent of vintage country and rock & roll from the '60s. (The country flavor found here on "Tell Me It's Over" reminds me of classic and vintage country like Dolly Parton, Skeeter Davis, and the vintage sound heard throughout much of She & Him's material.) Although the music video is not as visually impressive as "Head Above Water" (which was filmed on a coast of Iceland) is, I do love how colorful that it is, such as the colorful glows of the bedroom that change from magenta, to yellow, to blue (probably representing the different stages of the relationship seen throughout the video) and the bright sky blue of Avril's shirt as she sits at the piano outdoors. I really only have two issues with the music video - (a) some of the footage is replayed on a loop and (b) perhaps taking a page from Lana Del Rey's book (see here for an example), Avril is often barely moving her mouth as she lip syncs the lyrics, making it entirely unbelievable that she is actually singing (which, of course, we know that she isn't, but a music video should offer that illusion at least).

The third (and, thus far, final) single released from Head Above Water is titled "Dumb Blonde" and is a collaboration with rapper Nicki Minaj. "Dumb Blonde" serves as a perfect example of why you should never judge an album by its lead single, seeing as how this song couldn't be any more different from "Head Above Water." The song begins with an aggressive marching band beat and Nicki Minaj saying "young money" (a shout-out to Nicki Minaj's record label, which, although sort of one of Nicki's signature marks, is awkward and out of place here given that this is an Avril Lavigne track, and Avril has no affiliation at all with Young Money). Avril's vocals are angry and aggressive in the anthemic chorus in which she declares that "I ain't no dumb blonde. I ain't no stupid Barbie doll. I got my game on. You gon' watch me, watch me, watch me prove you wrong." Her fiery vocals and the rock riffs remind me of many of the tracks found on her 2007 album The Best Damn Thing, with the cheerleader vibe reminding me especially of that album's lead single "Girlfriend" and also of Gwen Stefani's anthemic banger "Hollaback Girl" (the latter of which also has a similar theme of female empowerment and demanding not to be underestimated). This is, by far, my least favorite of the three singles so far, especially because of Nicki's awkward verse near the end of the song. I like Nicki (Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded and The Pinkprint are phenomenal albums), but "Dumb Blonde" was originally a solo song with Nicki's contribution being added last minute, and the choppy production where Nicki's verse is clearly slapped on makes that all too obvious. I also have a feeling that "Dumb Blonde" is going to be the "What the Hell" or "Hello Kitty" of Head Above Water, meaning that its style is going to be the one song that sticks out like a sore thumb. It might grow on me, but as of now, I am not too crazy for "Dumb Blonde," but I do appreciate the message of female empowerment behind it, although the irony of Avril having said that "women should build each other up" is not lost on me, given the fact that Nicki Minaj (who has done her fair share of throwing shade at other women especially in her music, with her most recent feud being with female rapper Cardi B) is featured on the track. "Dumb Blonde" might, as I said, have some room to grow on me, but in the meantime, I am looking forward to the other nine tracks from Head Above Water, which drops this coming Friday, February 15, 2019!