Complicated – Avril Lavigne | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#2) and Adult Top 40 (#1); 2002
Story Behind The Song By Harris Sterling
In 2002, Avril Lavigne introduced herself to mainstream audiences with Complicated, the lead single from her debut album Let Go. Written by Lavigne along with production team The Matrix, the song became her breakthrough hit.
Produced by The Matrix, the recording combined pop-rock guitars with a polished radio-friendly arrangement. Released in the spring of 2002, Complicated reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped multiple adult radio charts.
The lyric centers on frustration within a relationship, specifically the tension that arises when someone behaves differently in public than in private. Rather than heartbreak, the song addresses authenticity and the pressure to impress others.
Complicated earned Grammy nominations and established Avril Lavigne as one of the defining pop-rock artists of the early 2000s.
Produced by:
The Matrix
Lyrics Written by:
Avril Lavigne
Lauren Christy
Scott Spock
Graham Edwards
Awards:
Nominated for Grammy Award for Song of the Year (2003)
Nominated for Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (2003)
Harris Sterling
Independent music label executive Harris Sterling has worked in the music industry for most of his career.
As Executive Vice President for independent music label Madacy Entertainment, he led the strategic marketing and business development for the label, negotiating agreements with the major record labels to release custom music compilations under license with major brands, such as Ford Motor Company, Crayola, Care Bears and Elvis Presley Enterprises.
Harris also led Madacy’s strategy for the licensing of its entire music catalogue to Apple for their launch of the IPOD.
In 2011, Harris co-founded Starting Five Media, a company that specializes in recording and licensing custom renditions of popular songs as well as clearing the rights to the music composition for use by their clients in media projects.
Harris has negotiated publishing and master recording rights for many Top 40 songs for use in various media projects, TV Commercials and more.