Avril Lavigne, a famous Canadian singer-songwriter, has released several studio albums. But by far the best album that she has released is her second studio album, “Under My Skin.” It is her final studio album with Arista Records and her first with RCA Records. It debuted at number one on the Canadian Album Charts and on the Billboard 200 in the US. The album was released on May 25, 2004. 

It has a darker, heavier vibe than her first album, “Let Go.” It has a post-grunge and more aggressive vibe with some rock songs to it. An interesting fact that makes this album even greater is that it is considered one of the albums defined as pop punk despite not being a pop punk album. 

This album is crucial to know for anyone who was growing up in the early 2000s. There are so many good songs on this album, but I am going to talk about three of them, particularly “Nobody’s Home,”  “My Happy Ending,”  and “Slipped Away.”. 

“Nobody’s Home”
This song was the third single released from the album “Under My Skin.” It was written by Lavigne herself along with former guitarist Ben Moody from the band Evanescence. The song has a lot of post-grunge influence, and the mood of the song is anger and defensiveness. The music video for the song is incredible. Lavigine plays a homeless teen who lives on the streets with her friend. I am the type of person who does not watch music videos, but this one is not to be missed. 

“My Happy Ending”

This song peaked at number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100 list. A special part of this song is that it was sung by Lavigne during the closing ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Olympics. The song is about saying goodbye to a relationship after it does not work out. Avril Lavigne’s music videos are my kryptonite, so of course I have watched the music video for “My Happy Ending.” It starts out with Lavigne running down Broadway and entering a cinema. She finds herself watching a montage of her memories of a previous relationship, which is quite emotional if you think about it. Some of the montage shows Lavigne happy with her boyfriend but then shows that he is antagonistic towards her, and she leaves him. She leaves at the end of the video, trying to decide if the breakup was a happy ending for her. The vibe of the music video makes the song even greater than it is without the music video. The decision of whether or not the breakup was a happy ending for her is a decision that is relatable. 

“Slipped Away” 

By far the best song on the album, hands down. Thank you for listening to my Ted Talk. This song serves as a dedication to her grandfather after he passed away while she was on her “Try to Shut Me Up” tour. She had continued the show the night he had died because she did not want to let down her fans. She was a real queen at that moment. One of the lyrics expresses how she never got to say goodbye: “I didn’t get around to kiss you goodbye on the hand.” The lyric sums up how she was feeling at the time that her loved one died. The emotion of the rock-type song makes the lyrics even more powerful for the listener. 

By far, “Under My Skin” is the best and most relatable Avril Lavigne album. There is so much to appreciate in this album, to say the least. I would recommend listening to this album if you are looking for some early 2000s music.