Sk8er Boi

"Sk8er Boi"
Single by Avril Lavigne from the album Let Go
B-side	"Get Over It"
Released	c. August 2002
Format	Airplay, CD single
Genre	Punk-pop / Post-grunge
Length	3:24
Label	Arista
Writer	Avril Lavigne Scott Spock Lauren Christy Graham Edwards
Producer	The Matrix
Certification	Platinum (RIANZ)
Avril Lavigne singles chronology
"Complicated" (2002) "Sk8er Boi" (2002) "I'm with You" (2002/2003)
Alternate cover
"Sk8er Boi" alternate cover.

"Sk8er Boi" (i.e., "Skater Boy") is the second single from Avril Lavigne's debut album, Let Go. Released in 2002, the single reached number ten on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Lavigne's second top-ten single there, number eight in the United Kingdom, number three in Australia and number one in Spain, becoming her second number one there after the success of "Complicated". "Sk8er Boi" also peaked at number thirteen in Canada. In Japan it stayed for 44 weeks in the charts and also reached number ten.^[1]

Song information

Avril singing on top of a car, in the middle of the crowded street.

The song was written by Avril Lavigne and The Matrix (Scott Spock, Lauren Christy, and Graham Edwards), and produced by The Matrix. In this guitar-driven uptempo song, Lavigne tells the tale of the turbulent courtship between a "sk8er boi" (skater boy) and a more preppy girl who did ballet. Although they're both attracted to each other, the girl rejects him against her own secret feelings because of peer pressure. In the end the boy becomes famous and is with another girl who cares for him (Avril sings in that girl's point of view), whereas the preppy girl is now feeling regret for letting pass her chance with the "sk8er boi". Articles in J-14 Magazine and Teen People trace the inspiration of the song to former San Diego rock-quartet frontman, Marc Gould, whom Lavigne dated during the production of her album in 2001-2002. The music video was directed by Francis Lawrence.

Track listing

CD Maxi

1. "Sk8er Boi"
2. "Get Over It"
3. "Nobody's Fool" (live)

UK Single

1. "Sk8er Boi"
2. "Get Over It"
3. "Nobody's Fool" (live)
4. "Sk8er Boi" (music video)

Music video

The music video begins with what may be the "Sk8er Boi" in the alley of a city with a pile of spray paint on the ground. The music video goes along with posters that have a star on them advertising a concert Avril hosts, where people use their cars and amps to have the concert on the streets. The concert gets so wild the police come in trying to stop it. At the end of the video, Avril crashes her guitar into the car windshield. Then a police helicopter comes in, leaving a mystery as to what they will do.

Use of song in media

• Cold Case (Season 3, "The Promise", October 2, 2005)
• A cover version of the song by Angela Michael appears in Elite Beat Agents for the Nintendo DS.
• SingStar Pop (PlayStation 2 game)

Movie adaptation

In 2003, Paramount Pictures optioned the song for adaptation into a feature film.^[2] However, as of December 2006, the film has apparently been abandoned or is stuck in development hell.^[3]

Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• In the music video, Avril wears a t-shirt with the logo for Wilkesboro Elementary School, a North Carolina elementary school. After the video was released the school was flooded with so many requests for the t-shirts that they were able to buy computers with the extra revenue from t-shirt sales.^[4][5]
• (Goof) At the beginning of the video Avril is wearing blue pants. When she's outside on the car roof performing, her pants are black and a bit longer.
• The punk-pop band Paramore occasionally features a section of "Sk8er Boi", among other songs, at the end of live performances of their song "Here We Go Again".
• The dance trio Cascada has recorded the song for their upcoming second album Perfect Day.

Charts

References