Avril Lavigne Makes a Comeback to Pop-Punk Scene

Image Courtesy of OfficialCharts.com

By Angela Hickey

Pop-punk has been making a comeback in a big way. Affluent artists such as Machine Gun Kelly and WILLOW recently broke out into the genre with albums such as Kelly’s Tickets to My Downfall (2020) or tracks such as WILLOW’s “transparent soul,” which was released in April of 2021. But no one else can compare to society’s favorite pop-punk princess, Avril Lavigne.

Lavigne broke the internet on January 13 with the announcement of her upcoming seventh studio album, Love Sux (2022). The artist teased the new album on Instagram by revealing the album’s cover. This announcement served as Lavigne’s comeback to pop-punk after taking a mild genre break back in early 2013, focusing more on the pop aspect of pop-punk. This is also the singers’ first album since the release of her 2019 confessional, Head Above Water.

The artist is best known for her unique sound that has captivated audiences for generations, with tracks such as “Girlfriend,” “What the Hell,” and “Sk8er Boi” dominating the early 2000s. And audiences can see her returning to her roots in this new soundtrack.

The album was teased with the release of its third official track, “Bite Me,” back in November, followed by the release of the album’s fourth track, “Love it When You Hate Me,” on January 14th, featuring prominent artist Blackbear.

The 12-track collection will also feature collaborations with popular artists Machine Gun Kelly and Blink-182’s bassist-singer, Mark Hoppus. 

“So with the album, Love Sux was one of the first ones that I kind of wrote. I wrote that one earlier on and that ended up setting the tone for the rest of the record,” Lavigne said in an interview with Forbes. “Then I was like, ‘I need a minute. I need a break from relationships, I’m over love.’ That was the headspace I was in. And then through the process of making the record, I got into a relationship. And then a song like “Dare To Love Me” I was like, ‘Okay. It’s a more vulnerable song.’”

In order to celebrate the album’s release, Lavigne is performing a special show for SiriusXM at the Roxy in L.A. Also, in October, Lavigne will be one of the headliners for the highly anticipated “When We Were Young” festival in Las Vegas, which has sold out all three days.

“Although it’s called Love Sux, it’s very light-hearted and playful and fun and feisty and funny, and there’s a really good message there too,” Lavigne said. “It’s like self-empowerment, having self-worth, knowing when to say no, putting yourself first.  It’s like the trials and tribulations of love, and love is not easy, but also like you live, you learn and you know what you want and deserve, and there’s that message in there.”

The album is set to release Friday, February 25 on CD and will be available for streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.