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"Sk8er Boi" (pronounced "skater boy") is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne, released as the second single from her debut album, Let Go (2002). It was written by Avril Lavigne and The Matrix (Scott Spock, Lauren Christy, and Graham Edwards), and produced by The Matrix. The song is a rock track, which lyrically, tells a story told from the singer's viewpoint about her rocker boyfriend and a girl he knew in high school who rejected him because he was a skateboarder and she was a snob.

The song received critical appreciation, with most commending its hook, calling the song "funny" and "clever". It also received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance at the 2003 edition. Commercially, "Sk8er Boi" was a success, reaching the top-ten in more than ten countries, such as Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States (becoming Lavigne's second top ten single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart) and sold over 1.8 million copies worldwide. According to Spin, "Sk8er Boi" has the 5th best pop-punk chorus of the 21st century.[1]

The music video for the song, directed by Francis Lawrence, features a concert on a city street with Lavigne singing on the hood of a car with a crowd rocking out around her. It was a success on TRL and was voted one of the best music videos of the decade by BT TV. The song was featured in all of the concerts and tours held by Lavigne, since her first, "Try To Shut Me Up Tour" (2002-2003) until her latest, "The Avril Lavigne Tour" (2013-2014).

Background[]

The song is actually a story that "I" (Avril Lavigne) is telling. It is about a skater boy (punk who liked a pretty girl who did ballet, so she was very different from him) though she liked him too. But since her friends didn't like him she turned him down. Five years later, she is a single mother. She turns on the TV and sees the skater boy who is now a superstar. She calls her friends who already know and bought tickets to see his show. She goes to the show and tries to get him back. But the boy is "I"'s boyfriend or husband. "I" tells the boy she will be backstage after the show and she will later go to the studio to sing the song they both wrote about the girl that rejected him.

Music video[]

The music video was directed by Francis Lawrence and premiered on 22 August 2002 on TRL. The video shot to number-one on TRL on its second day of the countdown. The video was considered the third 'Best music video of the decade' in the UK by BT Vision, while ET Canada ranked the video at number 2 on her "Top 10 Best Music Videos".

The video centers around an impromptu concert held by Avril in a Los Angeles street intersection. It begins by showing multiple people of Avril's band promoting the concert in advance via graffiti, flyers, email and posters. Avril and her band arrive at the location and begin performing on the roof of their cars; a crowd quickly gathers. Towards the end of the song, police cars and a helicopter arrive to disperse the crowd, while Lavigne uses her guitar to break the car windscreen. Avril then throws the guitar onto the road and looks up at the helicopter, where a shot was taken for the single's artwork.

The impromptu concert was filmed in the intersection of 7th St & S Spring St in Los Angeles on 28 July 2002, after the remainder of the scenes had been completed the previous day.

Awards and nominations[]

Sk8er Boi was nominated and won many awards. In the 2003 Grammy Awards edition, Lavigne received 5 nominations, including Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for "Sk8er Boi", but lost it to Sheryl Crow's "Steve McQueen". The song won "Favorite Song" at the 2003 Kids' Choice Awards, "Choice Music Single" at the 2003 Teen Choice Awards and "Best Pop Song" at Socan Awards.

Track listing[]

Australia CD single[]

  1. "Sk8er Boi" - 3:23
  2. "Get Over It" - 3:27
  3. "Nobody's Fool" (live in Vancouver for Z95) - 3:58

United Kingdom and Mexico CD single[]

  1. "Sk8er Boi"- 3:23
  2. "Get Over It" - 3:27
  3. "Nobody's Fool" (live in Vancouver for Z95) - 3:58
  4. "Sk8er Boi" (music video) - 3:38

France CD single[]

  1. "Sk8er Boi"- 3:23
  2. "Get Over It" - 3:27

Australia, United Kingdom and United States CD promo[]

  1. "Sk8er Boi" - 3:23

Japan CD promo[]

  1. "Sk8er Boi" (live from Buffalo) - 4:10

United States vinyl promo[]

  1. "Sk8er Boi" (side A) - 3:23
  2. "I'm With You" (side B) - 3:44

Lyrics[]

[Verse 1]
He was a boy, she was a girl
Can I make it any more obvious?
He was a punk, she did ballet
What more can I say?
He wanted her, she'd never tell
But secretly she wanted him as well
But all of her friends stuck up their nose
They had a problem with his baggy clothes

[Chorus]
He was a sk8er boi, she said "see you later, boy"
He wasn't good enough for her
She had a pretty face, but her head was up in space
She needed to come back down to earth

[Verse 2]
Five years from now, she sits at home
Feeding the baby, she's all alone
She turns on TV, guess who she sees
Sk8er boi rocking up MTV
She calls up her friends, they already know
And they've all got tickets to see his show
She tags along, stands in the crowd
Looks up at the man that she turned down

[Chorus 2]
He was a sk8er boi, she said "see you later, boy"
He wasn't good enough for her
Now he's a superstar, slamming on his guitar
Does your pretty face see what he's worth?

[Chorus 2]
He was a sk8er boi, she said "see you later, boy"
He wasn't good enough for her
Now he's a superstar, slamming on his guitar
Does your pretty face see what he's worth?

[Bridge]
Sorry, girl, but you missed out
Well, tough luck, that boy's mine now
We are more than just good friends
This is how the story ends
Too bad that you couldn't see
See the man that boy could be
There is more than meets the eye
I see the soul that is inside

[Breakdown]
He's just a boy and I'm just a girl
Can I make it any more obvious?
We are in love, haven't you heard
How we rock each other's world?

[Chorus 3]
I'm with the sk8er boi, I said "see you later, boy"
I'll be backstage after the show
I'll be at a studio, singing the song we wrote
About a girl you used to know
I'm with the sk8er boi, I said "see you later, boy"
I'll be backstage after the show
I'll be at a studio, singing the song we wrote
About a girl you used to know

Trivia[]

  • This song has been covered by Cascada under the title "Sk8ter Boi".
  • The song is also featured in the video game Rock Revolution.
  • It is also available as a downloadable track for the video game Rocksmith 2014.
  • Ashnikko did a modern feminist/sexism parody called "L8er Boi".

Gallery[]

Navigation[]

  1. The 21 Best Pop-Punk Choruses of the 21st Century. "The 21 Best Pop-Punk Choruses of the 21st Century". Retrieved 30 April 2017. "5. Avril Lavigne – “Sk8er Boi” The choruses in “Sk8er Boi” are all different, but they all start the same way: “He was a sk8er boi / She said see you later boi,” two lines that won’t stop being funny until animals stop riding skateboards. Which chorus is best? It might be the first one (“He wasn’t good enough for her”), but actually it’s the second, the one where Avril might as well say “plot twist” first: “Now he’s a superstar / Slammin’ on his guitar.” — AG" 
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