Head Above Water (song)

"Head Above Water" is a song by Canadian singer Avril Lavigne from her sixth studio album of the same name (2019). It was written by Lavigne and Travis Clark of We The Kings alongside its producer Stephan Moccio. It was released as the lead single from the album on September 19, 2018, by BMG Rights Management.[1][2] It is Lavigne's first single since "Fly", released on April 2015. Commercially, the song peaked at number 64 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and entered the charts of 24 other countries and regions. In August 2019, a new version featuring vocals from We The Kings' Travis Clark was released.[3]

"Head Above Water"
Single by Avril Lavigne
from the album Head Above Water
ReleasedSeptember 19, 2018 (2018-09-19)
Genre
Length3:40
LabelBMG
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Stephan Moccio
Avril Lavigne singles chronology
"Fly"
(2015)		 "Head Above Water"
(2018)		 "Tell Me It's Over"
(2018)
Music video
"Head Above Water" on YouTube

Background and release
Those were the worst years of my life as I went through both physical and emotional battles. I was able to turn that fight into music I'm really proud of. I wrote songs in my bed and on the couch and recorded there mostly as well. Words and lyrics that were so true to my experience came pouring out of me effortlessly

—Lavigne on releasing "Head Above Water" as lead single.[4]

After more than a year from the release of the last single from her fifth studio album, on December 25, 2016, Lavigne announced via her Instagram account that she was working on new music for her upcoming sixth studio album.

On August 18, 2018, Lavigne posted on Instagram that new music is coming in September. At the end of August, the song "Head Above Water" was registered and Lavigne deleted almost all her pictures on Instagram.

On September 1, Lavigne shared a picture of her underwater via her social media. Several people reported that the image was related to the song "Head Above Water". On September 6, Lavigne posted a lengthy letter to her fans on her website detailing her struggle with Lyme disease in the past few years and how she overcame it. This also included a release date for "Head Above Water". She wrote on the letter about the song "I had accepted death and could feel my body shutting down. I felt like I was drowning. Like I was going under water and I just needed to come up for air. Like I was in a river being pulled in a current. Unable to breathe. Praying to God for Him to help me just keep my head above the water. To help me see through the stormy weather."

Lavigne shared a 30-second-snippet of the song on September 13, 2018.

The song was officially released on YouTube and streaming services on September 19, 2018.

Writing

The song was written by Lavigne, Travis Clark of the band We The Kings, and the song's producer Stephan Moccio. Lavigne described the writing process as "a beautiful experience". She explained she started writing the song during a tough time battling Lyme disease a few years prior, thinking her life was over. She recalled: "one night when I was starting to feel better, I had a party at my house and somehow Travis was there. I had never met him before. I found him on my piano and I just thought he was so unbelievably talented, and I asked him to finish the song with me".  Lavigne further said they worked "so hard" on the song and were able to take her story and put it out in the world. She concluded, "I hope that my words in this song [...] bring you hope, faith, light,and strength and that you also are able to keep your head above the water".[3]

Composition

"Head Above Water" is an "empowering" pop rock and Christian rock ballad, backed by steady-building mix of piano, strings, synths and thunderous drums. Lavigne described it as a "spiritual experience." Lavigne's vocal range spans from low F3 to high F5 in the song.[5][6][3] Musically the song is in the key of F major and shifts between 2/4 and 4/4 time signatures.[7]

Critical reception

Marina Pedrosa of Billboard wrote that "Head Above Water" "is a powerful, spiritual epiphany detailing the Canadian singer's journey through her battle with Lyme disease."[8] Robin Murray of Clash complimented the track's production and deemed it a "highly personal note". Murray described the song's lyrics and production in detail: "Now, we've never been 100% behind Avril Lavigne's music, but we can't help but be touched by the way she's approached what must be an enormously challenging situation."[9] Writing for Spin, Anna Gaca described the track as a "dramatic piano ballad of resilience".[10] Madeline Roth of MTV Canada named "Head Above Water" an "emotionally charged comeback". Roth was impressed with the fact that the song wasn't "just metaphorical", because "it documents a culminating moment in Lavigne's years-long struggle with Lyme disease".[11] Katherine Gillespie from Paper wrote that "Head Above Water" is a "heavy piano ballad about just that: trying to stay alive."[12]

Lindsay Elizabeth of Faithwire gave the song a positive review, calling it a "powerful worship ballad". Elizabeth further praised that "Lavigne details her relationship with God, and how He saved her when she thought she was at the end of her life."[13] Michael Foust of Christian Headlines described the song as a "God-centric song" that even could be labeled "praise and worship",[14] while Maria Sherman of Jezebel considered the song's nature as "dramatic Christian rock vibes" and compared it to Rachel Platten's 2015 single "Fight Song".[15]

Chart performance

"Head Above Water" debuted at number 37 on the Canadian Hot 100 for 27 weeks, and number 2 on the US Christian Songs Billboard for 27 weeks, the song also debuted at number 64, on the US Billboard Hot 100 for 2 weeks. "Head Above Water" debuted at number 2 on the Billboard Hot Canadian Digital Song Sales for 27 weeks, and number 10 at the Billboard Canada Hot AC for 28 weeks, and number 2 on Billboard Christian Streaming Songs for 34 weeks, and number 2 on Billboard Digital Song Sales for 7 weeks, and number 42 on Billboard Japan Hot 100 for 4 weeks, and number 39 on Billboard Canada CHR/TOP 40 for 18 weeks, and number 5 on Hungary Single Top 40, and number 5 on Billboard Canada AC for 36 weeks. The song entered the iTunes Worldwide Song Charts at #1 in 23 countries. "Head Above Water" was certified Gold in the United States RIAA with 820,000 units, and in Canada Music Canada it was certified 2x Platinum with 165,000 units, also in Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil) it was certified Gold with 70,000 units, in Japan the song was sold with 85,000 units, in China the song was sold with over 3,000,000 units, in UK the song was sold with 75,000 units, in Philippines the song sold with 65,000 units, in DE the song sold with 50,000 units, in TW the song sold with 45,000 units, in AU the song sold with 40,000 units, in MY the song sold with 45,000 units, in SG the song sold with 30,000 units, in RU the song sold with 25,000 units, in HK the song sold with 20,000 units. Worldwide "Head Above Water" single sold with 4,760,000 million units.

Alternate version

On August 30, 2019, nearly a year after the song's release, a new version was released featuring Travis Clarke of the band We the Kings, who helped write the original version. This version features "heavenly harmonies and adds to the emotion of the already heartstring-tugging melody".[3]

Music video

Filmed in Vík í Mýrdal, Iceland and directed by Elliott Lester,[16][17] the official music video for "Head Above Water" was released on September 27, 2018 to coincide with Lavigne's 34th birthday.[18] The music video ends with a message to join Lavigne's namesake foundation, which supports Lyme disease prevention, treatment and research. The music video was premiered on Entertainment Tonight's official Facebook page. As of August 2020, the music video reached 100 million views on YouTube.

Live performances

Lavigne gave the first performance of the song on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on September 12, 2018 and aired through television on September 26, 2018.[19] On October 15, Lavigne released a new live performance of the song on Honda Stage on her YouTube channel from a partnership between iHeart Radio and Honda.[20] On November 19, Lavigne performed the song on Dancing With The Stars (The Finale) for Alexis & Alan's freestyle. On February 13, 2019, she performed the song on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.[21] On February 15, 2019, Lavigne performed the song on Good Morning America. On February 18, 2019, Lavigne performed the song on Live with Kelly and Ryan. On March 5, 2019 she performed the song on The Talk (talk show). [22] The song was performed on every concert of the 2019 Head Above Water Tour and Lavigne also performed it live from her home during a couple livestreams throughout May and June 2020 to promote "We Are Warriors", that was released in support of the frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Credits and personnel

Credits and personnel adapted from Tidal.[23]

  • Avril Lavigne – lead vocals, songwriting
  • Stephan Moccio – production, songwriting, vocal production, piano, keyboards, backing vocals
  • Travis Clark – songwriting
  • Kylen Deporter – record engineering assistance, backing vocals
  • Chad Kroeger – vocal producer
  • Chris Baseford – vocal production, record engineering, drum programming
  • Jay Paul Bicknell – additional production, record engineering, drum programming
  • John Hanes – record engineering
  • Aaron Sterling – drums, additional record engineering
  • Serban Ghenea – mixing engineering
  • Jonathan Martin Berry – guitar
  • Paul Bushnell – bass guitar
  • Kevin Fox – cello
  • Vanessa Freebairn-Smith – cello
  • Will Quinnell – mastering
  • Chris Gehringer – mastering engineering

Charts

Certifications

Certification

Release history
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[62] Platinum 70,000
Canada (Music Canada)[63] 2× Platinum 165,000
United States (RIAA)[64] Gold 500,000
Country Date Format Label Ref.
Various September 19, 2018 Digital download, streaming BMG [1]
Italy September 21, 2018 Contemporary hit radio [65]
United States October 8, 2018 Hot adult contemporary radio [66]
Christian radio [67]
gollark: Minoteaur does this, yes.
gollark: Too bad, use different descriptions for cultural day divisions and actual ones because you basically have to anyway.
gollark: Also hours/minutes, ideally - just use millidays or something.
gollark: Also DST, obviously.
gollark: We should ELIMINATE time zones.

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